Final class graduates from Brescia as school ends 105-year run

When she graduated Monday, Jennifer Lopez Rodriguez helped to mark a bittersweet milestone in women’s education.

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She was among the final graduating class of Brescia University College, Canada’s only women’s university and a long-time affiliate of Western University into which the school is being absorbed.

Graduates marched from Brescia to the nearby Alumni Hall at Western to take part in the historic graduation ceremony, held jointly with graduates of another Western affiliate, Huron University College.

“I cried when I heard about it,” Lopez Rodriguez said of Brescia’s merger with Western, announced last fall in a move that caught many by surprise.

“Brescia was a really safe space for a lot of people and that kind of got taken away,” said the 22-year-old, who graduated with a psychology degree. “We all feel pretty lucky to be part of the last remaining graduation.”

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Founded by Catholic nuns in 1919 as Ursuline College, the liberal arts school was later renamed Brescia and for decades operated as one of a group of colleges affiliated with the university.

In September Western announced the school would be rolled into its fold this spring, prompting criticism by some members of the Brescia community and rallies by faculty and students opposed to the move. University officials cited a pronounced shift in demographics as a reason for the move away from a women’s-only school, with female students now outnumbering men in every faculty at Western except engineering.

Lopez Rodriguez said there’s still a need in education for places such as Brescia, which she attributes to continued “gender issues.”

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“It’s hard to feel safe when a lot of these issues still exist,” she said. “Women still have a harder time expressing their opinions and speaking up for themselves. So I think that just having an all-female environment kind of added that special, unique thing to our education.”

Brescia students will be able to complete their studies at Western and the Brescia residence will remain student housing, with no plans to sell any of Brescia’s land, Western has said. It has also said it will “broaden pathways for students from equity-deserving groups” through an “enhanced preparatory program” at the school, which will help domestic and international students in areas such as English-language assistance and “customized cultural support.”

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Additionally, a $25-million Brescia Legacy Fund is being established to pay for scholarships and bursaries.

In her commencement address to graduates, Christy Bressette, a leader in Indigenous education, said change can be difficult but positive in the end.

“While change can often be unexpected and unpleasant, if we stay hopeful and keep a positive outlook generative outcomes are often possible,” said Bressette, Western’s first vice-provost and associate vice-president of Indigenous initiatives.

A Brescia graduate herself, Bressette – who couldn’t get to the ceremony because of travel delays, but whose address was read aloud – encouraged graduates to use the wisdom they’ve learned to help others “find their gifts.”

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