UPEI’s first logo, adopted (3.1970. (University of Prince Edward Island Calendar, 1970—1971. UPE/ Archives: LE3.P77U55 ARCH 1970-71.)

Foreword

he decade of the 19605 stands out as a period of remarkable change

and growth in Canadian higher education. Universities were being created and expanded. Significant new public investments were being directed to post-secondary education. The Canadian economy had experienced two decades of postwar expansion and prosperity. A group of young Canadians described by Qiebec sociologist Jean— Francois Ricard as “the lyrical generation,” those born in a spirit of freedom and optimism in the first decade following the Second World War, was arriving at university.

In this climate of expansion, lyricism, and dynamic institutional development, no event is more remarkable than the creation of the University of Prince Edward Island. PEI’s two post—secondary institutions, Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University, were riding the wave of growth. In the space of just three years, from 1965—66 to 1968—69, faculty numbers at the two institutions doubled. Grade II and 12 students, historically an important component of the

“college” student body, had been redirected to newly created high schools. The loyalties formed around PWC and SDU ran deep and

largely reflected the sectarian traditions of the Island community, but these, too, were changing.

ALAN MACEACHERN — 5