Canadian Maple League Universities

    

   I realized that I have not posted in just over a month, so I will begin with a short one about a Canadian higher education entity of which I was unaware. It exists in the eastern part of the country in four locations in three different provinces and is known as the "Maple League of Universities." Perhaps you also did not know about it.

  The League members are: St. Francis Xavier, (Antigonish, Nova Scotia); Mount Allison, (Sackville, New Brunswick); Acadia, (Wolfville, Nova Scotia) and Bishop's University, (Sherbrooke, Quebec). The Maple League moniker is somewhat catchier than "The U4", which is how they were referred to in years past. 

   You may have guessed that these universities are consorting not because of a shared interest in the academic discipline of botany, but rather because the new brand under which they are united reminds you of the elite institutions located farther to the south. There are eight of them, which are identified here:

   

   I read about the members of the Maple League in an article which discusses the difficulties they are likely to face in the post-pandemic period, whenever that may be. The headline and opening paragraph indicate the source of their concerns: 

“For Maple League Universities, Shift to Online Education Threatens Close-Knit Appeal That They Rely On,” Joe Friesen, The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2020.

“The universities of the Maple League, with their historic red brick architecture and wide lawns, have long based their appeal on small classes,  a close-knit campus of dorms and clubs, and a level of attention from professors not always available at larger institutions.” 

   

   The concerns have spread beyond the campuses: “A fall without students could pose a grave threat to the local economy in university towns.” Such concerns have also spread like Covid across the country and are not restricted to the small liberal arts colleges.

Sources:

  The place to begin is at the website of the Maple League of Universities where links are provided to the four universities involved.  There is a short Wikipedia entry.

  There is a good piece in University Affairs, from which the following is taken. See" "Four Small Universities in Eastern Canada Rebrand as The Maple League," Moira MacDonald, Nov. 6, 2016.

"First coming together in 2013 under the less catchy banner of the “U4,” Acadia, Bishop’s, Mount Allison and St. Francis Xavier universities are now touting their pastoral, “small by design” campuses more loudly as an alternative to the larger, urbanized university experience many Canadians are familiar with.
The new name is “a little bit of a nod at the Ivy League,” acknowledged Michael Goldbloom, president of Bishop’s in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. “We’re not claiming that we’re Harvard or Princeton or Yale. But we do think that we share that same aspiration for excellence.”

"Why a Group of Small Universities Believes the Future is Theirs: Known as The "Maple League", the Four Universities Promote the Advantage They Have Over Big-City Schools: An Intimate Undergraduate Experience," Jennifer Lewington, Maclean's, March 14, 2017.

There are also some articles to be found at the institutions. See:
From Bishop's - "The Four Maple League Universities Sign Historic Agreement That Encourages Inter-Institutional Student Mobility," Bishop's University.
From Mount Allison - "What is the Maple League?" Laura Skinner, The Argosy, Feb. 6, 2019.
"Dr. James Devine, department head of politics and international relations at Mt. A, said that the Maple League shows potential: “It’s building a brand about small, primarily undergraduate institutions, which I think in Canada are a bit of a rarity.”

The Bonus Stuff: 
   You already know enough about the Ivy League. Perhaps you know less about the Public Ivies or the Hidden Ivies.  

    There is an Ivey here in London, but it is in a different league.

     There is also a university for women here in London - Brescia. It appears to be doing quite well and is apparently the only such institution of higher education in Canada. If, at some point, more aggressive 'branding' is required they could follow the example of the Maple Leaguers and try to figure out some way to associate themselves with  the "Seven Sisters",  which essentially were the elite, 'Ivey League-type' schools for women. It seems that only five of them continue to serve females only - Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley.