London's Bicentennial (Snippet 22)

 HELLMUTH LADIES' COLLEGE

    In the second half of the 19th century, if you asked any American what they knew about London, Ontario, the answer would likely have been, "It's the home of Hellmuth Ladies' College."  I think that is the case because any newspaper search about London in those days yields "hits" about the Hellmuth Ladies' College, the advertisements for which are ubiquitous. London for them must have been imagined as the "Athens of the North."

                                  Higher Education in London, Ontario
  Elevated above the Thames, young ladies were lured to come to the "sanitary surroundings" in the Forest City where they could study, music, dance, French and refinement. To illustrate what was advertised, here are some samples and they range from such papers as, The Salt Lake Herald, Southern Christian Advocate (Charleston) and The Portland Daily Press (the one in Maine.) These are from the 1880s and there are many more from many different newspapers.

This picture is from the 1890s. 

    The property is located on RIchmond at Windermere and is now mostly a retirement facility, but you can stay at the Guest House on the Mount if you are visiting.

 Farther up the river Thames, east on Windermere, young ladies coming to UWO could stay at Spencer Hall well into the 1960s. One of the finer dormitories found anywhere, I would think. It is now the Spencer Hotel and Conference Centre and you can stay there as well.

  Young women used to be able to come to another "ladies'' college in London which was also an attractive place, located until just a few years ago, above the corn fields across the road from UWO. It ceased to be a college for women a few years ago (see, "Bad News From Brescia.")

 

  The corn fields were removed to make room for parking and the Ivey Business School and the space at Spencer Hall on Windermere is now also associated with the Business School. Progress, I suppose.

Bloomberg

 

Johns Hopkins University

   The name "Bloomberg" may be familiar to you and you are likely to have heard of Johns Hopkins. Bloomberg was the mayor of New York City for many years and he was a presidential candidate in the last U.S. election. Johns Hopkins University is a small, private one, located in Baltimore and you probably know about it because of its medical school. Loyal readers of this blog will recall a post about Sir William Osler, who was important in the history of that school. There was recently some very good news about Johns Hopkins, because of Bloomberg, and I thought of it as I read the very bad news about Laurentian University. 

Bloomberg the Benefactor

   Recently Mr. Bloomberg gave Hopkins another donation of $150 million. Earlier, in 2018, he gave the University $1.8 BILLION, which is surely the largest gift given to an institution of higher education. His first gift was $5 when he graduated and the total he has now provided to Hopkins exceeds $3 BILLION.  His generosity extends beyond his alma mater. He has given lots to Harvard and $100 million to Cornell which is in the state next door. He has also donated considerable sums in other areas ranging from the Arts to Public Health initiatives. I won't go on. The sums are too great for me to handle and they are outlined in the sources I will provide.

   It is interesting to learn about the source of his riches. The Mayor of New York does not make very much and Mr. Bloomberg spent millions when running for president and even more to try and keep Trump out of the oval office.  Bloomberg does not come from a wealthy family. What he has comes mostly out of the object pictured above and there are thousands of them, all known as "Bloomberg Terminals." When they arrived on desktops in the early '80s, it was thought that they would not last, but they have. 

Laurentian University

   The good fortune of Hopkins is interesting to consider given the bad news coming from Sudbury. Laurentian needs a benefactor to lift it from insolvency since it does not appear that the current government will. Or perhaps Hopkins can send relief in the form of some of the staff members from their Advancement Office who surely can't have much to do. It is probably not a good idea to rely on noblesse oblige to support higher education, just as there must be a better solution than relying on the largesse derived from foreign students. But, what other options are there? Unfortunately here in Canada, colleges and universities have never received as much support from alumni as those in the United States and the provincial governments are typically rather stingy benefactors. 

Sources: 

Bloomberg Philanthropies will keep you busy for the rest of the day. Among other things, a large amount is expended to keep people from drowning. 

Plenty of bad news can be found in Sudbury. The Sudbury Workers, Education and Advocacy Centre (SWEAC) is trying to get more government assistance for the university.

 Both the COU and OCUFA issued statements about the inadequacy of the Spring Budget.

https://ontariosuniversities.ca/response-to-ontario-spring-2021-budget.

https://ocufa.on.ca/press-releases/2021-budget-a-missed-opportunity-to-invest-in-ontarios-future/

The Bonus

Bloomberg's daughter went to Princeton and many benefitted. There is now an Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity. 

In an earlier post, I provided this quote about Canadian universities c1930s: 

The universities had no contact with one another. Most of them had been conceived, born, and nourished for sectarian purposes, and all were very poor. Because they were poor they were ill-nurtured, and were as a rule at odds with one another. Professors were badly paid, libraries were meagre, laboratories were few and scantily equipped, museums hardly existed. The provincial treasurers, harassed by other demands for which they were afraid to tax their constituents, took advantage of the divided interests of the colleges to refuse aid impartially to all. From: Fifty Years Retrospect: Canada, 1882-1932