Two universities in one? The same . . . but different? These paradoxes confound many but also define the strong (and now century-old) relationship between ±«Óătv University and the University of Kingâs College.
âRivals or partners according to the occasionâ
In 1920, fire destroyed Kingâs College in Windsor, N.S. Three years later, in 1923, the governors of Canadaâs oldest chartered university were at an impasse: rebuild or relocate? The Carnegie Corporation of New York offered financial assistance to rebuild the university in Halifax and in an association with ±«Óătv. On Sept. 1, 1923, the articles of association were signed.Ìę
A drawing of the Kingâs College campus in Windsor, N.S., circa 1800s. (Kingâs Archives)
Kingâs rebuilt on the northwest corner of ±«Óătvâs Studley Campus, and students and faculty moved to Halifax. In the [±«Óătv] Gazette, Kingâs students were reassured that âboth universities would continue their distinct student traditions, and that ±«Óătv-Kingâs could be rivals or partners according to the occasion.â
While the two universities have long maintained distinct personalities and areas of expertise â e.g., research and innovation (Dal), liberal arts and journalism (Kingâs) â they also share a common goal: to allow students to become their best selves and strong contributors to society.
The same, but different
Each year, ±«Óătv attracts thousands of students from near and far for a broad selection of academic programming. They can choose from 4,000 courses across 200 degree programs in 13 different faculties of study. is also vast, with more than 155,000 graduates worldwide.
By contrast, a couple of hundred first-year students choose the Kingâs experience each September. âA big part of what differentiates Kingâs is that intense feeling of togetherness,â says William (Bill) Lahey, president of the University of Kingâs College. âPeople know each other on a first-name basis, and that is not just within their residence or within the student population, but it's true between students and faculty, among faculty and between faculty and staff.â
Many Kingâs students are attracted by the (a first-year study of great books and ideas, from the ancient to the contemporary world) and in their upper-level years, will also take courses at Dal. Likewise, upper-year Dal students can enroll in courses at Kingâs.
âThey have different ways of working, but they also have a lot of symbiosis,â says Dr. Roberta Barker (BAâ96, MAâ97), an alum of both universities who now lectures in the humanities and performing arts at both. âThey both have a great dialogue with the sciences, and there are thriving cultures in the arts and humanities at both Kingâs and Dal.â
Kingâs students during Frosh Week 1979. (Kingâs Archives)
Given the proximity of their Halifax campuses, Dal and Kingâs students may traverse back and forth several times a day based on how they construct their course load and customize their degrees.
Facilities at both universities, like libraries and athletics departments, exist independently but are available to students at both schools. A student ID from one school is essentially a hall pass to the other.Ìę
Before becoming Kingâs president in 2016, Lahey taught full-time at Dalâs Schulich School of Law and continues to teach there part-time. âI never really felt like I was leaving ±«Óătv when I came to Kingâs,â he says. âThey are institutionally two universities, but they're part of one encompassing higher-education community.â
Dr. Kim Brooks, president of ±«Óătv, agrees. âWorking together on the Dal-Kingâs 100th has really driven home the importance of our relationship,â she says.ÌęâIâm looking forward to talking with staff, faculty and students from both universities throughout the year at events and initiatives to celebrate.â
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100 years of ±«Óătv and King's | A timeline
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Carnegie Professors
Another example of enduring cooperation is the Carnegie Professorship. These positions are appointed and funded by both universities and professors have primary teaching responsibilities at ±«Óătv, with some faculty responsibilities at Kingâs.
Dr. Barker, now a Carnegie Professor herself, remembers them coming to Kingâs to lecture when she was in the Foundation Year Program. âI didn't have any idea that I would be interested in Classics or Latin or medieval philosophy until I heard some of those amazing Dal professors who came over and really blew my mind.â
Dr. Peter OâBrien (BAâ90, MAâ92) is also an alum of both universities, Carnegie Professor of Classics at Dal, orator and former vice president of Kingâs. He says his position gives him the unique opportunity to contribute insights to Kingâs from the Dal point of view, and vice versa. âThat double role is really what the Carnegie Professorship is supposed to do,â he says, âto forge links between the two institutions.â
Professor C.L. Bennett giving an English lecture to ±«Óătv students circa 1948. (±«Óătv University Archives)
Differentiation in lockstep with cooperation
As Canadaâs oldest English-language chartered university, Kingâs prides itself on its many distinctive traditions, such as Formal Meals at which academic gowns are worn, student societies founded in the late 19th century and â a ceremony held each fall to formally welcome new students into Kingâs â among others.
Dal holds onto its own traditions. Munro Day is celebrated each February, when the university closes to honour one of its earliest benefactors, George Munro. Dal is also currently focused on a future course set by its strategic plan, Third Century Promise.
Differentiation is paramount when considering student experience, but largely immaterial when considering student success. âEach institution is contributing to the success of the other,â says Lahey. âThereâs a lot of support and cooperation between the two.â
University of Kingâs College graduating class, circa 1940s. (King's Archives)
That support and cooperation was perhaps never more evident than during the Second World War, when King's buildings became an officer training establishment called Nearly 3,100 Royal Canadian Navy officers were trained there for sea duty. King's students were moved into Dal residences and their courses moved to the Dal campus.
In the early days and throughout the COVID pandemic, Dal and King's also worked closely to align their policies, practices and communications around public health protocols and remote learning and working. When students were sent home and residences mostly closed, the few King's students who remained on campus moved into a wing of a Dal residence that remained open with social distancing in effect.
Reflection and celebration
Traditionalism has always been a point of pride for both institutions, but Lahey acknowledges that tradition can and should change.
âWe're working very hard to evolve,â says Lahey. "It's much more about making sure our community is inclusive and, more specifically, that it includes those communities that have not been part of the past of Kingâs.â
To celebrate the hundredth anniversary, some special events are in the works. For the first time, Kingâs will participate in ±«Óătvâs . On September 23, the ±«Óătv and Kingâs menâs rugby teams will play one another in a special anniversary at Gorsebrook Field. Alumni of both schools are welcome and encouraged to attend the game.
Kingâs and Dal, alongside the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, are co-hosting the this fall; a research symposium examining the legacy of slavery in higher education. (In the past decade, both universities have commissioned studies into their associations with slavery as they grapple with their colonial histories.) It will be the first time the conference has ever been hosted outside the United States, highlighting what the two institutions can accomplish when they work together.
±«Óătvâs University is well known for its medical school. (Cody Turner photo)
"I think that both universities are committed to global belonging in our local context and to better understanding our histories so that we can become more inclusive communities,â says Dr. Brooks. âWorking together to host the USS Conference this fall â and doing so during our anniversary year â is a particularly poignant example of that shared set of commitments.â
The vision for the next 100 years at ±«Óătv and Kingâs is clear: forward. Together.