First-Person History: UVic To Launch The Lansdowne Era
The University of Victoria will officially launch The Lansdowne Era: Victoria College, 1946-1963, a book of candid essays by former students and instructors who have written about life in post-war Victoria and the academic traditions upon which UVic was founded.
Editor Edward Harvey and many of the book’s 27 contributors will be at the launch celebration on Oct. 14 at 4:30 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom, Fairmont Empress Hotel.
“I had an intuitive feeling that the Lansdowne era was a dynamic, interesting period. But seeing it in cold hard facts is another thing,” says Harvey, who entered Victoria College in 1959. “As I looked into it more, it became very clear this was a remarkable period. It really set the stage for [UVic] becoming what it has become.”
Former Victoria College students who contributed essays to the Lansdowne Era include British Columbia Chief Justice Lance Finch, former federal cabinet minister David Anderson, UVic Chancellor Ron Lou-Poy, and former UVic chancellor Norma Mickelson.
The book is dedicated to the memory of Peter L. Smith, an esteemed professor of Greek and Roman studies at UVic and Victoria College, and the author of a book about UVic’s history, A Multitude of the Wise: UVic Remembered.
Proceeds from sales of the Lansdowne Era will support student financial aid in Smith’s name.
“Not only does the new book tell the story of Victoria College’s post-war years, but it frames them in the context of the times,” says UVic President David Turpin. “The book offers insight in student life at a time of tremendous economic and social change across the country and around the world.”
The Lansdowne Era, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, is available from the UVic Bookstore (uvicbookstore.ca) and other Victoria booksellers.
Editor Edward Harvey and many of the book’s 27 contributors will be at the launch celebration on Oct. 14 at 4:30 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom, Fairmont Empress Hotel.
“I had an intuitive feeling that the Lansdowne era was a dynamic, interesting period. But seeing it in cold hard facts is another thing,” says Harvey, who entered Victoria College in 1959. “As I looked into it more, it became very clear this was a remarkable period. It really set the stage for [UVic] becoming what it has become.”
Former Victoria College students who contributed essays to the Lansdowne Era include British Columbia Chief Justice Lance Finch, former federal cabinet minister David Anderson, UVic Chancellor Ron Lou-Poy, and former UVic chancellor Norma Mickelson.
The book is dedicated to the memory of Peter L. Smith, an esteemed professor of Greek and Roman studies at UVic and Victoria College, and the author of a book about UVic’s history, A Multitude of the Wise: UVic Remembered.
Proceeds from sales of the Lansdowne Era will support student financial aid in Smith’s name.
“Not only does the new book tell the story of Victoria College’s post-war years, but it frames them in the context of the times,” says UVic President David Turpin. “The book offers insight in student life at a time of tremendous economic and social change across the country and around the world.”
The Lansdowne Era, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, is available from the UVic Bookstore (uvicbookstore.ca) and other Victoria booksellers.
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Media contacts
Mike McNeney (Alumni Communications) at 250-721-7642