Capilano University becomes a member of Universities Canada

Capilano University has been approved for membership in Universities Canada (publisher of University Affairs) during the organization’s fall membership meeting, held remotely Oct. 27-28. The decision is effective immediately, making it the 96th member of the national association.

Capilano U, which has its main campus in North Vancouver, British Columbia, has a student enrolment of approximately 12,700 students, including some 2,500 international students. The university has a second campus located in Sechelt, B.C., and an extension of the main campus operating in the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood of North Vancouver.

Photo courtesy of Capilano University.

The institution was founded as Capilano College by the school boards and residents of North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Howe Sound through a referendum in 1968. The institution was named after Chief Joe Capilano, an important leader of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) Nation of the Coast Salish people. In 2008, the provincial government changed Capilano College’s designation to Capilano University.

“We are pleased and proud to join our colleagues across the country as a member of Universities Canada,” said Paul Dangerfield, Capilano’s president. “As an innovative, growing university on the West Coast, we look forward to the engagement, collaboration and learning opportunities offered by belonging to this exceptional Canadian university community.”

Membership in the association requires universities to meet certain criteria and to adhere to a set of principles of institutional quality assurance that must be reaffirmed every five years. It is the first new university to join the association since Edmonton’s MacEwan University became a member in 2012.