The Evolution of the University of Alberta
The growth in the number of graduates over the years has been paralleled by the increasing number of departments and faculties. Instruction began in law in 1912 and in engineering and medicine in 1913. At the same time, the Department of Extension was established to provide both culture and practical advice for the growing Alberta communities.
The outbreak of World War One in 1914 brought a halt to new construction, but the organization of new departments continued. Pharmacy, agriculture, commerce, dentistry and home economics were added during the war years. The decade of the 1920s saw the development of both the Alberta Research Council and a School of Nursing. The Arts Building remained the major classroom facility because general university expansion was curtailed during the Depression. However, during the 1930s an extension course in drama grew into the Banff School of Fine Arts, now the Banff Centre for Continuing Education.
1939 and the outbreak of the Second World War: during the war years the university streamlined courses to assist the armed forces. In 1942, the Faculty of Education was established and three years later it assumed sole responsibility for the education and certification of teachers in Alberta. During the war, the numbers of staff and students were depleted by enlistment, but after the war returning veterans swelled registration from 2,000 in 1943 to 6,000 in 1946.
During the 1950s, construction on campus accelerated due to anticipation of increasing enrollment. By the next decade, enrollment jumped from 5,000 to 17,500. The climbing enrollment, the development of new facilities, the constant contribution to new knowledge, and research by the professors and the graduate students transformed the University of Alberta into a world-class institution.
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