Macdonald Campus

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The Macdonald Campus of McGill University (Mac Campus) houses its Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, and the McGill School of Environment.

It was established in 1905 as Macdonald College and opened in 1907 in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec on the western tip of the Island of Montreal. Planned and funded completely by William C. Macdonald, who also provided a $2 million operating endowment, it was designed by architects Alexander Cowper Hutchison and George W. Wood. Far surpassing the Ontario Agricultural College, Macdonald College was the largest in Canada and in its day was one of the most modern agricultural colleges in the world. After two years of planning and construction, the college opened its doors to students in the fall of 1907 under principal James Wilson Robertson.

In 1943, John W. McConnell purchased an adjacent 1,380 acre (5.6 km²) farm and donated it to the College, more than doubling its size to its current 6.5 square kilometres. In 1972, its became the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. Students studying at Macdonald Campus can earn internationally recognized degrees at both the undergraduate - B.Sc.(Agr) - and graduate level in the fields of agriculture, food, natural sciences, applied economics, environment, and engineering.

In 1981, McGill leased a portion of the Macdonald Campus to the newly-created John Abbott College, vacating many historic buildings for the CEGEP. This coincided with McGill's decision to move the Faculty of Education to the downtown campus. In 2002, this portion of the campus was permanently sold to John Abbott College.

On September 26 2006, Canada Post issued a special commemorative stamp in honour of the 100th anniversary of the official opening of the college.

Macdonald Campus

See also