Concordia University, Quebec, Canada

Concordia University, in Montréal, Québec, was founded in 1974 as a result of the merger of Sir George Williams University (SGWU) and Loyola College. Loyola, originally the English section of the Jesuit Collège Sainte-Marie (established 1848), became a separate entity in 1896; SGWU evolved from the formal educational work of the Montréal YMCA and received its university charter in 1959. The new university started with five faculties: a merged Faculty of Commerce; a merged Faculty of Engineering; an SGWU Faculty of Arts; an SGWU Faculty of Science; and a Loyola Faculty of Arts and Science. In February 1969, Sir George Williams University was the site of a race riot that is regarded as the largest student riot in Canadian history (see Sir George Williams Affair).

In 1978, Concordia’s five colleges in the Faculty of Arts and Science (Liberal Arts College, Lonergan College, School of Community and Public Affairs, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, and Science College) were founded to give students interdisciplinary options. Concordia still maintains two campuses, one in downtown Montréal (SGWU) and one in its west end (Loyola).