Shingwauk Hall: From "Teaching Wigwam" to residential school The original vision for Shingwauk Hall in the early 19th century came from
Chief Shingwauk, the chief of the Garden River Ojibway people, as he felt "that the future
Ojibway needed to learn the white man's academic method of education in order to survive in what was becoming a 'predominately non-native world with non-native values'". While Chief Shingwauk's vision of a teaching wigwam for his people would not come to fruition in his lifetime, a residential school would eventually receive funding in 1872 from the combined efforts of Chiefs Augustin Shingwauk and Buhkwujjenene Shingwauk (Chief Shingwauk's sons) and the Anglican Missionary, Rev.
Edward Francis Wilson. The initial building was constructed in
Garden River First Nation in 1873 and housed 16 students. It burnt down 6 days later. A new building was erected in Sault Ste. Marie in 1875. Shingwauk Hall would become part of the broader
residential school system across Canada designed to assimilate Canada's
Indigenous peoples, straying far from Chief Shingwauk's vision for a teaching wigwam. Students in the residential school system endured poor living conditions, physical and emotional abuse and segregation from their own family members. Shingwauk Hall, presently the main building of Algoma University's Sault Ste. Marie campus, was erected in 1935 after it was deemed the Shingwauk Home original building had deteriorated beyond repair. Shingwauk Hall ceased operation as a residential school in 1970.
Algoma University College to Algoma University The desire to establish an undergraduate liberal arts college in Sault Ste. Marie originated as a broad citizens' movement in the 1950s. In October 1964, the Algoma College Association was incorporated by letters patent of the province of Ontario. One year later, on Dec. 17 1965, Algoma University College was established as a non-sectarian institution affiliated with Laurentian University after the Affiliation Agreement was signed. In September 1967, Algoma University College began offering courses to its first 77 students at what is today
Sault College, formally then known as
Cambrian College, under the leadership of Principal Reverend Charles A. Krug (1966–68). The majority of students studying at Algoma University College were mature or "extension" students looking to enhance their post-secondary education by taking first-year
Bachelor of Arts (BA) or
Bachelor of Science (BSc) courses. Part-time enrolment expanded to over 1,000 students by 1969–1970. The year 1971 marked a significant turning point in Algoma University College's history in respect to both program and facilities. In May, in recognition of the rapid maturation of the post-secondary institution, the Department of University Affairs approved Algoma University College's request to offer second-and third-year level courses, thereby giving the institution the ability to offer full-time, three-year programming in Bachelor of Arts degrees. In addition, in September 1971, the Algoma University College was relocated to a new site, acquiring by lease Shingwauk Hall and the former
Shingwauk Indian Residential School site. In 1975, with the assistance of a grant from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, the college purchased Shingwauk Hall and of land surrounding the buildings. Algoma University College would later purchase Shingwauk Hall. The
Shingwauk Project was founded in 1979, which laid the foundation for the reaffirmation of a positive and respectful relationship between the post-secondary institution and First Nations people. Algoma University College also received its own emblem, the
Thunderbird, as designed by
Dora de Pedery-Hunt in 1972. Construction began to further enhance the new site of Algoma University College. In 1989, the
Arthur A. Wishart Library opened, followed by the opening of the George Leach Centre in 1992. Student residence buildings were constructed in 1995 and 2001, and later in 2012. In 2005, a $6 million technology wing was opened, which included state-of-the-art technology and computer labs, the 'Great West Life Amphitheatre' (a 250+ seat lecture hall), a new student centre, cafeteria, faculty offices, a bookstore and campus shop, and a new pub. During this time, academic programming also expanded tenfold, with many of Algoma University College's programs becoming four-year Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science honours programs. On May 19, 2006, Algoma University College entered into a new relationship, which further entrenched its pre-existing relationship with First Nations people. Algoma University College and Shingwauk Education Trust (SET) /
Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG) signed the Covenant, which demonstrated the two parties' agreement to work together alongside each other in the pursuit of their goals to provide quality education to Anishinaabe students and students of all cultural backgrounds. Algoma's independence from Laurentian University was first proposed in 1994. The original proposal would have seen the school renamed
Shingwauk University, but it was not ultimately pursued by the
MTCU. On May 31, 2007, the government of Ontario announced that it would introduce legislation to charter Algoma University College as a fully independent university. After the government passed the Algoma University Act, it was given
royal assent by
David Onley, the
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, on June 18, 2008. On July 13, 2009, Algoma University conferred its first degrees as an independent university, with 60 students earning Algoma University degrees. In 2013 Algoma hired Myles McLellan as a law professor. McLellan, who had been disbarred in 2009, and served jail time starting in 2010 for a 22-month fraud sentence, taught at the college until 2021.
Focus on international students A 2022 Ontario Auditor General report cited Algoma as "overburdened by debt in 2016/17" the university began a strategy of mass enrolment of Indian international students at its Brampton campus. From 540 students in 2021/22 the population exploded by 900% over the next three years to 5,372. Three months later a search was undertaken. Federal government officials refused to release names that would allow the identification of deceased children. In 2023, questions still remained as to the number of graves underneath the campus. In 2023, a group of Algoma students reported a tuition payment fraud perpetrated by a fellow student that left them owing tens of thousands of dollars. In 2024, days of protests were held by international students at the Brampton Campus. The protest was later joined by students from other campuses, many of whom alleged racial bias. The students called for a third-party review of Algoma's grading practices. International students claim the protests resulted in the university changing the failing grades of a hundred students in a computer class to passing grades. Algoma publicly denied the students assertions. Later that year Algoma computer science professor Michael Lajoie, who had been charged multiple times with sexual assault in 2023, was convicted of assaulting students. In July, Algoma Faculty association took an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the university's leadership in 2024. The no-confidence vote was later backed by support staff. ==Programs==