Capilano University

The school boards of North and West Vancouver, Howe Sound and Sechelt formed a committee to determine the need for a community college to serve the region. The proposal to build a college on the North Shore passed by a plebiscite in North and West Vancouver and the Howe Sound in 1968. The provincial government granted approval, and Capilano College had its name selected from submissions made by North Shore residents, in honour of Chief Joe Capilano of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Coast Salish nation. Capilano College opened on September 10, 1968, with 784 students attending classes after hours at West Vancouver Secondary. The Capilano College Foundation was created in 1970 to provide scholarships and bursaries for students.^[16]

In 1970, construction began on the North Vancouver campus in the Lynnmour area. Three years later, the permanent North Vancouver campus opened with 1,965 students in attendance. The first vocational programs were offered in portable buildings brought from West Vancouver Secondary. The first permanent structure at the North Vancouver campus, the original library building, also opened. In 1975 Capilano College opened the Squamish Learning Centre and Community Information Services at 38038 Cleveland Avenue in Squamish.^[17] In 1976, the Arbutus building opened at the North Vancouver campus and the Fir building opened in 1982. In 1991, the Cedar building, the Sportsplex, and Horticulture building were completed. Two years later, a new library replaced the former at the North Vancouver campus, tripling the size of existing library space. In 1996, the Birch building at the North Vancouver campus was completed, housing a performance theatre, classrooms, student services, and teaching space. The Child Care Centre also opened the same year.^[16] With regards to its other locations, the university opened the Capilano kálax-ay Sunshine Coast campus in Sechelt in 1977, the CapU Lonsdale location in 2019, and the CapU Squamish campus in 2024. It also holds classes at Ts̓zil Learning Centre in Mount Currie, BC.

Capilano College offered its first bachelor degree, a collaborative degree in music therapy, with the British Columbia Open University in 1990 and added a second music degree in jazz studies in 1992.^[18] Business administration degrees were first offered in 1993. That year, Capilano College also conferred its first associate degrees, which are now available to students in a variety of subject areas from Interdisciplinary Arts, Creative Writing, English, Global Stewardship, Psychology, Interdisciplinary Sciences and Biology. The college was authorized by the provincial government in 2003 to become the first college in British Columbia to independently grant applied degrees after the dissolution of the B.C. Open University. In 2004, Capilano College was also named by the provincial government as host of the British Columbia Centre for Tourism Leadership and Innovation, in preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Centre addressed tourism issues, helped provide tourism education, and was part of the larger British Columbia Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training Consortium.^[19] In 2008, the centre was merged into Link BC, an education network for tourism and hospitality with industry organizations^[20] which resulted in partnerships with organizations and opportunities for students.^[21] In 2008, the provincial government changed Capilano College's designation to Capilano University.^[22] CapU also joined the OpenCourseWare consortium, and began the process for accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (which it received in 2012).^[16]

Capilano University's main campus is located at 2055 Purcell Way in North Vancouver (district municipality), on Metro Vancouver's North Shore. It is approximately a 30-minute drive from Downtown Vancouver. The majority of the programs are offered at this campus. There is also a smaller regional campus, referred to as the kálax-ay Sunshine Coast Campus in Sechelt, British Columbia that serves the communities of the Sunshine Coast.^[8] In September 2019, CapU admitted students to CapU Lonsdale, the Shipyards Development in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale.^[7]

The CapU Squamish campus, located at 3200 University Boulevard, Squamish, British Columbia, opened in Fall 2024.^[23] The 18-acre purpose-built campus includes academic teaching and learning spaces, student housing, a dining area, a library, an athletic centre and a FIFA-grade turf field.

The location was the former campus Quest University in Squamish.^[24] Capilano University purchased the campus in August 2023, after Quest University ceased operating in February 2023 due to financial difficulties.^[24][25]

The university also holds classes at the Ts̓zil Learning Centre in Mount Currie, British Columbia.

Capilano University offers 97 programs through 5 faculties:^[26] the Faculty of Arts & Sciences;^[27] the Faculty of Business & Professional Studies;^[28] the Faculty of Education, Health & Human Development;^[29] the Faculty of Fine & Applied Arts;^[30] and the Faculty of Global & Community Studies.^[31]

Within the Faculty of Arts & Sciences,^[27] there is the School of Social Sciences (with programs in Arts, Academic Studies, Applied Behaviour Analysis (Autism), Psychology, and Liberal Studies); the School of Humanities (with programs in Arts, Creative Writing, English, Liberal Studies, and Lil'wat Nation, Sechelt, or Squamish Nation Language and Cultural Studies); and the School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics or STEM (with programs in Biology, Science, Engineering, and Health Career Pathways).

The Faculty of Business & Professional Studies^[28] includes is the School of Business (with programs in Accounting, Business Administration, Advanced Business Administration, and Retail Business); the School of Communication; and the School of Legal Studies (with programs in Legal Studies - Paralegal, Contract Law, and Legal Administration).

The Faculty of Education, Health & Human Development^[29] includes the School of Access & Academic Preparation (with programs in College and University Preparation, Community Capacity Building, Community Leadership and Social Change, Education and Employment Access, English for Academic Purposes, and University One for Aboriginal Learners); the School of Allied Health (with programs in Music Therapy, Health Care, and Rehabilitation); and the School of Education & Childhood Studies (with programs in Early Childhood Care and Education, Education Assistant and subspecialties in Infants and Toddlers as well as Special Needs).

Its Faculty of Fine & Applied Arts^[30] offers the IDEA School of Design (programs in Visual Communication); the School of Motion Picture Arts (with programs in Motion Picture Arts, Costuming for Stage and Screen, Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking, Lighting for Digital Imaging and Film, Grip Work for Digital Imaging and Film, 2D Animation & Visual Development, 3D Animation for Film and Games, Animation Fundamentals, and Digital Visual Effects); and the School of Performing Arts (with programs in Acting for Stage and Screen, Advanced Arts & Entertainment Management, Performing Arts, Music, Conducting in Music, Music Therapy, Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre, and Jazz Studies with subspecialties in Education and/or Performance/Composition).

The Faculty of Global & Community Studies^[31] offers the School of Global Stewardship; the School of Human Kinetics; the School of Outdoor Recreation Management; the School of Public Administration (with programs in Local Government Administration, Advanced Local Government Administration and Local Government Leadership Development); and the School of Tourism Management (with programs in Tourism Management, Global Hospitality & Tourism Management, Tourism Management Co-operative Education, Tourism Management for International Students, and Tourism Marketing).

Capilano University offers joint partnerships and projects as part of the university's commitment to international education.^[32] It has dual degree and post graduate programs, as well as development partnerships with a number of schools abroad.^[33]

Capilano University provides over 250 scholarships and bursaries^[34] for current and returning students.^[35] The university provides scholarships for academic achievement, bursaries based on financial need, and awards are given based on a combination of top marks, athletic achievement, extra-curricular activities or other special achievements, and sometimes are also based on financial need.

These include the Capilano University Achievement Access Award, Wong and Trainor Award, Capilano University Athletic Award, Xats’alanexw Siyam Award, Indigenous Students Bursary, Borden Ladner Gervais Scholarship, Mary Neil Bursary and Neptune Terminals International Experience Award.^[36]

The CapU student residences currently accommodate up to 293 students. The residences are located on Dollarton Highway, 10 minutes from main campus.^[37]

The real estate development company, Woodbridge Northwest Communities, is proposing a Capilano University Village including a six-floor condominium tower, three and four-floor townhouses, 60 dormitories for CapU students, and an amenities building at the North Vancouver campus. The company's plan also includes personalized student kitchens, a swimming pool, clubhouse and children's play area.^[38]

Another North Vancouver developer is offering to build rental apartments exclusively for Capilano University's students and staff. Darwin Properties has submitted an application to build 346 units of rental housing in two six-storey buildings. The company also wants to build an adjacent cafe.^[39]

The Capilano University Squamish campus has three buildings dedicated to student residence, providing over 200 rooms for student housing. The buildings are clustered together, where students can study, dine, socialize and relax. Residences are close to facilities including food services and a recreation complex.

Between 1974 and 1999, the Capilano Blues^[40] won the CCAA Soccer Supremacy Award for both men's and women's soccer. To date, Capilano teams have won 15 CCAA National Titles and 61 TOTEM/BCCAA/PACWEST Provincial Championships.^[41]

Capilano University has six men's and women's varsity sports teams, the Capilano Blues,^[40] that play at the provincial and national levels. The Blues are based at Capilano University's Centre for Sport and Wellness on main campus.

• The main student newspaper, The Capilano Courier, is staffed by students and operates independently of the university and the student society. It is published twice per month.
• Capilano University's creative writing students publish a literary magazine, The Liar, once a year with funding from the English department.
• The university faculty established The Capilano Review in 1972. It is an arts journal highlighting poetry, fiction, drama, and visual art. In 2015, the magazine became an independent publication based in downtown Vancouver.
• The university also founded Capilano University Editions (CUE) in 2008, a book publishing imprint of the Capilano Press Society focusing on Canadian avant garde writing and art. It now operates independently from the university as CUE Books.
• Capilano Radio^[42] is a student-run podcast production which started in 2019.
• Launched in November 2020, Capsule^[43] is the work of CapU's marketing and digital experience team, a collective of diverse talents but one common thread that unites us is our love of storytelling.

Capilano Students' Union

Every student enrolled in a credit program at Capilano University is a member of the Capilano Students' Union (CSU).^[44] The CSU is the resident student society of Capilano University and benefits the university and the community by advancing the interests of students. Like other student societies in British Columbia, the CSU's mandate is to advocate for students and provide services and events that improve the student experience. While the day-to-day management and operations are entrusted to a board of directors composed of elected students, governed by the constitution and bylaws of the society, students are ultimately in control of the activities of the CSU. The board of directors consists of five vice-presidents, seven liaisons representing special interest groups, two representatives for each faculty, four senate representatives, and two representatives to the university's board of governors. The CSU is registered under the Society Act of B.C. and receives funding from membership fees, collected from students by the university in accordance with the University Act.

The CSU provides services to its members, including a low-cost transit pass, free day planner, a used book sale, and health and dental benefits. Student interests are represented by the CSU, and the views of students are presented and advocated for in meetings with university administrators and representatives of local, provincial and federal governments.

Notable alumni of Capilano University include 1 Killam Prize recipient, 3 Governor General’s Award recipients, 1 Academy Award winner, 1 Canadian Screen Award winner, 2 Grammy Award winners, 5 Juno Award winners, 1 Eisner Award winner, 1 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient,^[45] and 2 Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Player of the Year inductees. ^[46] In 2019, singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan received the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa from Capilano University.^[47] Notable graduates of the university include:

• Gillian Barber
• Bill Coon^[50]
• Jackson Davies
• Jordan Hall^[51]
• Daniel Hersog^[52]
• Steve Kaldestad^[53]
• Crawford Kilian
• Ryan Knighton
• John Korsrud^[54]
• Frank Molnar
• John Pass
• Stan Persky
• Meredith Quartermain
• Anita Sleeman
• George Stanley
• Brad Turner^[55]
• Lyn Vernon
• Frances Wasserlein
• Gordon Wilson
• Steve Kaldestad

• Higher education in British Columbia
• List of universities in British Columbia

•   Media related to Capilano University at Wikimedia Commons