Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

From its humble beginning at Lethbridge College in 1967 with 825 undergraduate students, the University of Lethbridge is now home to over 8400 students, including graduate students, at its campuses in Lethbridge and Calgary. The growth has been fairly steady – almost 4300 students at its 25th anniversary – but heavily driven by students from afar, particularly Calgary. Founded on the principals of a liberal education, U of L still aspires to that ideal and recently just approved a new School of Liberal Education. However, it may be a delicate balance to increasingly demonstrate research power while remaining committed to the undergraduate student. It can be said that U of L is now a global institution, with students from more than 80 countries and U of L students furthering their studies at institutions in all corners of the world. 50 years in the life of an institution arguably represents adolescence and preparing for the next generations will mean providing students at all levels with high quality resear