Collectivité

St. Thomas More College

St. Thomas More College, commonly called "STM," was established as a federated college of the University of Saskatchewan in 1936. The pre-history of the college goes back to 1913, with the public announcement by a group of Saskatoon Catholics that they hoped to establish a Catholic college at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1926, the Newman Society was formed and permission was granted for Fr. Basil Markle to come from Toronto to begin the Scholastic Philosophy Foundation at the university. In 1927 a house was constructed adjacent to the campus to provide a residence for Fr. Markle and a chapel and Newman clubrooms for the Catholic students at the university. In 1936, the bishops of Saskatchewan agreed to the establishment of a Catholic college "sometime in the future," but stated that, in view of the Depression economy, "it was absolutely impossible at this time." Still the Saskatoon laymen went ahead and called in Fr. Henry Carr of the Basilian Fathers of Toronto to meet with University President Walter Murray and see whether something could be done. As a result of the meetings of Carr and Murray and further negotiations with the bishops of Saskatchewan, St. Thomas More College was established by the Basilians and began operating as an Arts college affiliated with the University, with 39 students enrolled that first year (1936-37). The federated status of the college was formally acknowledged by the university in 1953. In 1943 an addition was added to the original white house to accommodate the larger numbers of students. A stone building was constructed and opened in 1956/57, with additional wings added in 1963 and 1969.