Alumni Association of the University of King's College

The Alumni Association of the University of King's College was founded in 1846 in Windsor, Nova Scotia, at the request of the College's Board of Governors, to save the College from financial and administrative collapse. Subsequently incorporated in 1847 by Act of the Nova Scotia Legislature, it is the oldest alumni association in Canada.

Originally, the university was supported by grants from the British Crown (£1000 per year), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (£500 per year), and the Province of Nova Scotia (£400 per year). These grants were withdrawn over the years, starting with the Crown's in 1833, then the SPG's in 1846, and the Province's in 1851. On May 28, 1846, the Board of Governors created the Alumni, forming it from a committee of various "alumni and friends" of King's College who were already actively engaged informally in soliciting patrons overseas.

The College, with no funds beyond tuition and other fees levied for the first time in its history, urged its graduates and associates to come to its rescue. The Alumni became a body corporate by An Act to Incorporate the Alumni of King's College, Windsor, S.N.S. 1847, c.53. This statute was revised during the following decades, e.g., An Act to amend the Act to Incorporate the Alumni of King's College, Windsor, S.N.S. 1882, c.64, which altered the requirements and implications of the annual subscription fee paid by members to the Association. Although heavily revised, the original statute is still in force. Revisions to the Nova Scotia statutes relating to the Board of Governors caused the number of Alumni seats on the Board of Governors to fluctuate as circumstances demanded.

After being organized into a cohesive and legally-authorized society, the Alumni Association sought not only to raise funds for the College, but also carried on the tasks of drafting and administering all College examinations; funding and planning building projects on campus; acquiring books, artifacts, instruments and apparatus for the College Library and Museum; and administering most of the scholarships and prizes offered to students at both King's College and the Collegiate School in Windsor. Foremost among Alumni activities, however, has long been the Annual Dinner, which has been held since 1846. In fact, the Association's first purchases related to the dinner: solid silver flatware adorned with ivory handles from an importer of luxury goods in Halifax, and 10 cases of champagne, in addition to further cases of liquor, all of which were shipped from Halifax in carriages. When not in use, the cutlery was stored in the largest available safety deposit box at a bank in Windsor. Other early assets were significant, such as 2,000 acres of wild land in Pictou County and houses in Halifax that the Alumni leased to tenants, and demonstrate the importance of the Alumni in King's 19th century affairs.

The Association's first members were largely "friends" of the College who were not graduates of King's, although Inglis' son, Bishop John Inglis - arguably the most distinguished graduate of King's first Encaenia - was instrumental in the formation of the Association and in soliciting its first funds for the College. Such was the importance of the Alumni's fund-raising that for the entire 19th century, the Association was the only body within the College, aside from the Governors, entitled to review King's books and accounts, courtesy statements of which the were sent to the Alumni annually. Likewise, the Association furnished the Board with its own financial statements.

More information on the Alumni Association can be found in the finding aid linked below, as well as at https://ukings.ca/alumni/.

The Alumni Association is the formal organization of all graduates of the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and represents the interests of alumni in University affairs and on the Board of Governors. The Constitution, last revised in 2000, sets out the objects of the Association in Art. II:

1. To promote the best interests of the University;
2. To cooperate with the University in making known to the widest possible audience the merits of education at the University;
3. To perpetuate the close and warm ties of friendship formed during attendance at the University;
4. To foster these ties through all appropriate means, including meetings, reunions and an official publication; and
5. To promote and support Branches of the Association throughout Canada and internationally.

The Association holds regular business meetings, and frequent events give alumni opportunities to socialize. The Association maintains annual scholarships and bursaries and supports activities of alumni, students and the University. The University administration views the Alumni Association as being representative of the opinions of King's graduates as a whole, and consults the Association's Executive Board on issues facing the University. The Association works with the administration to raise funds for the University and improve the image of the University.

The mandate of the Association now is not dissimilar to that of 1846: King's, always with some level of financial need, continues to seek new ways of soliciting the fiscal favour of its graduates. Much of the Association's time at the beginning and end of each academic year is occupied by its provision of
financial aid. The Alumni hosts its Annual Dinner, annual and other business meetings, reunions and other events, and supports student endeavors such as Frosh Week, Grad Week, and theatrical productions; it even has birthed some novelties, such as the monthly Tuesday Toots at a Halifax pub, as well an annual
golf tournament, which has been held for two decades. Donations come either as annual giving contributions, or, less often, bequests and exclusive gifts. Gone is the Association's rich portfolio of moveable assets and real property, although its collection of purely fiduciary investments is increasing.

The Alumni Association's legacy at King's is made visible through its original seal of Aeneas carrying his father, Anchises, on his back- just as the Association carried King's through the 191h century- which was sculpted in rich relief and occupied a position high atop Convocation Hall at Windsor. Following the fire of 1920, this sculpture was transported from that building to the new campus in Halifax and installed above the doorway of Middle Bay in 1930, at the request of Canon Vroom and the Alumni. The Association has played an important role in its continuing support of the spirit of King's, as evidenced by its seats on the Board of Governors and its voluminous discussions in minutes, which are nearly entirely intact and ongoing.