College moving to bigger campus

Business is booming for Tyndale University College.

The school has seen a large increase in enrolment in recent years and is moving its campus from its current location on Ballyconnor Court to a 23-hectare plot that’s currently occupied by the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministry and St. Joseph’s Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School.

Tyndale purchased the land from the Sisters in 2006 for $40 million. Since launching a fundraising campaign in 2007, the school has netted $52 million in donations that will be used to fund the new campus.

When the Christian post-secondary institution takes over the site in 2013, it will be renovating the existing structures for use as offices, labs and even small theatres. The only significant construction project will be building a new library.

“It’s amazing how well the new location works for us,” said Tyndale spokesperson Lina Van der Wel.

The private, non-denominational Christian university was established in 1894 and is among a handful of similar institutions in Canada.

The school, which offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate level in the humanities, business and religious studies, has grown to a total student population of 1,300, while maintaining small class sizes, Van der Wel says.

“It’s a completely different world over here,” Van der Wel said.

“Professors have coffee with their students between classes, they invite them over for parties at the end of the term.”

And although it is a Christian university, it isn’t closed to students from other cultures.

“We have Muslim, Hindu students as well as non-religious students,” Van der Wel said.

She points out that while other religions are represented at the school, the Christian ethos is interwoven into classroom discussion, especially in the business classes, adding that many students are involved in mission trips in developing countries.

Van der Wel says that the school’s emphasis on values and social justice will continue to attract passionate students.

“Slowly but surely, people are getting to know Tyndale,” Van der Wel said.