Lester B. Pearson College
| Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific | |
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The Pearson College UWC logo
Making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future
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| Location | |
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Metchosin (Victoria), British Columbia (BC) Canada |
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| Coordinates | 48°20′48″N 123°33′51″W / 48.34667°N 123.56417°WCoordinates: 48°20′48″N 123°33′51″W / 48.34667°N 123.56417°W |
| Information | |
| Type | International Baccalaureate World School |
| Established | 1974 |
| Principal | Désirée McGraw |
| Enrollment | 160 |
| Publication | Pearson Times |
| Website | www.pearsoncollege.ca |
The Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Pearson College UWC) is one of sixteen United World Colleges (UWC) around the world. It is named after the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson, winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize, and an early champion of the College. The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to "make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future". The college follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum, covering the final year of high school and a pre-university year for up to 100 students a year, hailing from nearly 90 countries.
The college was opened in 1974 by Lord Mountbatten, Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien, and Charles, Prince of Wales.
The director of the College from 2006 to 2015 was David Hawley, a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and now the Chief Academic Officer of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). In April 2015, the College announced Hawley's successor, Désirée McGraw, an internationally acclaimed institutional leader, the President of the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation, and a former advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada.
Lester B. Pearson, Nobel Peace Laureate and former Prime Minister of Canada, was the driving force behind the founding of Pearson College. After retiring from public life, Pearson became interested in the United World Colleges movement. At that time, only United World College existed — Atlantic College in Wales, established in 1962. Pearson visited Atlantic College in 1969 and there, met with students and faculty. He came away convinced that there must be more such colleges around the world and, in particular, one on Canada's west coast. He envisioned that:
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