Sir Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University

Former names	Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada (1911), Waterloo College of Arts (1925), Waterloo Lutheran University (1960)
Motto	Veritas Omnia Vincit
Motto in English	Truth conquers all
Type	Public
Established	1911
Affiliation	AUCC, IAU, COU, AACSB ACU, CIS, CUSID, Fields Institute, OUA, CBIE, CUP
Religious affiliation	nondenominational
Endowment	$71.6 million
Chancellor	Eileen Mercier
President	Dr. Deborah MacLatchy
Academic staff	553
Undergraduates	17,000 full-time, 1,541 part-time
Postgraduates	1,000 full-time, 610 part-time
Location	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Colours	Purple and gold
Nickname	Golden Hawks
Mascot	The Golden Hawk
Website	www.wlu.ca

Coordinates: 43°28′31.21″N 80°31′38.08″W / 43.4753361°N 80.5272444°W / 43.4753361; -80.5272444

Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), simply known as Laurier, is a Canadian public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Laurier has a second campus in Brantford and offices in Kitchener, Toronto and Chongqing, China. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada. The University offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of fields, with more than 17,000 full-time undergraduate students.

The campus in Waterloo sits in the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle and within the Waterloo-Toronto corridor, often referred to as Silicon Valley of the North, in recognition of its vibrant start-up ecosystem. The Kitchener-Waterloo metropolitan area is home to the largest concentration of tech companies in North America outside California.

In 1910, the Lutheran Synod established a seminary, which opened to students in 1911, as the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary of Canada. In 1914 the seminary developed non-theological courses under the name "the Waterloo College School". In 1924, the Waterloo College of Arts was established. Waterloo College of Arts became affiliated with the University of Western Ontario ("Western") in 1925 and soon began to offer honours degree programs in the arts. In 1960, the Lutheran church relinquished its sponsorship of Waterloo College. The seminary obtained a revised charter changing the name of the institution to Waterloo Lutheran University. On November 1, 1973, Wilfrid Laurier University was established with Royal Assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Ross Macdonald, who later served as Laurier's Chancellor.