The College on the Hill: A New History of the Ontario Agricultural College, 1874-1999

Alexander D. Gregor is director of the Centre for Higher Education
Research and Development at the University of Manitoba and the co-editor
of Postsecondary Education in Canada: The Cultural Agenda.

The College on the Hill is an important addition to the growing body of
institutional histories of Canadian universities undertaken by
professional historians, in this case two members of the institution
under consideration.

The Ontario Agricultural College represented the introduction to Canada
of the uniquely American version of higher education: the land grant
college committed to service to the state and emphasizing the practical,
specifically agriculture and engineering. Largely as a result of limited
resources, this model took a peculiarly Canadian shape that persisted
for a major portion of the OAC’s institutional life as a part of the
provincial government structure—a constant political tightrope act.
Because of these circumstances, the OAC became a significant touchstone
for conflicting ideas concerning the mission and operation of
postsecondary institutions in Ontario and Canada. Moreover, it provided
a window into the evolving notion of agriculture as a science and as an
enterprise—and, more generally, into the development of applied
sciences and applied research in Canada.

Against these larger currents, the authors provide an engaging account
of the inner life of the institution: student life in its formal and
informal aspects; the difficult accommodation of women; changing
patterns of curriculum and instruction (including some pioneering
hands-on approaches to learning); leading figures in the teaching,
research, and administrative activities of the OAC; and interactions
with the college’s various external constituencies. The OAC’s
special character was to make it a pioneer in extension education in
Canada as it moved gradually from a focus on farming to a broader
concern with rural life.

Notwithstanding the unfortunate absence of a comprehensive
bibliography, this well-written and effectively illustrated book will be
useful to scholars of Canadian history and Canadian higher education.