Gerry Hagey
Encyclopedia
Joseph Gerald "Gerry" Hagey (September 28, 1904 – October 26, 1988) was a Canadian businessman, academic, and a founder and first president of the University of Waterloo
in Waterloo, Ontario
.
Hagey was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario
, the son of Menno Hagey (1863-1946) and Esther Cornell (1861-1907). In 1928 he received a B.A. from Waterloo College, at that time a small church college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario
. After graduation he took a job in sales for B.F. Goodrich, a Kitchener-based rubber company. By the 1950s he had become an advertising and public relations
manager, though throughout this time he had continued to be involved in the affairs of his alma mater, Waterloo College.
In 1953 he left B.F. Goodrich to become the president of Waterloo College. The 1950s and 1960s saw a massive expansion in industry and academia because of the postwar economic boom and because of the impending arrival of the baby boom
ers at Canadian universities. Hagey's goal was the transformation of Waterloo College into a university with a particular focus on science and technology, and close links with industry through co-operative education.
This idea proved somewhat controversial, and Hagey ultimately became the founding president of the University of Waterloo
in 1957, when the science and engineering faculties he had established broke away from the rest of Waterloo College, which later became Wilfrid Laurier University
.
He retired January 31, 1969 due to illness. When Hagey retired he had helped the University of Waterloo grow from 75 students in two portable classroom
s to a rambling campus
worth $80 million and a student
population
of 9,000. A building on the UW campus, the J.G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities, is named in his honour.
In April 1986, he was invested as a member into the Order of Canada
.
Hagey was the great-grandson of Mennonite Bishop Joseph B. Hagey
and the cousin of Brantford MPP Henry Louis Hagey
.
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
.
Hagey was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, the son of Menno Hagey (1863-1946) and Esther Cornell (1861-1907). In 1928 he received a B.A. from Waterloo College, at that time a small church college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
. After graduation he took a job in sales for B.F. Goodrich, a Kitchener-based rubber company. By the 1950s he had become an advertising and public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
manager, though throughout this time he had continued to be involved in the affairs of his alma mater, Waterloo College.
In 1953 he left B.F. Goodrich to become the president of Waterloo College. The 1950s and 1960s saw a massive expansion in industry and academia because of the postwar economic boom and because of the impending arrival of the baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
ers at Canadian universities. Hagey's goal was the transformation of Waterloo College into a university with a particular focus on science and technology, and close links with industry through co-operative education.
This idea proved somewhat controversial, and Hagey ultimately became the founding president of the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in 1957, when the science and engineering faculties he had established broke away from the rest of Waterloo College, which later became Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
.
He retired January 31, 1969 due to illness. When Hagey retired he had helped the University of Waterloo grow from 75 students in two portable classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s to a rambling campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
worth $80 million and a student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 9,000. A building on the UW campus, the J.G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities, is named in his honour.
In April 1986, he was invested as a member into the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Hagey was the great-grandson of Mennonite Bishop Joseph B. Hagey
Joseph B. Hagey
Joseph B. Hagey was the Bishop of the Mennonite Church in Ontario from 1852 until his death in 1876. Bishop Hagey presided over a time of disagreement and schism within the Mennonite Church in Canada. He was married to Sophia Bricker, the daughter of notable Mennonite Samuel Bricker...
and the cousin of Brantford MPP Henry Louis Hagey
Henry Hagey
Henry Louis "Lou" Hagey, was a lawyer and Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for a single term from his 1937 election until 1943....
.