Grant Hall
Grant Hall has been Queen's University's most recognizable landmark for decades. It is fitting that it is named after a man whose name was, in his day, synonymous with the university and all it stood for. The hall serves many purposes: over the years it has been used for concerts, lectures, public meetings, convocations, dances and exams. For a time during WWI it was also used as a military hospital.

The story of the construction of Grant Hall is an inspiring one, and a good example of the famous Queen's spirit. Originally, the plan was to name the new convocation hall "Frontenac Hall", for Queen's had appealed to the citizens of Frontenac County for a gift of funds for a new building. They had reason to expect success, especially in light of the fact that the Ontario and Kingston governments had made pledges: funds which resulted in Ontario and Kingston Halls respectively. The citizens of Frontenac County voted overwhelmingly against the idea, however, and things looked grim, for no alternate source of funds was in sight.

There has been much speculation on why Frontenac refused to fund the building. One theory states that it was simply too much to ask, as Frontenac was not a rich county and populated mostly by farmers. The other theory is that the refusal was the result of a grudge: the leading citizens of Frontenac were strong supporters of the idea of prohibition, and Principal Grant was not. He had spoken out publicly against the idea, feeling it was impractical, and some say the people of Frontenac never forgave him. Whatever the cause, however, the refusal put Queen's in a tight spot, for a new convocation hall was badly needed. It was the students, fueled by their love for Principal Grant and an unwillingness to see one of his causes fail, that carried the day.

The students, led by the AMS President James Wallace, stepped forward and informed the Trustees that they intended to raise the money themselves, but were planning on calling the building Grant Hall. Principal Grant objected at first, saying that the hall should keep its original name, but the students replied smartly that if they were to find the funds, surely they could name it whatever they liked. Grant accepted the honor with a modest delight, and the campaign began. The students, over the winter of 1901-1902, raised the $35,000 needed for the hall. They collected money from alumni and friends of Queen's, using the respect and love that Grant inspired in the Queen's community to motivate people to contribute to his monument. One third of the money came from the students themselves, many of whom lived on the poverty line. Students used their scholarship money, took odd jobs around the town, and committed themselves to ten-year subscriptions to come up with the needed funds.

This spectacular achievement was overshadowed by the sadness of Grant's death in May of 1902. The tribute to him had become a memorial before the first stone was laid. When completed in 1905, however, it was the pride of the campus. Grant Hall was instantly a symbol of Queen's, just as Grant had been. The original clock tower was designed and built by hand by the Dean of Practical Science Nathan Fellowes Dupuis, and when it ceased to work in 1993, a new one was installed and - like the building itself - paid for by the students.


The Rev George Munro Grant (1835-1902)
Rev George Munro Grant was perhaps the most exceptional man ever to serve Queen's University, and had such a great impact on Queen's that even today his influence can be seen. During his 25 year term as Principal, he transformed Queen's from a struggling and impoverished Presbyterian college into a national university with a reputation for excellence that has only grown over time. Although he died over one hundred years ago, the excellence in academia and staunch loyalty of students and alumni that Grant considered so essential are still defining characteristics of this University.

George M. Grant was born in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, the son of a modestly successful farmer. When he was eight years old, he suffered a farm accident in which his right hand was mangled - this twist of fate insured that George Grant would not be a farmer like his father. There is a story that a few hours after his accident, the young George Grant, still lying in bed, asked to be brought a pencil so that he could teach himself to write with his left hand. Although it is likely that this story is a part of the 'Grant legend', the fact that it was widely believed shows the strength of his character.

Educated first at Pictou Academy, George Grant moved on to the West River Seminary and then the University of Glasgow, which he attended on a scholarship. George Grant was ordained in 1860 as a Presbyterian minister, and declined a comfortable parish in Scotland to return to Canada. From 1863 to 1877, he was the minister of St Matthews's Church, the largest and most important Presbyterian church in Halifax. It is there that he met Sandford Fleming, who became his lifelong friend. Grant accompanied Fleming on his CPR survey mission across Canada, and turned his experiences into a book called Ocean to Ocean. This trip strengthened Grant's belief in Canada's greatness, and his ardent nationalism was a defining mark in everything he did, especially during his time at Queen's.

In 1877 Grant was asked to become the Principal of Queen's College, and accepted. He arrived with a fairly clear sense of what Queen's needed, and he knew that the thing needed most desperately was money: money for new buildings, more professors, and scholarships. Grant immediately launched a fundraising campaign, which he started off by donating $2,500 of his $2,750 salary. Grant traveled the country and made the appeal for Queen's himself. This campaign resulted in $150,000 being raised in only eight months, an astonishing feat. Theological Hall was a gift of the citizens of Kingston, donated as part of this campaign. The funds provided only a brief respite, however, from Grant's continual problem: that Queen's was always growing more quickly than its income: between 1870 and 1887, enrollment sextupled while funding only doubled.

In 1883, the question of unification with the University of Toronto was brought forth. Grant was vehemently opposed to the idea, not only because he wanted to maintain Queen's independence for its own sake, but because he did not want to see a 'monopoly on education' in Ontario. The problem was, Queen's was in penury again, and its future looked uncertain if funds could not be raised. Some said that amalgamation was the only choice. The controversy raged for years, and although the Board of Trustees agreed with Grant, it was decided to ask the constituency of Queen's what they wanted. A circular letter was sent out, the answer came back with 99% in favour of staying in Kingston. Grant was invigorated by the faith of the students, alumni, and friends of the University, and in 1887 he launched the now famous Jubilee Campaign, appealing to those who had voted to keep Queen's independent to provide the funds to make it possible. A quarter of a million dollars - a fortune in those days - was needed immediately, but Grant had faith in the loyalty that Queen's inspired. "The supporters of Queen's have been tested before," he said, "and have never failed." His confidence was well placed, and within less than a year, $260,000 had been pledged. A plaque honouring the donors can still be seen, appropriately, in Grant Hall.

Grant's plans were by no means confined to fundraising. In 1889 he had the Charter amended so that Trustees need no longer be Presbyterians, the first step towards a non-denominational institution. In 1890 he raised matriculation standards, and the first graduate courses became available in that same year, largely thanks to his efforts. In 1892, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons - which had once been Queen's Medical Faculty but had separated years ago - rejoined the University, something Grant had been trying to accomplish for years. Perhaps his most well known accomplishment is the role he played in the beginnings of what is now known as the Faculty of Applied Science. Since Queen's was, in Grant's day, a denominational college, it was ineligible for government funding. Grant found a clever way around this, and had the School of Mining and Agriculture founded in 1893 as an independent institution with ties to Queen's. A year later, the Faculty of Practical Science was founded at Queen's. Officially two separate schools, they shared buildings, professors, and equipment; the whole thing was, in reality, a clever piece of fiction created by Grant and endorsed by Ontario's Premier, Oliver Mowat. This allowed Queen's to receive the government funding that resulted in Ontario Hall, Fleming Hall, Gordon Hall, and countless other endeavors. Not everyone admired the Principal's imaginative solution, however. Years later, a resentful University of Toronto Professor remarked, "Grant had this province on its knees."

By 1896, Grant's health was starting to fail. He had just undergone an operation, and was feeling the strain of his vigorous efforts of behalf of Queen's. Determined to put Queen's on a sound footing before his time came, Grant embarked on several ambitious projects. By 1900, less than half the students of Queen's were Presbyterian, and Grant decided that it was time to separate from the Church. After many impassioned speeches and years of debate, he managed to convince many. He laid the groundwork, and if not for his death in 1902, no doubt the separation would have come about before 1912. Grant also, in his final years, launched the appeals that resulted in the gift of Kingston Hall from the citizens of the city, and gifts of Fleming and Ontario Halls from the Ontario government to the School of Mining and Agriculture. His attempt to obtain a similar gift from Frontenac County was unsuccessful, but a defeat became a triumph when the students stepped forward and raised the money for what is now Grant Hall.

Grant left a legacy of men, as well as buildings. Through his personal magnetism and the reputation he built for Queen's, he attracted some of the finest scholars in Canada to Kingston. Watson, Cappon, Macnaughton, Dupuis, Shortt, Goodwin - the list is impressive. President Falconer at the University of Toronto remarked that "it is safe to say that no Canadian university has ever had at any one time a group of greater teachers in the humanities." They worked for modest salaries, were often asked to donate money back to the University in appeals, and were often frustrated by Grant's tight budgets, but they stayed because they believed in Queen's as an institution, and because they loved their work.

Grant was much more than the Principal of Queen's. In his day, his was a household name in Canada, as he spoke frequently on issues of political, religious, and social significance. When the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited Kingston, they made a special visit to his bedside and Grant was made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Several of Grant's descendants carried on the tradition of achievement, and are well known figures in their own right. His son, William Lawson Grant, was a history professor at Queen's and also co-authored his father's biography, entitled George Monro Grant. His grandson, George Parkin Grant, was an influential philosopher and wrote the celebrated book Lament of a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism. Michael Ignatieff, the well known author and television host, is his great-grandson and the recipient of an honorary degree from Queen's in 2001.

In May, 1902, it was not just a Queen's man who died, but a figure of national importance. He was sorely missed by many, especially the students - who had always called him "Geordie, Our King" - but he died knowing that he left a legacy behind him: the University that he had shaped largely in his own image. He had been the heart and soul of Queen's for 25 years, and it is fitting that the plaque with still hangs in Grant Hall to honour him inscribed with the phrase, Si monumentum requiris circumspice, which translates from the Latin as "If you want to see his monument, just look around you."