The main holdings of the St. Thomas More College Archives are the administrative and operational records of the College, records of the Newman Center and photographs of faculty and student activities. In addition, records from some other individuals and organizations have been donated to the STM archives.

For further information, please contact Amanda Gieni, Library Technician and Records Manager at agieni@stmcollege.ca.

See historical photos!

St. Thomas More College fonds

1926-1983. -- 7.4 m of textual records. -- ca. 300 photographs

Historical note

St. Thomas More College, commonly called "STM," was established as a federated college of the University of Saskatchewan in 1936. The pre-history of the college goes back to 1913, with the public announcement by a group of Saskatoon Catholics that they hoped to establish a Catholic college at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1926, the Newman Society was formed and permission was granted for Fr. Basil Markle to come from Toronto to begin the Scholastic Philosophy Foundation at the university. In 1927 a house was constructed adjacent to the campus to provide a residence for Fr. Markle and a chapel and Newman clubrooms for the Catholic students at the university. In 1936, the bishops of Saskatchewan agreed to the establishment of a Catholic college "sometime in the future," but stated that, in view of the Depression economy, "it was absolutely impossible at this time." Still, the Saskatoon laymen went ahead and called in Fr. Henry Carr of the Basilian Fathers of Toronto to meet with University President Walter Murray and see whether something could be done. As a result of the meetings of Carr and Murray and further negotiations with the bishops of Saskatchewan, St. Thomas More College was established by the Basilians and began operating as an Arts college affiliated with the University, with 39 students enrolled that first year (1936-37). The federated status of the college was formally acknowledged by the university in 1953. In 1943 an addition was added to the original white house to accommodate the larger numbers of students. A stone building was constructed and opened in 1956/57, with additional wings added in 1963 and 1969

Scope and content note

This fonds includes material related to the pre-history of the college, and in particular the activities of the Newman Society, which was formed by a group of Catholic laymen, with its major work to be the establishment of a Catholic college at the University of Saskatchewan. Other records are: minutes, reports and correspondence of the Principals/Presidents, the Corporation, the Faculty/Administration Forum, and the student organizations: Newman Club/Centre and St. Thomas More Students Association. Some of the records, including photocopies of relevant documents from other archives, were acquired by then college archivist Fr. Alphonse de Valk during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In cases where de Valk is clearly the compiler, it has been so noted in the file list. Photographs consist of views of the white house (original and expanded), the construction of the stone building in its three phases (1953-1969), interiors, student activities and special events in the college over the years. In most cases the creators of the photographs are unknown

ST. THOMAS MORE COLLEGE PREHISTORY
STM HISTORY
BASILIAN ARCHIVES
PRINCIPALS'/PRESIDENTS' RECORDS
REGISTRAR'S RECORDS
NEWMAN CLUB/CENTRE
ST. THOMAS MORE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (STMSA)
ST. THOMAS MORE GUILD
ADMINISTRATION
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
CONSTRUCTION (SERIES K)
FINANCES (SERIES T) PROVENANCE ST. THOMAS MORE COLLEGE

Finding aids: File lists are available.

Restrictions on access: Access to some series is restricted.

Arrangement note: The original order of each series has been retained where possible.

Accruals: Further accruals expected in some series.