The Quill was established in 1910, and is the second oldest student newspaper in western Canada. It was also the first student run publication at Brandon College. The December (Vol. I, No. 1) edition states that "the demand for such a paper [had] been steadily increasing until at last some definite steps towards bringing one into existence became absolutely necessary." The first step was the election of a committe by the Literary Society to look into the possibilites of the project and report at a special meeting. Following the acceptance of the committee's favorable report, another committee was appointed to outline a policy and nominate officers and staff.
The inagural staff of the Quill, "having examined the reasons for the discontinuance of the Brandon College Monthly some years ago, [found] that these have been to a large extent removed by the development of the College in the intervening years." They felt that the "student body [had] grown to such an extent that the problem of getting suffiecient material for a paper, as well as the financial difficulty, [had] been appreciably reduced." For them, this development "not only justified but demanded the advent of a College paper." The creation of the Quill was also influenced by the awareness of the students involved that their college was in a state of constant change. They felt that they "[could not] allow this important period of [their] College history to pass away and be forgotten." The newpaper enabled them to record the growth and changes on campus for the benefit of the students and friends of the College.
Originally the publication of three editions of the Quill, i.e. Christmas, Easter and a special graduates' number, were planned; the policy on the limited number of issues was to allow the Quill and its staff time to establish themselves, with the aim of expanding into a monthly paper as soon as it was thought advisable to do so. In 1911, the Quill was printed quarterly, with the first three issues of the school year consisting of student publications and professors writings, as well as containg various columns on campus activities. The final issue of that year, and subsequent years, was called the Commencement Issue, and it contained a brief biographical sketch of each member of the graduating class.
In 1927, the Quill was split into two separate entities. In the April edition (Vol. XVI, No. 11), the editorial staff wrote that the Quill's ". . . function and the efficiency with which it has performed that function in the immediate past are . . . doubtful. The present management realize this and feel that the "Quill" as conducted at present can assume neither the utility of a newspaper nor the intrinsic value of a year-book." Subsequently it was decided to publish a fortnightly, or bi-weekly newspaper, which retained the title of "The Quill," as well as a new publication, named The Sickle, which was to act as a yearbook. This decision was also influenced by the belief that by creating a sepaprate newspaper and yearbook "Brandon College [would] then be on a similar basis in this respect as her sister institutions throughout the Dominion." Although the Quill has occassionally ceased production (for a week or two at most) throughout its history, usually due to a lack of student participation in its production and/or financial troubles, it has continued to be published as as newspaper since 1927.
In 1933, the Quill was presented in an entirely new form. Weekly, for three issues a month, a bulletin was published, with a fourth and more substantial issue at the end of the month. The introduction of the new broadsheet form was an attempt to "reduce stale news" and allow the publication to operate with a "greatly reduced budget." The broadsheet format of the Quill was abandoned in 1934-1935.
Further changes were introduced with the January 15, 1963 (Vol. 53, No. 6) edition of the Quill. In the editorial section of that issue, the staff commented that "the Quill has remained as it is, in size, pattern and almost in content for the last fifty years!" In response, they introduced a weekly Quill (the Quill was first published as a weekly in 1937) and proclaimed that "we find the miserly, pamphlet-sized, shrunken-like Quill no more. In its stead, a fully-grown, broad-shouldered, new Quill has risen." Changes included the creation of the Feature and Intervarsity sections, with their own editors, a definite format in the 'lay-out' of articles, and the 'set-up' of pages, as well as a basic and overall reorganization of the Quill staff.
In September 1969 (Vol. 60, No. 1), Acting Editor Tom Brook and the Quill staff clarified the position and purpose of the Quill as follows: "The primary purpose of the Quill is to bring to the attention of the students of Brandon University the issues and events that have direct implications on the lives of these people. We do and will continue to editorialize in our reporting. It may be not as strong as that seen in the past. But the Quill staff does feel that subjective evaluation of events after the case has been put factually is valid, and this shall be a policy that will be adhered to during the coming year." They also took a moment to point out that the Quill, although a student press, was not a commercial newspaper. Furthermore, they wanted "to see the Quill move closer to the concept of the bourgeois pressbut not so close that it loses its identification with students and the issues that concern them."
By 1971, the Quill had adopted the statement of principle of the Student Press in Canada as outline in the Resolutions of the Canadian University Press. Printed on the front page of the September 24 edition, the Quill stated the following policy: It is ". . . our belief 'that the major role of the student press is to act as an agent of social change, striving to emphasize the rights and responsibilities of the student citizen', and 'that the student press must in fulfilling this role perform both an educative and an active function.'" The policy went on to declare that the Quill, as an alternative press (an alternative to the commercial press), rather than a newspaper, was "limited to presenting news which the commerical press does not handle and to providing news analysis." The democratic nature of the Quill was also clearly stated in the policy.
The structure of the Quill was altered again in 1984, when an editorial board was instated, replacing the previous editor-in-chief system (although in most cases there was more than one editor in any given year). This board was to function as an organizing unit, with the collective electing officers for a one year term. The collective was made up of members, who had to contribute something to the Quill in one out of every three issues, in order to vote. Contributions included actual content for the paper, production, typing, photography work, office clean-up, or anything else that helped the Quill function. The central concern of the Quill, at the time of these changes, was to represent the "wide variety of social issues which interest Brandon University students." (September 27, 1984). The 'wide variety of social issues' was expanded upon in the September 3, 1987 edition of the Quill's editorial section: "A major purpse of THE QUILL is to provide the community with news and information pertaining to local, regional, national and international issues of concern to students."
By 1993, the Editorial Board was comprised of the News Editor, the Co-ordinating Editor and the CUP Editor and was responsible for the direction and content of the newspaper each week. By 1996, the CUP Editor had been replaced by the Business Manager on the Editorial Board. Clarifying its relationship with BUSU in the November 18, 1996 edition, Co-ordinating Editor Stacey Brown quoted the Quill Constitution: "The Quill collective shall determine and regulate editorial content and policy and shall set such perimeters on acceptable advertising as it shall collectively see fit. Debate and reasonable documentation must be given beofre boycotting anything in the newspaper." She went on to state that "final decisions on most issues are made by the Editorial Board. . . " The position of Editor-in-Chief was reintroduced sometime around 2001.
In the Spring and Fall of 2000, a dispute arose between the students in charge of the production of the newspaper and the Students' Union/BUSU Communications Board. As part of the ongoing dispute the Board shut the paper down. During that time, Quill staff published the unQuill and the Daily Quill. Eventually BUSU and The Quill parted ways, with the newspaper continuing as its own entity, separate from the Brandon University Students' Union.
Throughout its history, the Quill has been a quarterly, a bi-weekly and a weekly publication. It has been printed in various formats, by a number of different companies and has been financed primarily through funding from BUSU, and at present, advertising and a student levy. In 1997, the Quill became one of the first student newspapers in Canada to produce the paper in a completely digital format. Since 2020, The Quill has alternated print and electronic editions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical editions ceased publication, and various articles were published on The Quill website (https://www.thequill.ca/). Starting with the 2023 Winter Term, physical copies, online editions and web articles were used concurrently.
The Quill has been located at a number of locations on campus. Its first home was at the base of the Bell Tower in the original Clark Hall. In the 1970s it was produced in a mobile trailer near the gymnasium, before moving to the former Students' Union office in the lower level of the McMaster Building in 1980. Finally in 1991, the Quill was moved to its current location on the second floor of the Knowles-Douglas Student Centre.
The Quill continues to be a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), and as such is provided with feature articles, news, graphics and fieldworker assistance. The Quill adheres to the CUP Statement of Principles. As a democratic collective, the Quill is open to all students and staff at Brandon University. An autonomous corporate entity since 2005, the Quill is a student run publication; the articles, editing, layout and distribution are done by the students.
Custodial History
Editions of The Quill have been acquired by the McKee Archives from BUSU and former Alumni.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of editions of The Quill publication. Some issues have been digitized from microfilmed copies held in the McKee Archives, some have been digitized by Archives staff, and others have been digitally created by The Quill and acquired by the Archives.
Notes
Adminitrative information in the History/Bio field was taken from the "Brandon Collge finding aid" prepared by Karyn Reidel for the McKee Archives in 1998 and various editions of the Quill. Post-1927, a handfull of Quill editions contain Literary Supplements. Description by Christy Henry.
The Alumni News as been published variously on a quarterly and annual schedule. With the Fall 2017 issue, the publication was rebranded as Clark Magazine.
Custodial History
Copies of the Alumni News and Clark Magazine have been received from various individuals and offices on numerous dates.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of copies of the Alumni News (1930-2017) and Clark Magazine (2017-2019).
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 10: Office of Development
10.3 Alumni Relations
Related Material
Many of the original photographs used in issues of the Alumni News are part of the Brandon University Photograph collection.
Sub sub series consists of a copy of "The Brandon University Labyrinth of Peace Project" by Angela Conrad. The Labyrinth of Peace, which opened on August 10, 2002, is situated in the Assiniboine River Corridor near the Discovery Centre in Brandon, Manitoba. The project was conceived by Dr. Alison Marshall, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.1 Faculty of Arts
Related Material
Negatives and photographs of various Brandon College/University plays are located in the Brandon University Photograph collection. Newspaper clippings regarding some of the productions are located in the Brandon University - Drama Productions file in the Institutional files in the Reading Room.
DEANS OF SCIENCE:
D.R. MOIR (1967-1974)
D. Ross Moir obtained his M.Sc. from the University of Manitoba and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty of Brandon College in the Botany Department in 1966. In 1967, he was appointed as the first Dean of Science of Brandon University. Moir resigned from the Deanship and his position in the Botany Faculty in 1973/74.
J.L. TYMAN (1975)
See MG 3 1.3 (John Tyman fonds) for biographical information on J.L. Tyman.
A.P. MIILLER - acting (1976)
A.P. Miiller was born in 1940 in Lampman, SK. He obtained his B.Sc. (engineering physics) and his M.Sc. (nuclear physics) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1962 and 1964 respectively. He received his Ph.D. (solid state physics) from McMaster University in 1969. Miiller taught in the Physics Department at Brandon Unviersity.
R.A. GILES (1977-1982)
Giles came to Brandon University in 1976, as a Professor of Physics, from Queens University in Belfast, Ireland where he served as Senior Lecturer and Assistant Dean to the Faculty of Science. Giles and his wife had four sons.
P. LETKEMAN (1982-1993/1994)
Peter Letkeman was born on February 12, 1938 in Haskett, Manitoba. He obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Manitoba in 1960 and his M.Sc. in 1961 from the same institution. From 1961-1963, Letkeman taught science in Brandon, Manitoba and from 1963-1969, he was a lecturer in the Chemistry Department at Brandon College/University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba in 1969, and completed post-doctoral research at the University of California in Riverside (1969). Letkeman was appointed Dean of Science in 1982 (the first year he was Acting Dean), until 1993/94. Following his service as Dean, Letkeman continued to teach in the Chemistry Department until his retirement from Brandon University at the end of February 2003.
He and his wife Mary had two children: Lorne and Myron. At present (January 2006), Peter Letkeman and his wife live in Brandon.
R.F.C. SMITH (1994-1995/1996 and 1998)
Roger F.C. Smith was born in Kapunda, South Australia on March 6, 1940. He attended the University of Adelaide and the University of Alberta, obtaining B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in biology. He came to Brandon University in 1973, where he taught in the Zoology Department. Smith was appointed Dean of Science for two short terms. He retired from Brandon University in 2004, and moved to Prince Edward Island.
Smith and his wife Ann had two children, Cameron and Jennifer. Roger F.C. Smith died in Charlottetown, PEI on June 16, 2019.
JANET S. WRIGHT (1999 - September 2005)
Janet Wright was born in Picton, Ontario. She obtained her B.A. Honors (Psychology) from Queen's University in 1977, her M.A. (Learning and Physiological) from the University of Guelph in 1979 and her Ph.D. (Social Psychology) from the University of Manitoba in 1987.
From 1979 to 1985, Wright held a number of teaching positions at the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. In 1986, she began working at Augustana University College. During her time there, Wright was employed as an Assistant/Associate Professor of Psychology, Chairperson of the Social Sciences Division, Academic Dean and Vice-President for Academic Affairs. Wright came to Brandon University in 1998, where she held the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Science and Associate Professor of Psychology until 2005. From 2005 to 2008, Wright was the Acting Executive Dean, Student & Interantional Affairs/University Registrar at Brandon University. In the fall of 2008, Janet Wright returned to teaching full time in Brandon University's Psychology Department.
AUSTIN GULLIVER (August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2011 - first year as Acting Dean)
Austin F. Gulliver was appointed Dean of Science for a five-year term by the Board of Governors on Febraury 23, 2006. Guilliver has taught at Brandon University since 1985, and was appointed Acting Dean of Science on August 1, 2005. He received his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Toronto in 1970. His M.Sc. (1971) and Ph.D. (1976) in Astronomy and Astrophysics were also obtained at the University of Toronto. At the time he was named Dean of Science, he was also appointed as Brandon University's Dean of Research.
Scope and Content
There are currently no records in this sub sub series.
Notes
History/Bio information for Robin Giles was taken from the Summer 1981 issue of Alumni News. History/Bio information for Janet Wright was taken from the curriculum vitae she gave to the McKee Archives (May 2008).
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.2 Faculty of Science
Edward Walker was a native of England. In 1895, he left his home in Stockport England and traveled to the village of Millwood, Manitoba where, with three of his five children, he began a new life on the Canadian settlement frontier.
Walker was a professional photographer and his fonds contains a variety of images of Millwood and the surrounding agricultural community, its people, and life. These images were produced from gelatin dry plate negatives, a process introduced around 1880 to replace the wet collodin process in which a photographic solution was applied to a glass plate just prior to exposure. Edward Walker’s pictorial account of life in and around Millwood Manitoba circa 1900 is an important photographic legacy of pioneer life on the upper reaches of the Assiniboine Valley.
The village of Millwood was - and is - located in the Assiniboine River valley close to the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border just a few miles northwest of Binscarth and a similar distance southwest of Russell. It came into existence in 1887 with the construction of the Manitoba and North-Western Railway, a road that ran diagonally through the new West from Prince Albert, North West Territories to Portage la Prairie Manitoba.
Custodial History
These photographic images are drawn from the Edward Walker fonds held at the S.J. McKee Archives. They were used in an exhibit entitled "Millwood on the Assiniboine circa 1900" in 2005. The exhibit was located on The Curve Gallery in the John E. Robbins Library and curated by Tom Mitchell.
Scope and Content
Consists of 22 photographic prints mounted on foam board used by the Archives for the display.
Notes
A selection of thes images are on display in the S. J. McKee Archives. The balance are in storage at RG 6 Brandon University fonds, Series 8: Library Services, 8.2 S.J. McKee Archives.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
Images of a Prairie City was a photography display of early Brandon circa 1912. The exhibition presented images of Brandon in the years immediately prior to the Great War when the city had moved beyond a pioneer stage and taken on the features of a modern North American urban centre, boasting parks, exhibitions, paved streets, and the latest trends in architecture and transportation.
Custodial History
These photographic images were drawn from the Alfred Fowler collection held at the S.J. McKee Archives. They were used in an exhibit entitled "Images of a Prairie City" in March 2004. The exhibit was located on The Curve Gallery in the John E. Robbins Library and curated by Christy Henry.
Scope and Content
Consists of 21 photographic prints (in frames) used by the Archives.
Notes
Seven photographs and the information page are on display in Student Services, McKenzie Building, Room 102. Six are on dislay in McKenzie Building, Room 117 and two are on display in McKenzie Building, Room 104. The remainder of the display is in storage at RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services 8.2, S.J. McKee Archives. The prints stored in the Archives should be handled with great care.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
In celebration of Brandon's 125th Birthday, the McKee Archives organized the photo exhibit "Wonder City of the Northwest," on display from June 28 until the end of August 2007 in the Curve Gallery, located on the second level of BU's John E. Robbins Library. The photographs in the exhibit marked various passages in the history of Brandon from 1882 to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. A special opening for "Wonder City of the Northwest," sponsored by the President's Office, was held on Thursday, June 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Curve Gallery.
Custodial History
These images were selected from the collections of Lawrence Stuckey and Alfred Fowler held in the S. J. McKee Archives. The exhibit was curated by Tom Mitchell and Christy Henry.
Scope and Content
Consists of the 8 information display boards used by the Archives for the Wonder City of the Northwest exhibit.
Notes
The actual photographic prints used in the exhibit were sold via silent auction at the close of the exhibit in August 2007.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
In celebration of Brandon's 125th Birthday, the McKee Archives organized the photo exhibit "Wonder City of the Northwest," on display from June 28 until the end of August 2007 in the Curve Gallery, located on the second level of BU's John E. Robbins Library. The photographs in the exhibit marked various passages in the history of Brandon from 1882 to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. A special opening for "Wonder City of the Northwest," sponsored by the President's Office, was held on Thursday, June 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Curve Gallery.
Custodial History
Contents of the file were created during the process of organizing and curating the Wonder City of the Northwest exhibit.
Scope and Content
File consists of all bids made on the photographic prints in the exhibit, the silent auction form, research gathered for the information boards (including sections of Steen and Boyce's book on Brandon)
Notes
Correspondence and budget records related to the exhibit are held in the annual correspondence and budget files.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
This is an artificially created series consisting of blueprints generated by architects in the course of the construction of the principal structures on the campus of Brandon University.
Custodial History
These records were in the possession of the Vice-president Administration and the Physical Plant Office prior to their transfer to the archives.
Scope and Content
This series consisting of blueprints generated by architects in the course of the construction of the principal structures on the Brandon College campus (1899-1967) and the Brandon University campus since 1967. The blueprints are from three construction eras on the campus the records: 1900-1922; 1960-1972 and 1980 to1996.
Notes
Nine blueprints created by the Kewaunee Manufacturing Company, Wisconsin containing plans for various laboratories and domestic science facilities were culled from the collection of blueprints. There is no specific reference to Brandon College on the blueprints. No evidence exists in the administrative records of Brandon College that laboratory equipment or furniture was acquired from this company.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 2: Board of Governors
2.1 Documents
Records were held in the Faculty of Education prior to their transfer to the McKee Archives in 2000.
Scope and Content
Fonds deals with Brandon University projects in the education systems of Swaziland and Malawi. The fonds is a product of project activities and contins records including correspondence, project summaries and reports in relation to the CIDA/BU project in Swaziland/Malawi. Within this, orientation materials for new employees and preparation materials for overseas travel, outlines of goals within the project and staff development and workshop summaries can be found. Fonds includes recommendations and project proposals, along with correspondence regarding student and teacher grading, graduations and development assessments.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.3 Faculty of Education
Two of the photos (Martin Johns and Freshie Week) are coming away from the backing board.
History / Biographical
The photographs in the exhibit were selected by Christy Henry from the Brandon University photograph collection, the Clark Hall scrapbooks, the Arend Visser collection, the Lois and Gordon Daly fonds and the Frances Percival (nee Fraser) fonds. The photos were selected to compliment slate art pieces created by Barb Flemington that were used in the same exhibit. The goal was to select photos that would reference the relationship between the slate, the buildings and the students and faculty who lived and learned at Brandon College. Henry also tried to choose images that were dynamic enough to hopefully stand on their own in addition to supporting Flemington's work. The exhibit was mounted on the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery in the John E. Robbins Library from December 1, 2008 to January 12, 2009. A closing reception was held at the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery on January 9, 2009.
Custodial History
Photographs used in the exhibit are housed in the McKee Archives. The reproductions were made by Brandon Photographics and the mounting was done by Frame Ups.
Scope and Content
Consists of the ten photographic reproductions (mounted on foam board) used for the translate exhibit.
Notes
Description by Christy Henry.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
8.2.4 Archival displays
The Brandon University Teaching and Administration series is an artificially created collection. It contains the private papers of former Brandon University faculty and staff.
Scope and Content
The series has been divided into the following sub-series:
MG 3 1.1 Errol Black
MG 3 1.2 John Mallea
MG 3 1.3 John Tyman
MG 3 1.4 Lorelei Cederstrom
MG 3 1.5 William Morrison
MG 3 1.6 Ken Hanly
MG 3 1.7 John Welsted
MG 3 1.8 Henri Francq
MG 3 1.9 D.R. MacKay
MG 3 1.10 R.B. Inch
MG 3 1.11 Dale Lakevold
MG 3 1.12 George MacDowell
MG 3 1.13 Donald Wheeler
MG 3 1.14 W.Leland Clark
MG 3 1.15 Bev Nicholson
MG 3 1.16 John Everitt
MG 3 1.17 Michael Blanar
MG 3 1.18 Christy Henry
MG 3 1.19 May Yoh
MG 3 1.20 Francis Chaplin
MG 3 1.21 John Weldon Grant
MG 3 1.22 Harvey Young
MG 3 1.23 Lorne Watson
MG 3 1.24 Lawrence Jones
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration