The Office of the Registrar was created in 1910. The person in the Registrar’s position was in charge of many aspects of administration. The Registrar was to be drawn from the united departments of Arts and Theology and had four main functions:
1. To have charge (in conference with the President) of all correspondence with prospective students and with previously registered students of the College, in respect to courses of study.
2. To receive students from the Heads of the several Faculties, these Heads of Faculties having indicated by card the department and to register the student and furnish him with a card to the Bursar of the College indicating the fees called for by the course or courses of study, for which the student is registered.
3. To record the class standings of students from the reports furnished by the instructors.
4. To furnish the President with certified copies of such reports as are called for by the terms of affiliation with McMaster, or as he may otherwise require.
Along with these specific functions the Registrar was an officer of the Board of Directors, the Executive, an ex-officia member of the Senate and College Council. The Registrar also acted as the liaison between Brandon College and McMaster University. Following the “Act to Incorporate Brandon College Incorporated” in 1939, the Registrar became Secretary of the Senate and liaison between Brandon College and the University of Manitoba. From the period 1910 to 1967 there was no less than ten Registrars, many of them also taking on the task of Bursar.
BRANDON COLLEGE REGISTRARS:
S.J. MCKEE (1910-1920)
Information on S.J. McKee can be found under the heading MG 1 Brandon College Teaching and Learning.
S. EVERTON (1920-1923)
No biographical information yet.
L.S. JOHNSTON (1923-1924)
No biographical information yet.
CYRIL F. RICHARDS (1924-1935)
Cyril Fuller Richards was born in Dunedin, New Zeland. He came to America in 1905, taking his college prepatory work at the academy of Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon. Richards spent seven years at Linfield College, four as he earned his B.Sc. and three as an instructor in biology. During that time he also became a naturalized American citizen and married Alice Louise Wood. Together they had one child, Margaret Ruth, who died in 1943.
After leaving Linfield College, Richards obtained his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School. In 1924, he joined the faculty of Brandon College as Registrar and Professor of Psychology and Philosophy. Richards left the Registar position in 1935 to take over as College Dean. During his years at Brandon College, he also received his M.A. from the University of Manitoba (1935).
In 1937, Richards accepted the position of Dean of Men at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Richards held this position until 1945, having been appointed Dean of the College there the preceding year. In 1950-1951, he served as acting President of Denison, becoming Vice-President following the appointment of the new president. Richards recieved an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Linfield College in 1947.
Cyril Fuller Richards died in September 1954 at the age of 59 in Granville, Ohio.
M.S. DONOVAN (1935-1936)
No biographical information yet.
N. KEITH MCKINNON (1936-1938)
Information can be found under the heading Office of the Bursar.
H. STEWART PERDUE (1938-1948)
Information on Dr. Perdue can be found under the heading Office of the College Dean.
D.R. MACKAY (1948-1962)
D.R. MacKay was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He graduated from Brandon College in 1939. MacKay served in the Canadian Army in Canada and Overseas from 1940 to 1947. He was appointed Registrar/Bursar in 1948. MacKay also served as Comptroller, Public Relations Officer, Director of Development and Secretary to the Board of Governors. He remained as Bursar until after Brandon College became Brandon University. He received the Alumni Award in 1974, and the Distinguished Service Award in 1981. MacKay retired in 1984, then served on the Brandon University Foundation Board of Directors. He died on April 1, 1990.
NORMA E. WALMSLEY (1962-1964)
Dr. Walmsley served in the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division in World War II. At the time she became Registrar she was an Associate Professor of Political Science. In 1964, Walmsley resigned as Registrar to accept a position on the Research Branch of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
L.F. PELTZ (1965-Brandon University)
No biographical information yet.
Scope and Content
This series is primarily correspondence between the Registrar of Brandon College and various other people. The letters deal with students, examinations, curriculum, scholarships, and tuition. The Registrar was the liaison between McMaster University and the University of Manitoba when dealing with subject matter during the time that Brandon College was affiliated with these schools. There is a great deal of correspondence between the Brandon College Registrars and the Registrars from these schools. The series also includes correspondence to students from the Registrar regarding room and board at the College. Student and class standings are also included in this collection. Most of the student records are arranged alphabetically by year.
Notes
History/Bio information on C.F. Richards taken from a Brandon Sun article (September 8, 1954).
Storage Location
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Series 4: Office of the Registrar
Related Material
See RG 6, sub series 4.2 (Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance), RG 6, series 10 (Office of Development) and MG 3 1.9 Don MacKay for additional records related to D.R. MacKay.
Arrangement
Series has been divided into eleven sub-series, including: (1) S.J. McKee; (2) S. Everton; (3) L.S. Johnston; (4) Cyril F. Richards; (5) M.S. Donovan; (6) N. Keith McKinnon; (7) H. Stewart Perdue; (8) D.R. MacKay; (9) Norma E. Walmsley; (10) L.F. Peltz; and (11) Registration cards.
