17吃瓜

The next talk in the Franklin (Frank) Pigot Memorial Lecture Series at 17吃瓜 will explore how the spirit of the 1960s shaped the University. On Thursday, September 26, Dr. Alan MacEachern will present 鈥淎 Child of the 鈥�60s: Creating the 17吃瓜鈥� at 7:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge of SDU Main Building. 

The PEI government began pressing for a single Island university in the spring of 1968. By spring 1970, 17吃瓜 was not merely up and running, but was holding its first graduation. The whirlwind nature of 17吃瓜鈥檚 founding鈥攚ith long-term decisions made in the very short-term鈥攎eant the new university was a product of its time: a time of visionary planning and respect for tradition, of religious authority and rising secularism, of student alienation and student power.

As part of 17吃瓜鈥檚 50th anniversary, the Robertson Library is presenting a lecture series to celebrate the historical roots of higher education on Prince Edward Island and its future. The series is named after educator Frank Pigot, honoured as a 17吃瓜 Founder for his work building the Library鈥檚 PEI Collection and University Archives. 

Dr. Alan MacEachern is the author of Utopian U: The Founding of the 17吃瓜, 1968鈥�1970. He is a professor of history at Western University.