University of Guelph celebrates 150 years of agricultural innovation

A major, year-long celebration is officially underway at the University of Guelph as the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) celebrates its 150th anniversary.

The OAC welcomed its first class of 28 students on May 1, 1874. Lessons, back then, were held on the property’s farmhouse.

A lot has changed over OAC’s 150 year history, including new research, new buildings, and a growing student population.

“It’s been amazing to look back at some of the recollections and memories that people have been sharing with us,” OAC Acting Dean John Cranfield told CTV News ahead of Wednesday’s celebration.

To help mark the occasion, the university put a call out to alumni, asking them to share photos and memories of their time at the AOC. The photos range from black and white stills of people in white lab coats, to more recent pictures of people proudly representing the school by sporting their ‘Aggies’ jackets.

Wednesday’s kick off celebration featured a special lunch menu developed around some of the school’s most prestigious creations, including the Yukon Gold potato that was created by OAC researcher Gary Johnson in 1980 and the Guelph Millennium asparagus cultivated in the early-2000s.

Afterwards, students, staff and faculty were invited to the Waasamowin atrium, inside the Summerlee Science Complex, for a social featuring honey and peach ice cream made especially for the 150th anniversary.

"Heart of Stone" ice cream celebrates the 150-year history of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)

A deep rooted history

Although the OAC first started accepting students in 1874, it wasn’t until 1887 that the school offered its three-year program for a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. The school only continued to grow over the following decades.

One of the most notable buildings on campus honours the soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War. War Memorial Hall was built to remember the 109 students who enlisted, and later died, during the conflict. According to the university’s website, the students of the OAC 1924 cohort dug the foundation for the building by hand.

It is one of several legacy buildings that still stand today, including the Bullring which was once known as the Judging Pavilion, but now acts as a watering hole for both students and staff.

“The thing that’s not changed about us is the place. You can look back at our history and you can recognize parts of the campus that are still the same today, which I think is a really amazing legacy of what we have as a college, that while things have changed around us there’s parts of the college and the campus that still remain true to those original days of the OAC,” Cranfield said.

Acting OAC Associate Dean John Cranfield poses in front of previous versions of the OAC jackets on May 1, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)

Beyond the campus, some of the early research completed at the OAC continues to have an impact.

“I look back at some of the studies that we used to do as a college in the late-1800s that are now just commonplace in agriculture,” Cranfield explained. “It’s really quite moving because I think about the cutting edge science that we have now and what we’re doing – the discoveries and the breakthroughs that we’re discovering now, and I hope that in 150 years someone else looks back and says: ‘Wow. That must have been amazing that that was cutting edge science then, but it’s now commonplace.’ It’s an accepted practice and viewed as best practice.”

On a lighter note, the OAC also took part in one of the University of Guelph’s longest-standing traditions to mark its anniversary.

The Cannon, lovingly named ‘Old Jeremiah,’ is a British naval gun that has been on campus since the 1880s. It’s also rumoured to have been used in the War of 1812.

As tradition dictates, the OAC repainted Old Jeremiah on Tuesday night under the cover of darkness.

The Cannon, also known as 'Old Jeremiah,' painted for the OAC's anniversary. (Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)

Reacting to growing needs

Despite the dedication to its roots, the OAC has had to adapt as agricultural needs have changed.

Cranfield said their current outreach efforts involve encouraging more people to consider a career in agriculture.

He said it’s important to show young people how diverse it can be.

“Agriculture isn’t just about what happens at the farm level,” Cranfield explained. “That’s critical to everything in agriculture, there’s an input sector that matters a lot. And then there’s the whole food processing sector, and what we found is helping people understand the role of STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in what we do in solving problems that are faced by people individually or collectively as a society.”

He believes, going forwards, STEM will shape how the school approaches various agricultural disciplines.

What’s next

Wednesday’s celebration was just the first of several events planned for OAC’s anniversary.

The school is inviting its grads to join them for the 2024 OAC Alumni Association’s Annual General Meeting on May 14 at the Arboretum Centre.

The school will also host an OAC 150th Celebration Dinner on June 22 at Johnston Green, coinciding with Alumni Reunion Weekend. The event will include food, music and the launch of an exclusive OAC 150 beer.

More information can be found on the university’s website.