What happens when a university course invites students to produce creative works that engage difference constructively? On the University of Waterloo campus, in fall 2025, fourteen undergraduate students chose to tackle division intentionally, through a new interdisciplinary course.
In late March, a group of Conrad Grebel University College students and staff sat around a roaring fire in a tent near Victoria Park in Kitchener. This visit was the culmination of a winter term Grebel book club focused on the life story of Clarence Cachagee, founder of Crow Shield Lodge.
Imagine the dreams that become possible when financial barriers are removed for students. Senator V. Peter Harder (BA 1975, Hon. LLD 2005) has committed $50,000 annually to support University of Waterloo undergraduate and graduate students connected to Conrad Grebel University College who are pursuing international learning opportunities.
Conrad Grebel University College was buzzing with music and conversation on November 29, 2025, as friends and family of Dr. Tom Lee joined together toward a shared purpose of celebrating Tom while also fundraising for the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement.
The Canadian Council of Churches and Conrad Grebel University College are pleased to announce a two-year agreement in support of Project Ploughshares, under which Paul Heidebrecht is seconded to serve as the Director of Project Ploughshares.
Not only does Grebel have a long legacy of talented and engaged professors, but many students in Grebel courses and dorm rooms have gone on to become distinguished scholars in their own right. We were delighted to hear from alumni studying very diverse topics—reflective of the conversations students might have around the lunch table. We asked them to explain their scholarship to a non-expert and to share a question that is the basis of their work right now. We wanted to know if their work today relates to what they studied as an undergraduate student and how Grebel might have influenced their career path. These profiles are just a glimpse into the scholarship of some of the many Grebel alumni inspired by curiosity in their work.
For more than two decades at Grebel, Peter Hart has been a consistent, kind presence for residents. As a custodian at Grebel for 24 years, Peter was initially in charge of cleaning the residence wing, where he made genuine connections with students. For decades, Peter has been invested in student lives and their successes.
As rain seeped into clothes and muddy rivulets ran down the path, 31 Grebel alumni and friends were taking a slippery hike into the mountains of Bäretswil, Switzerland. Their destination was a hidden cave known as the “Täuferhöhle,” where Anabaptists once worshipped in secret. In the dim, damp cavern, the group sang hymns and shared a meaningful communion service, breaking bread with others who had also made the trek.
At the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA), knowledge gained through research is valued. Even more important is that knowledge becomes practice, to enhance life for older adults. Research generated through the RIA’s Spirituality & Aging program housed at Grebel is directly supporting spiritual care in long-term care (LTC) through resources provided online to the LTC sector.
Funding building and infrastructure upgrades in buildings that are more than 60 years old isn’t always exciting. However, Grebel alumni and donors have helped to embrace this challenge.