News

When students moved into Conrad Grebel University College this fall, they were met with gleaming new washrooms and bright corridors. After four months of construction, four of the six washrooms in Grebel’s residence building have been completely renovated, improving both student experience and building operations.  

The year 2025 marks 500 years since a group of young radicals gathered secretly in Zürich, Switzerland. They had fallen out with city and religious officials about issues such as the baptism of children and the separation of church and state. At that meeting, two of the young adults baptized each other, marking the first adult baptism in early modern Europe and the start of the Anabaptist movement. Despite facing persecution and death, the movement spread across Europe. Anabaptists now include Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, and Brethren in Christ. The people and the religious movement have now spread around the world. 

This year, for Mennonite Heritage Week, Conrad Grebel University College has prepared a self-guided Mennonite Art Tour for visitors interested in learning about the history, culture, values, thought, and religion of Mennonites.  

Darren DeMelo (MTS 2017) pursued a Master of Theological Studies degree at Grebel to learn alongside fellow Mennonite, Anabaptist, and peace tradition scholars. He is currently a co-founder of and pastor at Estuary Church in Delta, British Columbia, and works part-time at Vancouver General Hospital as a spiritual care intern. He is looking forward to moving back to Waterloo with his family in the fall, where he will be co-pastor at Waterloo North Mennonite Church. 

For Conrad Grebel University College resident Jared Dyck, studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo hasn’t just been about equations and design; it also came with a soundtrack. Thanks to his love of music, Jared has meshed choral singing with university life, bringing creativity and balance to a demanding academic path. 

This spring, Grebel turned into a space for listening, wandering, and discovering the sounds of the medieval past through a chant-inspired soundwalk. The soundwalk invited visitors to explore and listen to medieval chants originating from many different time periods and locations. 

Jay Knetsch is a 3rd-year Creative and Professional Writing student who lives at Grebel. For Pride month, they reflected on what it’s like living at Grebel as part of the Queer Community. 

The Conrad Grebel University College community is pleased to highlight some notable students who are graduating this week. These students have demonstrated academic excellence throughout their degrees and are recognized for their hard work and achievement in their respective fields. 

The Conrad Grebel University College community is delighted to introduce Madeleine Neufeld and Max Chute as new Campus Hosts, while bidding a heartfelt farewell to Charles Biswas and Clare Malakar, who have served in this position for the last two and a half years. 

The Conrad Grebel Review, established in 1983, was an initiative of Conrad Grebel University College’s first Chaplain and Religious Studies Professor Walter Klaassen. In his introduction to the first issue, he located the journal at a critical moment of Mennonite self-assurance and noted that the time was ripe for a journal that looked at the present and towards the future.

The spring term at Conrad Grebel University College is often a time for construction or renovation projects. This year, as part of Grebel’s residence renewal projects, the College is completely replacing four of six residence washrooms, marking a major step forward in this capital project.