About Student Experience and Housing

Coincidentally, our beloved mascot, Reni Moose, was also born on this day. Reni Moose was named after the Diocese of "Moosonee" to which Renison's namesake served as the Archibishop for within the Anglican Church of Canada. 

Our first Renison Don was David Howe, who oversaw students in three bedrooms in the house. Howe's primary duties included "collecting the rent, resolving any conflicts, and enforcing the house rules". Among these rules, established collaboratively by the House Committee of the Board of Governors and the students, required that no women be in the house unless Harold Soanes or Sherman Wright, both House Committee members, were present. 

Renison College opened as a men's residence at 193 Albert Street, Waterloo, directly opposite Waterloo Lutheran University (WLU). Renison was the first institution to be affiliated with the newly-established University of Waterloo, and also the first Anglican college to be named after a contemporary Canadian church leader, honouring the Most Reverend Robert John Renison. The residence offered accommodations for seven male students and featured a small chapel, chaplain's office, study and meeting space for students, and a small library.

Renison's first Chaplain was the Rev. Allan Barker, who had an MA in Geography from the University of Wisconsin, in addition to theological training. 

By September 1960, the College teaching staff had grown to three, with the Rev. J.R. Horne and the Rev. J.T. McKibbon joining Rev. Barker. James McKibbon, who held a BA from Western University and a Licentiate in Theology from Huron College assisted with teaching and the development of student activities.

The tradition of naming residence floors began in the 1960s, with the floor that would become renowned as Animal starting off with the much more innocuous moniker of Toad Hall. 

In light of Archbishop Renison's association with the Diocese of Moosonee, the moose was chosen as the College's mascot. The first impressive moose head to be given pride of place in the student lounge was reportedly a gift from Carl Dunker. The residents affectionately named it Bullwinkle, after the popular moose cartoon character of the time. 

Mrs. Ruth M. Rolph was appointed as the college's first dean of students, where she was given a small apartment at the College, and it was her responsibility to act as a resource to the students and to enforce the College residence rules. 

Another important addition to the Renison community was Erna Borch, who began as a part-time housekeeper to help clean up our community. Indicative of the close bonded that formed between staff and students, several students who were studying German would ask her for help. It got to the point that if she was in the linen closet, Principal Rees knew she was tutoring students in German.

The newly-opened campus opened with administrative offices, a small number of classrooms, library, dining room, and residence space for 80 students. Four days later, the new building opened its door to the 43 students who registered as Arts students to begin taking classes at the College, 18 of whom were women.

Thirty-seven of the registrants joined 37 Engineering students, 11 Science students, and 2 graduate students as Renison College's first residents in our present-day building. Among the first-year Engineering students included Robert Rosehart, who later became president of both Lakehead and Wilfrid Laurier universities, and served briefly as an interim principal at Renison. 

The affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo were first in building residences on campus, as the University of Waterloo would not open its first residence until 1965. 

Jim Horne was appointed during the 1963-1964 academic year to the position of chaplain and lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Knowledge.

Marion Murray assumed the roles of business manager and dean of women, and Alois (Louis) Zimmerhansl took over as chef, employed through Beaver Foods. Chef Zimmerhansl was a beloved Chef for students from 1964 until 1986.

A new men's residence opened for 100 students. The newly appointed dean of residents and chaplain, Rev. Terence Finlay, participated in opening ceremonies in conjunction with the College's Charter Day dinner. Rev. Finlay served in his role for a period of two years. Rev. Finlay and his wife, Alice Jean, lived in a small apartment in the men's residence, until 1966. 

The new men's residence would be known today as Midway, Loft, Animal, and Fubar residence floors.

Originally, men were not permitted in the women's residence, nor women in the men's residence, although by 1965-66, visits to the rooms belonging to members of the opposite sex were permitted one Sunday afternoon a month during clearly specified hours. During this period, the room door had to be kept fully open.

There was also a curfew of 11:00pm for first-year students and 11:30pm for senior students from Monday through Thursday. Curfew on weekends was 2am on Fridays, 1am on Saturdays, and midnight on Sundays.

The College also had a dress code that prohibited the wearing of "shorts, Bermuda shorts, slacks, T-shirts, bedroom slippers, and housecoats" to class, the dining room, other public rooms, or offices. There was also a College rule that there be no consumption of beer, wine, or spirits on campus; students were informed that violation of this rule would lead to automatic expulsion. 

A student council was in place to organize events such as Frosh Week, College dances, and "slave auctions", and to coordinate the construction of Renison's floats for UWaterloo's Homecoming parades and ice sculptures for the winter carnivals. 

Council also organized the coffee and donut snacks that drew residents together on weeknights for an hour before curfew to socialize. 

The Rev. William Hockin was appointed chaplain, filling the role during the next academic year, before moving on to a highly successful career in the Anglican Church, including as bishop of Fredericton.

Rev. William Townson was appointed as Chaplain in the Summer of 1967. He was very popular with the students, who affectionately referred to him as Father Bill, and during his four-year tenure at the College, chapel attendance grew. 

St. Bede's Chapel played an important role in keeping the College rooted in its Anglican heritage and in enabling those students who were so included to develop their spirituality.

In the 1960s, momentous Renison traditions began throughout the college, including the launch of Wind In and Wind Out. Designed as a celebration at both the start and ends of the school year, these popular celebrations continue today. 

The residence students had an established organization, Renisix, in the 1970s to organize events and to take their issues to the College authorities. Renisix remains in place as our student leadership committee for residence students to this day!

Men and women students at Renison became active in the many team sports that UWaterloo offered. The male residents became especially well known for their passion for basketball. The Renison Rats was a team that hosted an annual intramural basketball team. 

While Bill Townson served as Chaplain at Renison, he arranged for the College basketball team to practice in the spacious gym at St. John the Evangelist in Kitchener. 

By 1973, there was no College Chaplain, but local Anglican priests continued to celebrate the Eucharist once a week in the College chapel and made themselves available for student counselling. 

In 1975, Rev. David Hartry was appointed as a full-time Chaplain for Renison. David Hartry was a native of Nova Scotia, spending three and a half years prior to his arrival at Renison engaged in youth ministry in the Diocese of the Bahamas and Nassau. He began hosting services on both Wednesday and Sunday mornings in the 26-seat chapel. As membership began to exceed the chapel, the Moose Room had often begun being used for Sunday service.

In late 1980, Rev. Hartry moved into the role of "Warden of Residence", where he remained for the decade until 1989. Today, Renison continues to recognize Rev. Hartry's contributions with the David Hartry Memorial Award issued each year to a resident at Wind Out. 

During the 1980s, Renison saw an increased demand for residence from women students, reflecting the growing numbers of women attending UWaterloo. In response to this trend, the College converted the lower floor of the men's residence, once located above the library, into a women's floor and hired an additional female don. These changes resulted in residence spaces for 91 women and 84 men. 

Chaplain David Hartry's role was very busy in the 1980s! During 1981-82, Rev. Hartry was involved in nearly 745 individual counselling sessions associated with the chaplaincy. The Rev. Paul Kett was recruited from the Diocese of Toronto and joined the College in January 1983. With the Assistant Chaplain role, Rev. Hartry was able to provide daily services in St. Bede's Chapel at this time. 

In 1985, the College chose the Rev. Keith Gleed to replace Rev. Kett, bringing experience as a parish priest and as a former chaplain at Trinity College School in Port Hope. 

In 1986, Elizabeth Lapsley, who has already deserved for a dozen years as Rev. Hartry's secretary, was promoted to the position of assistant warden of residence so that Rev. Gleed could assign more of his time to chaplaincy work.

Rev. Gleed left Renison in 1987 and his role was not filled. 

In the winter term of 1987, a group of Renison residents including Judith McAdam, Gord Creesor, Paul Moon, and Dave Connolly organized the first annual charity haircutting pub to raise funds for the fight against cancer. The event became an annual tradition for many years. 

Beginning in 1987, annual haircutting events took place in February, attracting an enthusiastic group of current and former students. The event would raise thousands of dollars. By 1999, its student organizers had generated $26,000 for groups such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre, and Safe Haven teen shelter. 

In January 1989, Professor Thomas Brenner became Warden of Residence. The day-to-day functioning of the residence continued to be shared with a team of two senior dons and six other floor dons. The dons exercised the principal's disciplinary powers both individually and collectively through the Dons' Court. 

New construction was underway at the College, with the existing ground-level Moose Room being converted into a wheelchair-accessible classroom to accommodate the growing number of students with disabilities who were studying at the College. As part of the same project, a new Moose Room was built directly above its former site. 

In the early 1990s, Renison began to prioritize integrating its academic students more effectively into the life of the College for students who did not live in Renison Residence. Off-campus students came together to form the Renison Academic Students' Council (RASC). By the mid-1990s, RASC executive published a newsletter called The Rascal to keep academic students informed of college happenings.

RASC also became involved in College governance through its representatives on Academic Council, on College Council, and as of 1998, as a student representative on the college's Board of Governors. 

A groundbreaking ceremony happened on February 26, 1992, as Renison worked to construct a new dining hall, a new Chapel of St. Bede, and a large reception/meeting room below it - now known as the Dunker Family Lounge today - as well as the conversion of existing dining room and kitchen into a new library and offices. In September 1992, the new dining hall opened, offering a 200-seat Great Hall, with its wood panelling, heraldic symbols, and flags. 

Also in 1992, Thomas Brenner was relieved from his duties as Warden of Residence to teach in Social Development Studies. A new Chaplain was installed in January 1993

In the Fall 1992, residence began hosting a Parents' Orientation session following the traditional Labour Day barbecue for incoming students and their families. In addition, a "Renison Experience" newsletter was designed specifically for the parents.

In 1993, Renison academic students organized their first grad-class challenge, a fundraising program to encourage members of the graduating class to make a three-year pledge to the college. By the end of the decade, the program was well-established with outgoing classes raising thousands of dollars for projects such as bursaries, furnishings, and library acquisitions.

In 1993, famous housekeeper Erna Borsch retires. Erna was renowned for the brunches she hosted for female students each year at her home. 

In 1998, with the launch of the new Social Work program at Renison, another student body, the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Student Council, came into existence. Since the BSW students were graduates who were older and away from the college three days a week in their professional placements, they needed their own organization to represent their interests both within the program and within the larger College community. 

In 1999, residents and academic students joined together with faculty and staff members in another parade as part of the College's first appearance in KW's celebrated Oktoberfest festivities. Accompanying them was Reni Moose, a large inflated moose design. 

The Rev. Dr. Gerry Mueller joins Renison as its new Chaplain in September 2001. Having served previously at the University of Waterloo as a Chemical Engineering professor and a tutor at UWaterloo's Village residences, Rev. Mueller then became an Anglican priest. 

In 2001, the college appointed its first full-time Director of Residence, Melissa Sinclair, who had previously served as a residence supervisor at Temple University, in Philadelphia. When Sinclair returned to the USA in 2003, Jeff Newell assumed the position, which was then combined with that of co-ordinator of student life. In addition to supervising the Don team and overseeing residence operations, Newell worked closely with the two student government bodies, Renisix and RASC, with College Council, and with other college organizations to improve the student experience at Renison. A resident at Renison in the late 1980s, Newell valued and carried forward the College traditions he had experienced, like College Dinners, “Wind In” at the Concordia Club, and “Wind Out”, recognizing that they helped residents form that tight-knit community for which Renison is known. Newell departed from the role in 2017, which left the creation of Renison's Newell Cup, awarded annually to an outstanding Residence Don. 

With Rev. Mueller's retirement in August 2006, the Rev'd Megan Collings-Moore joined Renison. Rev. Collings-Moore became the first woman to fill the role of Anglican Chaplain to students at Renison. Her arrival coincided with the opening of the Ministry Centre in the newly-constructed academic building. "The Living Room", a lounge in the Centre shared with the Renison Institute of Ministry, immediately became a popular spot for students and others to relax and enjoy the treats provided for them. During her first year at the college, Rev. Collings-Moore brought dynamic programming to students, including the popular Fermented Faith at a local pub, and ongoing Tea and Questions. Rev. Collings-Moore retired from her position as of September 1, 2021. 

The Link was established in March 2003, which helped to link our Treetop, Euphoria, Down Under, and Timbuktu residence wings with Midway, Loft, Animal, and Fubar residence floors. The establishment of the Link helped to usher in the creation of our Oasis and Moose Crossing residence floors, as well as a student lounge and main office on the bottom floor. 

With the addition of the 50 students in this new complex, it was necessary to also expand the kitchen and Great Hall facilities, with a Great Hall extension created. As the Great Hall extension was created, the idea of an "East meets West" garden was founded, featuring plant species from China, Japan, and South Korea, matches with similar native species from Ontario, which is informally known now as the garden courtyard. In 2007, Renison was the recipient of 18 sakura (cherry blossom) trees from the Consulate General of Japan. 

On September 15, 2006, Renison unveiled its new academic centre which featured classrooms, the East Asian Studies Centre, and the new Lusi Wong Library. University of Waterloo alumnus Lincoln Wong contributed $350,000 to name the new library in memory of his late wife, Lusi Wong, who became a librarian following her graduation from the University of Waterloo. The new Ministry Centre was also opened at this time, housing Renison's Chaplain.

In the 2010s, programming expanded for Renison's English Language Institute. Louann Nhan served as a Student Services Coordinator for students in the Renison English Language Institute. Student volunteers were paid an honorarium to serve as peer leaders for English language learners. Nhan's role helped in developing the creation of Renison's Conversation Partner Program, an extremely popular volunteer program open to all University of Waterloo students. 

In 2015, Jen Burton joined the Housing and Student Life team as the Housing and Activities Specialist, coordinating events, peer leaders, and homestay support for English Language Institute students. Andrew Dixon also joined the English Language Institute in 2015 to provide support as their Administrative Officer, before transitioning into a role as a Student Advisor for English Language Institute students. Ryan Connell joined the English Language Institute as a Student Experience Coordinator in 2016, after providing support to Renison's BASE students as an International Student Experience Coordinator through the Student Success Office. 

In 2017, Dr. Tanya Missere-Mihas was ushered in as the Vice President, Student Affairs and Community Education. In this role, Missere-Mihas became responsible for oversight of Renison's English Language Institute, Renison International Office, Lusi Wong Library, and Housing and Student Life Department. 

2017 also saw the retirement of Cathy Plunkett, who served the Renison residence community for close to 30 years. Having started as a staff member for Beaver Foods, working in Renison's Cafeteria, Plunkett then moved to Renison's Facilities team as a custodian. Plunkett was the mom-away-from-mom to every student who lived at Renison. As a custodian, she cleaned rooms exceptionally well on a weekly basis, but the best thing about Plunkett was that she spoke with students on a daily basis. She would always call people by name, welcome them with a smile, and ask how they were doing. To the students, she was never ‘the cleaning lady’ — she was always Cathy.

In 2018, Ryan transitioned into the role of Manager, Student Experience for the English Language Institute, which grew to also support its own Student Experience Coordinator, Alex D'Alton.

A new Assistant Director, Housing and Student Life was hired at Renison in March 2018, assumed by Caroline Blouin. Erika Desjardins joined as a Residence Life Coordinator later that year.