The Canadian Journal of Higher Education La revue canadienne d'enseignement supérieur Volume XXX1I1, No. 2, 2003 pages 115-138 Book Reviews / Comptes Rendus Friedland, Martin L. (2002). The University of Toronto: A history. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. Pages: 764. Price: $60.00 CAD. Reviewed by James D. Cameron, St. Francis Xavier University. Over the past few decades Canadian historians have published the individual University histories of McMaster (1976), Queen's (1978), McGill (1980), the University of Saskatchewan (1983) Mount Allison (1984), St. Dunstan's (1989), Bishop's (1994), Dalhousie (1994), St. Francis Xavier (1996), Mount St. Vincent's (1999), and the University of Manitoba (2001). Such institutional biographies present certain challenges. However, none compare to the challenge posed by the University of Toronto (U of T), an institution with a 175 year history, three campuses and more than 50,000 full- and part-time students. Martin Friedland, U of T alumnus, former Dean of Law, and now University Professor and Professor of Law Emeritus, has risen to the challenge. His history, published in 2002 on the occasion of U of T's 175th anniversary, is the first since 1927. It is a masterful and massive piece of scholarship (764 pages, plus 500 pages of notes published separately) that fills a gapping hole in the historiography of Canadian higher education. At last, Canada's premiere academic institution has an up-todate, comprehensive history. Friedland's tome includes a prologue, eight parts composed of 42 chapters, an epilogue, sources, credits, and an index. His narrative begins in 1826 and concludes in 2000. It is based on archival records, 13 2 Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus private diaries, interviews, secondary sources, and his experience as a student and faculty member. Sixty-one readers reviewed the entire manuscript before it was finalized. The chapters are usually no more than twenty pages and some are much shorter. Each is liberally illustrated and the illustrations are appropriately captioned. The first nine chapters chart U of T's beginnings from 1826 to the 1880s. Friedland describes how the Anglican, Rev. John Strachan, obtained a royal charter from London in 1827 to establish King's College and educate youth in the Christian religion, science, and literature. The charter, with its religious tests for faculty and administrators, was controversial because Anglicans were a minority in Upper Canada. The endowed college was not built until 1842; religious controversy and rebellions delayed the project. Then in 1849, Premier Robert Baldwin secularized King's and created the "godless" University of Toronto. All religious tests were abolished. The enraged Strachan immediately worked to replace King's by establishing Trinity College. Meanwhile, the colleges of Victoria (Methodist) and Queen's (Presbyterian) had been founded in 1841. Friedland's history traces other early developments. A new 1853 act gave the government control of the University and created University College headed by a president (U of T became an examining body with a chancellor as head). The denominational colleges were encouraged to join U of T, and after Confederation their government grants were terminated. A School of Practical Science was established in the 1870s, laboratories created, and Darwin's ideas increasingly accepted. Women were admitted in 1884 and worked toward full participation in campus life. Six chapters compose Part Two entitled "Federation." U of T's relation to the denominational colleges again emerged as an issue in the 1880s. The end result was the continued affiliation of Knox and Wycliffe (basically theological colleges), the rejection of federation by Queen's and Toronto Baptist College (McMaster), and the subsequent federation of St. Michael's (1890), Victoria (1890) and Trinity (1904). Friedland also discusses new faculty appointments, disputes over candidate's qualifications and whether U of T graduates should be hired, and the challenges of recruitment and retention. Critically important moves into professional The Canadian Journal of Higher Volume XXXII I, No. 2, 2003 Education Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus 117 education came with the establishment of faculties of medicine (1887) and law (1889), and affiliations with schools of dentistry (1888), pharmacy (1892), agriculture (1887), and the Ontario Veterinary College (1897). Friedland comments, "Toronto was becoming much more than an arts and science college" (p. 148). This second part concludes with chapters on the fire of 1890 and the student strike five years later. Friedland g r o u p s his next six chapters under the heading "Aspirations." The creation of doctoral programs in 1897 "was a crucial step towards the University of Toronto's becoming a significant research institution" (p. 185). An alumni association (1900) brought benefits, and in 1905, Premier James Whitney (Conservative) increased funding to U of T. His royal commission on the University issued in a new University act (1906) that removed direct government control by creating a government-appointed board of governors (a senate already existed). The position of University president was created and the chancellor became largely ceremonial. Two chapters cover the important presidency of Robert Falconer (1907-1932) who stressed the centrality of the humanities, emphasized research and graduate work, worked for higher faculty salaries, and defended academic freedom. The next two parts—"Turbulence" and "Growth"-—range over key events from 1914 to 1960. These include the impact of World War I and U of T's important contribution to it, the construction of Hart House, and the good times of the 1920s created by increased government funding, athletic prowess, Trinity's move to campus in 1925, and progress in research and graduate studies. However, the 1930s were "Depressing Times." Nonetheless, external funding helped to found new programs. The Second World War was disruptive, threatened the humanities and shifted interest to medicine and engineering. Next, Friedland targets key changes after the war, such as, administrative shifts, the impact of the veterans, and the emergence of computer science. Chapters thirty and thirty-one deal with planning for growth required by the baby boom, the achievements of President Sydney Smith, and the financing of expansion through a financial campaign and federal grants to the universities. New colleges were established in the early 1960s, such as Innis (1964), New College (1962), Scarborough (1963) and Erindale. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXII1, No. 2, 2003 13 2 Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus Part Six, "Expanding Horizons," captures the optimism and growth of the 1960s. This includes the story of Massey College (1962), the foundation of the affiliated Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and the opening of the Robarts research library (1973). Keen interest in cross-disciplinary work led to the establishment of "numerous multidisciplinary centres and institutes" (p. 478). Friedland provides an informative overview of the University of Toronto Press, and describes the massive expansion of engineering and medicine through the sixties. The next section—"Adjustment"—reviews the student activism of the sixties that changed the University but simultaneously "somewhat tarnished" its public image (p. 542). A unique and controversial unicameral system of governance was instituted in 1972. Subsequent decades brought massive problems created by fiscal restraint as well as important gains for the faculty association. Friedland has entitled his final section "Raising the Sights." He records the University's improving fortunes in the later 1980s. Reform and renewal occurred across important dimensions of the University, while controversies remained over racism and the influence of benefactors and corporations on U of T ' s affairs. A f t e r discussing the University's improved financial position in the late 1990s owing to new provincial and federal programs, Friedland concludes by noting the "fundamentally good shape" of U of T, the important 1999 presidential appointment of Robert Birgeneau, and the University's first place ranking ( 1 9 9 4 - 2 0 0 0 ) in the annual MacLean's survey category of medical/doctoral. The epilogue is an effective conclusion built around his walk through campus that elicited reflections on U of T's history and its future challenges and aspiration "to rank with the best public research universities of the world" (p. 679). Friedland's history is a landmark book for U of T. Yet it has some flaws. The chapter titles are rather bland, for example, "Starting Over," "Medicine," and "Student Activism." In addition, an appendix composed of statistical tables and University hallmarks would have provided a good supplement to the narrative. The contextualization—economic, political, and demographic—could be stronger. Much of the narrative is preoccupied with famous professors, the work of administrators, and the The Canadian Journal of Higher Volume XXXII I, No. 2, 2003 Education 132Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus construction of new buildings. While not neglected, student life at U of T is less visible than it warrants. Support staff remain largely in the shadows. The role of the colleges and their impact on the University is left rather vague. However, it must be acknowledged that the author faced difficult decisions about selection of content. Finally, a question: Friedland's participation in the recent life of the University gives him the insider's perspective. But did his intimacy with its affairs, and friendship with many of the participants who are still living affect his frankness and objectivity? The admirable strengths of this University history should be underscored. The task for Friedland and his assistants was to produce "a scholarly yet accessible one-volume history" (p. ix). It was a monumental and complex task; the final result is a narrative of excellent quality that fills a large gap in the history of Canadian higher education and scholarship. The story is written in clear, well-organized and serviceable prose. The material—thoroughly researched, carefully documented, substantial and interesting—is presented in finely illustrated and easily digestible chapters. While the tone is celebratory, U of T has much to' celebrate in architecture, innovation, research contributions, educational excellence, and overall service to Canadian higher education and scholarship. Friedland's "perfect post-retirement project" has made an important, enduring and praiseworthy contribution to his alma mater and to Canadian history * * • Axelrod, Paul. (2002). Values in conflict: The university, the marketplace, and the trials of liberal education. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen's University Press. Pages: 203 (146 text). Price: $65.00 CAD (cloth). Reviewed by Donald Fisher, University of British Columbia. Like most other analysts, Paul Axelrod assumes the university is in a period of transition perhaps crisis. He locates himself somewhere between the evolutionists and the revolutionists. For Axelrod, the causes of change are clear and for the most part without internal contradictions. The policy environment for higher education is dominated by an economic The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXII I, No. 2, 2003