SFU Turns Fifty

Birthdays are always a great reason to celebrate. They mark milestones in not only people’s lives but also in the lives of institutions. In September, one of Canada’s finest places of higher learning, Simon Fraser University, celebrated its fiftieth year of providing students with great educational opportunities.

This was a great moment in the university’s history to look back on not only the university’s evolution, but also some of the great accomplishments and some of the great people that have helped SFU become a world recognized place of higher learning. It was also a great time to realize the opportunities presented in the SFU real estate market.

Highlights – The Early Years

In 1963, the province of British Columbia felt the need to expand and offer more diverse opportunities for higher education. Later that year, Burnaby Mountain was chosen for the site of the second University in the Greater Vancouver region and work began to turn this vision into a reality. Simon Fraser University first opened its doors on September 9, 1965 and welcomed its first class of 2,500 students. The name of the university was chosen because it would represent the half dozen municipalities in the lower Fraser valley that the university would serve.

A University Evolves

From the beginning, the overall vision of SFU was to become a provincial leader in educational opportunities. Over the course of the past fifty years, the university has vastly increased its undergraduate fields of studies that now encompass a broad arts, science and business sector. The university has also vastly increased its graduate and post graduate fields of study. In addition to this, Simon Fraser University is a coveted place for international students and offers a vast array of international study opportunities.

As the university has grown, so too has the campus and the culture around it. Simon Fraser University is no longer just a campus and a few buildings on a lone hill in Burnaby. Rather, entire neighbourhoods have grown up around SFU offering great real estate opportunities in some of the lower mainland’s most coveted places to live. The university has also become a great place of employment, offering professional opportunities in many different educational fields and backgrounds.

Finally, SFU has also been successful in expanding its campuses into other parts of greater Vancouver. Over the past decade, SFU has opened campuses in downtown Vancouver and in Surrey. Both these satellite campuses offer bold and innovative new programs with the SFU stamp of excellence.

A Look to the Future

As SFU celebrates its fiftieth birthday and marks some very important milestones, the vision for the next fifty years is just as bold. SFU wants to continue to build and strengthen the bonds between its local, national and international supporters and partners, to continue to lead the way as one of Canada’s most community minded universities and to instill in not only its students, but also its staff and alumni a sense of community and pride. We can only hope that the next fifty years will be as exciting as SFU’s last fifty years.

If you want to become part of this exciting community, check out our recent SFU real estate listings, or give us a call today!