Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Also referred to as Pearson College UWC) is one of eighteen schools and colleges around the world in the United World Colleges movement,[1] located on Vancouver Island, Canada. It is named after the late Canadian Prime MinisterLester Bowles Pearson, winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize, and an early champion of the college. The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to "make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future".
More than 100 students are selected for each annual intake for the two-year program. In 2023-24, students represented over 100 countries and territories.[2] The college offers the International Baccalaureate diploma, and the Climate Action Leadership Diploma program, an IB Career-related Program. Both pathways incorporate experiential education approaches for students generally aged 16 to 19.
History
Lester B. Pearson, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former prime minister of Canada, was the driving force behind the founding of Pearson College UWC. After retiring from public life, Pearson became interested in the United World Colleges movement. At that time, only one United World College existed—Atlantic College in Wales, established in 1962. Pearson visited there in 1969 and met with students and faculty. He came away convinced that there must be more such colleges around the world and, in particular, one on Canada's west coast. He envisioned that:
“Students will be welcomed without regard to race, religion, or politics and we intend to establish scholarships so that the students who attend the college will be from all levels of society and will be genuine representatives of their own peoples. This system… could become a revolutionary force in international education.”
Pearson became honorary chairman of a committee formed to build what was to be known as the College of the Pacific. He worked tirelessly in the early days of the planning process, but, died in December 1972, just as the project was getting underway. Soon after his death, it was decided that the college would be renamed Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, as a living memorial to his legacy. John Lang Nichol was chosen as initial chairman of the board of trustees and a major fundraising effort began, with over four million dollars raised, 83 per cent coming from individuals, corporations, and foundations, both domestic and foreign, and the remaining 17 per cent from governments around the world. Ground broke on the college's construction on 25 September 1973.
Over the next year, Jack Matthews, the founding director of the college, recruited a faculty of men and women from Canada and abroad and, on 25 September 1974, the inaugural cohort of 100 students arrived. An official opening the following year was attended by the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, then President of United World Colleges International Council,[3] and Jean Chrétien.[4]
Mountbatten's great-nephew, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now Charles III, King of Canada), who also served as President of UWC, established the Prince of Wales Scholarship and would visit the college again between 30 March and 3 April 1980 and 29 to 31 October 1982 and,[5] in 2009, met with then-Director David Hawley and four Prince of Wales Scholarship recipients, one each from Kenya, Romania, Nicaragua, and Canada.[3]
Up to 200 students have since attended each year; approximately 4,400 students have graduated from Pearson College UWC and alumni have built careers in a variety of sectors and professions in every corner of the globe. Pearson College UWC continues to be funded through individuals, alumni, corporations, foundations, select provincial and civic governments in Canada, and some UWC donors.
Academics and administration
Walkway leading to QOL¸EW̱ House, one of Pearson College's residential buildings
The College's main academic curriculum follows the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme – Pearson was the first school in Canada to adopt the IB Diploma Programme. Students are also required to participate in community-oriented services, cultural activities, and physical fitness. A highlight of the academic year is the student-driven, professional-level dance, music and cultural show, "One World", which attracts audiences from Victoria and surrounding communities.
Marine Science Laboratory at Pearson College
Admission
All UWC students are selected based on merit, promise and potential. Each of the nearly 160 United World College National Committees makes recommendations for admission to UWC schools independently and according to their individual selection procedures. Admission is competitive and is deliberately intended to reflect diversity in all respects. Sponsorship to fund scholarships that help make it possible for more students to attend Pearson comes from a variety of organizations, foundations, governments and individual donors. A limited number of students are selected through the UWC Global Selections Program.
Administration
On August 1, 2023, Canadian Jason McBride was officially appointed president and head of college.[6]
Campus
Floating Building – Pearson College UWC
The college is located on the shores of Pedder Bay, near Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island, on the traditional territory of the Sc'ianew (Beecher Bay) First Nation. The college provides an excellent location for environmental studies thanks to the surrounding woodlands and the nearby Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, an ecological conservation area maintained by the college. Pearson works in partnership with BC Parks, the Canadian Coast Guard and several other committed parties to ensure a resident volunteer Ecoguardian is always present on Race Rocks.
The college has five residence houses that accommodate all students in dorm rooms and, in a connected apartment, resident "houseparents." Houseparents can include some faculty and staff of the college. All student residence houses accommodate male and female students on separate floors and are equipped with a dayroom for study and relaxation. Campus facilities also include a large dining hall, an indoor swimming pool and fitness facility, a large library with study and classroom areas, a student commons building, two theatre-style seating lecture halls as well as traditional classrooms, labs and a floating marine sciences building.
The college's proximity to Pedder Bay allows a broad range of waterfront programs. A fleet of sail boats, kayaks, canoes, and Scuba diving equipment are also available for supervised student use. Students can access activities only after appropriate training.
Graduates
View from the Community Lawn of the college. In the distance are the Olympic Mountains.
Seventeen graduating students have been selected as Loran Scholars,[9] the highest number of any single secondary school, one graduate has been awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and 15 graduates have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships. After graduation, students are eligible to participate in the Davis United World College Scholars Program, which funds undergraduate study based on need at select American universities. In a recent year, the graduating class of Pearson College UWC was collectively awarded $12.5 million in scholarships.[10]
Notable alumni
Evan Adams, Canadian actor and Deputy Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia
