About us

On July 15, 1975, six brave students and a small group of faculty and staff launched St. Stephen’s University. The new Liberal Arts university bought a rundown hotel, the Park Hotel, formerly residences for immigrant workers at the Ganong Bros. chocolate factory just down the road.  It was renamed Park Hall, the centrepiece of SSU’s campus. In the Italian Renaissance Revival style, with an impressive interior four-storey stairway of black walnut, the building dates from the time of Canadian Confederation in 1867 when it was built as a family home for a wealthy shipbuilder.

For over 40 years SSU has drawn students looking for something a little different to a regular university. Historically, we have been rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview; over time we have recognized the value of respecting and learning from other spiritual traditions as well, and our students now come from all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs. Almost all of our students arrive here via word of mouth – we have never been a ‘well-known’ university, but we’ve never needed to be; our graduates recommend us to people they know would treasure our unique learning community. We love it when our graduates return to visit, remembering how they, and we, were shaped by our experiences of living and travelling together.