Photo: In January 1964, the Ring Road is partially complete, the Clearihue Building (right) and the Elliott Building (left) are complete, and the McPherson Library is under construction.
(UVic Archives Photo No. 020.0101) Image size = 57KB
Due to the problems of accommodating the rapidly growing student body at Victoria College, many people began to rally behind the cause of building an honest-to-goodness university on Vancouver Island. A fund-raising campaign began in earnest in 1959, and by January 1961, $2,000,000 was ready to be depositied in the vault at the main branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Victoria.
On January 20, 1962, one of the coldest days in local memory, Judge Joseph B. Clearihue turned over a pre-cut lump of frozen sod to symbolize the start of construction on the Gordon Head Campus. The University of Victoria opened its doors in 1963 to 2,028 full-time students.
By 1964, opening ceremonies were held for four buildings: the Clearihue Building (January 18, 1963), the Student Union Building (March 30, 1963), the Elliott Building (February 1, 1964), and the McPherson Library (November 14, 1964.)
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