Assumption University : Assumption University of Windsor, Ontario dates back to 1748 when the Jesuits moved the mission they had founded in Detroit in 1728 to the south shore of the Detroit River. The Huron Indians gave the Jesuits land for the mission at La Pointe de Montreal near the present location of where the Ambassador bridge now stands. In 1767 the mission, now serving both the French settlers and native people, became a parish, the first in Canada west of Montreal. Nineteen years later, in 1786, two schools were begun at Assumption, one for girls and one for boys. The Jesuits stationed at Assumption dedicated themselves to improving education in the growing town of Sandwich. By the spring of 1855 they had enough funds to begin construction of a college. It was the 10 February 1857, when the Assumption College opened its doors to an initial class of twenty boarders and sixty day students. The Jesuits left later the same year, turning control of the college over to the diocese. Father Joseph Malbos, the first Basilian president of the college, followed the Jesuits but stayed for only a year. In the summer of 1858, Assumption College was legally incorporated by a Public Act of the Ontario Legislature. In 1870 the diocese invited the Basilian Fathers to assume control of the college. Father Denis O'Connor, who later became Bishop of London and Archbishop of Toronto, became president. He began planning for a larger and more permanent structure for the college. Construction of the main building that stands today, was begun in 1883, with the chapel wing completed in 1908. Assumption College received its own university powers in 1953 to become Assumption University, ending its affiliation with the University of Western Ontario that had begun in 1919. By 1960, the City of Windsor's growth and the increasing demands for higher education, necessitated a further restructuring of the University. Accordingly, an Act of the Ontario Legislature incorporated the University of Windsor on December 19, 1962. Soon after, Assumption University entered into federation with the University of Windsor. The Basilian Fathers chose to integrate the operation of Assumption University into the new University of Windsor, continuing to make their services available to all. As a result, the teaching staff and administration moved to the newly formed University of Windsor. "Brief History." Assumption Universtiy web-site. 2002. 4 Feb. 2002. . 1247
