Sidney Mayor Larry Cross can always say he was in the first-ever graduating class at the University of Victoria.
The university opened its doors in 1963, and the first group of graduates received degrees in 1964. Cross said students marched from Victoria College, on what is now Camosun College grounds at Foul Bay and Lansdowne roads, for their first classes at UVic.
"We all marched up from the Lansdowne campus to the new one," Cross said. "It was very symbolic."
He said the UVic campus was "pretty raw" at the time, something that's hard to believe today.
"You look at it now and think what a great concept the design was and how it's developed. It's a lovely campus."
Cross began his post-secondary career taking economics and history, switched the economics to English, then took a degree in secondary education. He worked first as a teacher in various school districts, then as a school administrator and ended up as a director of instruction in the Saanich school district.
Cross, whose son and daughter have both gone on to graduate from UVic, said he's proud of being part of the class of '64, when there were just 2,085 students on campus. "Of course, we were a small group so we were very tight."
He served as the inaugural president of the Education Undergraduate Society, and later as president of the UVic Alumni Association.
The class of '64 presented the university with a handful of trees as a grad gift, he said, but no one could find them when class members returned for their 40th reunion in 2004. The trees were believed to have been cut down, a disappointing end.
"And then they found the trees," Cross said with a laugh. "We didn't remember where they were. It turns out they're in the centre of the roadway opposite the bus terminal, near the Student Union Building."
UVic's mayoral connection continues with both Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin and Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard.
Fortin has three degrees from the university - a bachelor's degree in geography, a law degree and, most recently, a master's degree in education. He is full of praise for his alma mater and the vitality it brings to the region.
"We often see ourselves as a government town and sometimes we see ourselves as a tourist town, but sometimes we forget we're a university town. UVic has developed, over the last 50 years, an international reputation."
Leonard followed up his student career by spending the past 12 years as an instructor at UVic, teaching small-business management. He started at UVic in 1972 and earned a bachelor's degree in history over a number of years while working in the family tire business. He went on to earn a master's degree in history.
UVic is holding 50th-anniversary celebrations Friday and Saturday, and the university's inaugural homecoming is an important part of the schedule. Organizers are hoping at least 1,000 former students will register.
The two-day schedule marks the beginning of months of 50thanniversary activity for UVic.
"Our main events are the alumni talks, various reunions and the big Vikes party on Saturday night," said UVic Alumni Association spokesman Mike McNeney.
"It starts on Friday with the pub nights."
The Saturday night Vikes event is open to everyone, not just alumni and Vikes, he said.
McNeney described the alumni talks, which are free to attend, as "an eclectic mix" of topics, from web start-ups to Olympic rowing to a presentation on poetry by former City of Victoria poet laureate Carla Funk.
Jeff Bell
