CANADA: Emily Carr to become university

From the comic strip sensation For Better or For Worse to Generation X to First Nations masks made out of Nikes, graduates of the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design have made significant contributions to popular culture - not to mention serious art. Now the school can boast an achievement of its own: It will be granted university status to become the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, writes Marsha Lederman in the Globe and Mail.

The announcement was made at the Granville Island campus by Premier Gordon Campbell. The legislation that will establish the new mandate is expected to come into
effect next month. Emily Carr's president, Dr Ron Burnett, has been working toward the status change for about 10 years. He believes the university designation will allow the institution to attract even higher calibre students and faculty members. It will also give Emily Carr access to more sources of funding.

Last week, the British Columbia government announced it would grant university status to Capilano College, Kwantlen University College, Malaspina University-College and the University College of the Fraser Valley. Recently, the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto declared it was renaming itself OCAD University, to better fit with its changing academic offerings and raise the school's status. The change in designation has yet to be approved by the province.
Full report on the Globe and Mail site