It’s been a long time coming now…  

From its humble beginnings as ‘the biscuit box’ to its larger quarters at McDonald-Mowat House in 1968 to the building we now know today, Innis College has been through a number of relocations and renovations. However, since the day we opened our brand-new doors in 1976 the college has had no renovations to increase its capacity to account for the drastic increase in student enrolment. That is…until now!   

The Innis College Renewal and Expansion project began in January 2017 with the formation of a project planning committee on which, in true Innis fashion, student representatives sat on. By the end of the year, we’d hired architects and began consulting with students. Student engagement has been vital for the development of this project. Our fellow students spoke with architects, were chosen as Student Ambassadors to represent the project, and most importantly, established the Student Levy.  

In 2019, the Innis College Student Society created a levy to contribute to this project. The levy will include a contribution of $5 per session for 5 years or until the opening of the new wing, whichever occurs first, followed by $15 per session for 20 years. Over time, the levy is expected to bring in $1.3 million and will contribute to the cost of building student co-curricular spaces (including an Innis Herald office. Eyy!). At the heart of student involvement in this project is the idea of leaving our space better than we found it. Many of the students who were on that initial planning committee have long graduated, but their contribution of time and effort will be felt for generations to come.  

This renovation has been a long time coming now. It will include expansion of the Innis Café space (we’re going to have a fireplace, y’all!), a lobby in front of Town Hall (no more crowding after class!), a new and improved commuter lounge (the Innis basement is honestly better than what we have now iykyk), a modern rooftop terrace (imagine grabbing a Mango Mania smoothie and chilling up there), and the relocation of OSL offices to the college building (no more sneaking into Res for those health and wellness meetings – I mean, what? No, I’ve never done that…).  

The renovations are exciting and seek to improve our current spaces, with an emphasis on those that are student-facing. But let’s travel back in time to 1966 for a second. In two years, the student enrollment had grown from 278 to 685, and we were desperately in need of a new building (much like we are now, with an enrollment of 2000). In developing this new state-of-the-art building, the Innis administration behaved outrageously at the time – they insisted that students serve on the building committee. When the college finally opened in 1976, students were again involved helping move furniture to the new building. 

Students have always been a part of the conversation, from 1966 to today, and they must continue to be. While plans on how the college will operate during construction are still in the works, we encourage students to ask for open and transparent communication from the Office of the Principal and the Office of Student Life. Use your voice like our Innis predecessors did before you and remember (cue TikTok audio), the rats don’t run this city. We do.