Rosalind W. Young Scholarship

Rosalind Watson Young was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1874, the daughter of the Reverend James Watson, MA, DD. She was educated at Huntingdon Academy, where she won a scholarship which enabled her to enroll in McGill University. She received the degree of BA with first class honours in Natural Science, and in 1892 earned the Sir Donald Smith Exhibition, and the Sir William Logan Medal on graduation in 1895. She attended McGill Normal School and received a diploma.

She came to Victoria in 1896 and was the first woman with a university degree to receive an appointment from the School Board. She taught in two local schools, and then was appointed to the faculty of Victoria College, where she taught the first class of students. In 1901, her thesis Geology and Mineral Resources of Texada Island earned for her an M.A. from McGill.

Her travels by boat up and down the coast of B.C., by horse and buggy through the Cariboo, by dog team through northern B.C., and by railway through the Kootenays, provided a wealth of information for her Geography of British Columbia, which was published in 1904 and was used as a textbook for many years in B.C. schools.

Her husband, Dr. Henry Esson Young, was Minister of Education from 1907 to 1916. Together they shared the responsibility of wording the Act that established the University of British Columbia. She had four children, and through them retained her interest in education and in the local schools.

In 1961, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the first convocation of Victoria College. She was the first President of the University Women's Club of Victoria, and the Club honoured her by establishing, on its 50th anniversary in 1958, a
scholarship in her name. She was also active in the University Extension Association.

At the time of her death on February 12, 1962, Dr. N.A.M. MacKenzie, then President of the University of British Columbia, wrote of Mrs. Young, "Her interest in the progress and welfare of higher education in this province over so many years is something that we will all remember."

The Rosalind W. Young Scholarship is awarded annually by the Canadian Federation of University Women (Victoria) to the female student achieving the highest standing in third year of Education who is continuing University studies. Interested in applying?