Champlain College was designed by an architect named Ron Thom. The College first opened in the late 1960s as Trent University's first residential and teaching college on Symons campus of the University on the northern edge of Peterborough. The name of the college honours Samuel de Champlain, the great explorer, adventurer and founder of New France. It is located on the banks of the Otonabee River, overlooking the waters which Champlain himself descended 350 years ago, in the autumn of 1615, in his expedition through Huronia to the Iroquois country south of the Great Lakes. Champlain is vibrant and exciting, full of great people and wonderful traditions.
Champlain College:
Discover, Adventure, Reflect Engage
Named in honour of the explorer Samuel de Champlain, the college is situated right on the bank of the Otonabee River. Champlain’s spirit of adventure, discovery, and global citizenship are captured in the college motto: “continuer mes decouvertes”, “continue my discoveries”. That spirit lives on in the programs, people, and architecture of Trent’s Champlain College.
To Champlainers, architecture matters. Legendary Canadian architect Ron Thom designed this college, and its buildings are renowned for their avante garde use of natural materials and traditional elements in modernist form. Walking through its winding paths and staircases, or through the courtyards or to the banks of the river you’ll feel how the architecture creates a feeling of community, takes inspiration from the natural environment, and provides a safe space for intellectual discovery, adventure, reflection and hearty engagement with a community of learners.
At the centre of the college is the impressive Great Hall, which serves as the college's gathering place for formal dinners and events, as well as a daily dining and study hall. Near the great hall are a Junior Common Room for student recreation and study, The Seasoned Spoon, an independent cooperatively run café serving healthy, organic, locally grown, affordable food, and the newly renovated Champlain Living Learning Commons. The Commons serves as a formal and informal meeting space, an art gallery, a dining room, and the venue for regular college functions like co-curricular workshops and guest speakers. Both residential students and students living off-campus have access to all college facilities.
The college residences are divided into two quads. From the air, these buildings appear as interlocking C's, standing for Champlain College. Within the residences are two special areas designated as "Living Learning Communities". These include the Trent Global Living Community, for students interested in developing their global citizenship; and the Active Living Community, for those with a spirit of adventure who want to live healthy and active lives. Likewise, as a college named after the father of New France (the beginnings of Canada) we host a monthly “Soiree Samuel”, a high table dinner for French-speaking students and members of our community.
The Living Learning communities here at Champlain are available to students interested in global citizenship and modern issues, as well as living healthy and active lives. Don't be afraid to checkout the Cellie, the licensed pub and games room open and run by students, playing host to a variety of Champlain functions.
Students at Champlain will be exposed to a plethora of events involving guest speakers and fellows in residence, and visitors. These guests are invited to speak to Trent students and remain on campus for a time, interacting with students to inspire intellectual exchange supplementing the academic life of this community of learning.
Feel like relaxing by the river with a good book? Champlain College offers space outside its atrium where students can enjoy the outside, play games, or watch Trent rowers on the Otonabee River! Every Tuesday afternoon (weather-permitting) is a Tuesday on the Water, when the Head of Champlain (Dr. Mike Allcott) and the Residence Life Coordinator (Molly Raffan) welcome students to join them for canoeing on the Otonabee.
Champlain classrooms, for both seminars and lectures, are located throughout the college, mixed in with faculty and department offices. Moreover, the Trent International Program, the Careers Centre and the Academic Skills Center all find their home in Champlain; along with student run organizations like Absynthe Magazine, , and Frontier literacy volunteers, they add to the character and vitality of college life.
Champlain College Living Learning Commons (CLLC):
The Champ,lain College Living Learning Commons has been renovated to be at the heart of our college community of learning. University departments and programs, as well as student groups, may book the space through the college office for co-curricular activities. The CLLC is a community-affirming space for guest speakers, group meetings, reading groups and dialogues; it can also be used as a private dining room. The Living Learning Communities of Champlain, TGLC (the Trent Global Living Community), Active Living Community, use the space as an anchor location for their programming.
The Champ,lain College Living Learning Commons has been renovated to be at the heart of our college community of learning. University departments and programs, as well as student groups, may book the space through the college office for co-curricular activities. The CLLC is a community-affirming space for guest speakers, group meetings, reading groups and dialogues; it can also be used as a private dining room. The Living Learning Communities of Champlain, TGLC (the Trent Global Living Community), Active Living Community, use the space as an anchor location for their programming.
Champlain Living and Learning Commons is located on the second floor of Champlain College, just above the Great Hall. The Commons can be booked by calling the College Office, 705-748-1237.
