In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the number of universities across all countries of the developed world saw a dramatic expansion. This was in response to the anticipated role that post-secondary education was to play in the rapidly developing knowledge-based economy. Within Canada, several new universities were established: Victoria, Calgary, Regina, Guelph, Waterloo, Trent, York, and in 1963, the Province of British Columbia passed legislation creating Simon Fraser University (SFU). In contrast with many of the other new universities across the country, which grew out of existing colleges associated with the major universities, SFU was to be a completely new institution with a campus and faculty built from scratch. SFU’s role was to provide for the rapid increase anticipated in university-bound students in the Lower Mainland, relieving some of the pressure on the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) growth.