History of Thompson Rivers University

What began in 1970 as a community college to deliver career-technical and two-year academic university transfer programs during the provinces' initial expansion of post-secondary education, Thompson Rivers University is now British Columbia's newest university.

• Yesterday and Today -The History of Thompson Rivers University
• 1970 - Present: a Chronology of Key Dates
• Origin of the Thompson Name

The TRU Logo

The logo of Thompson Rivers University is a combined shield and logotype.

The shield is composed of a sunrise/sunset that's representative of the Kamloops region, where we average over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, and of the rising sun of enlightenment traditionally associated with higher education.

The mountains in the shield are indicative of the terrain of the region, strategically located between the Coast and Rocky Mountain ranges.

The lines flowing from the mountains symbolize the rivers of our region, the North and South Thompson that merge into one, Thompson River. It's also a reference to the joining of the two institutions, UCC and BC Open Learning that are now Thompson Rivers University.

The colours, sage green and royal blue, reflect both the natural terrain of the area and the new boldness indicative of this institution.