Gerald Hagey

Who was Gerald Hagey?

Joseph Gerald "Gerry" Hagey was a Canadian businessman, academic, and a founder and first president of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario.

Hagey was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of Menno Hagey and Esther Cornell. In 1928 he received a B.A. from Waterloo College, at that time a small church college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. After graduation he took a job in sales for B.F. Goodrich, a Kitchener-based rubber company. By the 1950s he had become an advertising and public relations manager, though throughout this time he had continued to be involved in the affairs of his alma mater, Waterloo College.

In 1953 he left B.F. Goodrich to become the president of Waterloo College. The 1950s and 1960s saw a massive expansion in industry and academia because of the postwar economic boom and because of the impending arrival of the baby boomers at Canadian universities. Hagey's goal was the transformation of Waterloo College into a university with a particular focus on science and technology, and close links with industry through co-operative education.