[3] The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who also served as the first principal of McGill University.

It remains one of Canada's few primarily undergraduate universities, functioning in the way of an American liberal arts college, and is linked with three others in the Maple League.

Established in 1843 as Bishop's College, the school used to be affiliated with the University of Oxford in 1853, where many professors at BU were appointed from.

Dr. George Jehoshaphat Mountain (who also served as the first principal of McGill College) on December 9, 1843, in Lennoxville, Quebec, for the education of members of the Church of England and erected into a university in 1853.

In 1922, Bishop's College School moved to its new campus on Moulton Hill from the Little Forks at BU as a severe fire happened in 1891.

[6] Since 1947, a corporation and appointed trustees have been responsible for its business affairs, and a senate has dealt with academic matters.

[6] This bicameral model of governance was based on the 1906 provincial University of Toronto Act, which established a system dividing university government into a senate (faculty) to set academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) to oversee financial policy and other matters.

[7] In the early part of the twentieth century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law, and medicine, while graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.

In 2007, enrollment had shrunk by 14 percent and was "falling like a stone," then-Principal Michael Goldbloom told The Montreal Gazette after he was hired in 2008.

By 2010, however, Bishop's rebounded as enrollment shot up by 20 percent after new leadership was hired and aggressive student recruitment efforts were instituted.

In 2004, Bishop's joined the Université de Sherbrooke in creating SIXtron, a joint spin-off of technology based in Montreal which is focused on developing highly scalable and cost-effective, amorphous silicon carbide (SiC)-based thin film coatings for the solar industry.

The Bishop's campus is located on 220 hectares (550 acres) of land at the junction of the Saint Francis and Massawippi rivers in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec and features 25 buildings.

The site of Bishop's College, a grassy knoll at the confluence of two rivers, provided a natural setting where architecture would be viewed as an integral but subsidiary part of the scenic vista.

[19] Known as 'Oxford on the Massawippi' for its architectural style, the campus is significantly influenced by the Gothic Revival period and is home to some of Quebec's most historic buildings, including St. Mark's chapel.

[20] Construction on campus began with "Old Arts" in 1846 and continues today with the university's most recent building, the Library Learning Commons, in 2017.

After 1971 the room served as the undergraduate Pub, and for a time housed temporary studios for the Fine Arts departments of Champlain College and the university.

Centennial Theatre opened as a performing arts centre in 1967, with a mandate to provide a theatrical and cultural platform for English-speaking residents in the Eastern Townships.

The theatre combines the wide auditorium style of a Greek amphitheatre with an Italian stage house, with proscenium and flies.

The Old Library houses the collections of the University Archives and the Eastern Townships Research Centre, including books, genealogical information, documents, photographs, postcards, maps, plans, and audio-visual material.

Bishop's University houses the Foreman Art Gallery, which exhibits contemporary and historical painting, sculpture, mixed media, installation, video and films by students, faculty, Canadian and international artists.

St. Mark's Chapel was declared Cultural Property by the Quebec Ministere des Affaires culturelles in 1989.

Although their logo and mascot suggest the term stems from the word alligator, "Gaiter" actually refers to a leg covering worn by Anglican bishops up until the middle of the 20th century.

As of March 2019, there are three former Bishop's football players in the CFL: Adrian Clarke,[28] Stephen Adekolu,[29] and Junior Turner.

The 2-days outdoor festival is a ski competition, the Rail Jam, as well as a large concert hosted in the Quad at the heart of campus.

Shaun Frank, Lost Kings, and Jazz Cartier have performed, as well as guest skiers and snowboarders such as Sébastien Toutant.

The primary areas in which the charity is now carrying on programs to achieve its charitable purposes, ranked according to the percentage of time and resources devoted to each program area follow: The charity carried on charitable programs to further its charitable purpose(s) (as defined in its governing documents) this fiscal period: On 28 January 2003, Canada Post issued the Bishop's University, 1853-2003 stamp as part of its Canadian Universities series.

Based on a photograph by Guy Lavigueur and designed by Denis L'Allier, the 48¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 and printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company.