Dr. Bruce L. Brown (1914- 2002) and Dorothy E. Cowderoy Brown collected artifacts, medieval fragments, documents, books, modern literary and political manuscripts, autographs, maps, and medals. They collected widely, purchasing many of the objects from dealers in London, England and Victoria, British Columbia.

Bruce Lloyd Brown was born on September 4, 1914. He attended the Victoria Normal School (1929) and Victoria College (1932). During WWII, Brown served as an officer with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. Following WWII he worked for the Provincial Government of British Columbia until taking early retirement in 1972. In acknowledgement of his extensive support, the University of Victoria granted him an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts in 1991. He also received an honorary Doctor of Military Studies from Royal Roads Military College in 1993. He was the grandson of Alexander Brown who owned the Alexander Brown Milling Company and co-founded, with William Christie, the Canadian cookie and cracker company Christie, Brown and Company (which later became the Mr. Christie brand).

Bruce and Dorothy Cowderoy married in 1942 and had two children: Anthony W. Brown and Elizabeth Cole-Hamilton.

The Browns were active with a number of cultural associations in Victoria, British Columbia, and donated their collection to the University of Victoria, Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and Royal Roads University.

Dr. Bruce L. Brown (1914- 2002) and Dorothy E. Cowderoy Brown collected artifacts, medieval fragments, documents, books, modern literary and political manuscripts, autographs, maps, and medals. They collected widely, purchasing many of the objects from dealers in London, England and Victoria, British Columbia.

Bruce Lloyd Brown was born on September 4, 1914. He attended the Victoria Normal School (1929) and Victoria College (1932). During WWII, Brown served as an officer with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. Following WWII he worked for the Provincial Government of British Columbia until taking early retirement in 1972. In acknowledgement of his extensive support, the University of Victoria granted him an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts in 1991. He also received an honorary Doctor of Military Studies from Royal Roads Military College in 1993. He was the grandson of Alexander Brown who owned the Alexander Brown Milling Company and co-founded, with William Christie, the Canadian cookie and cracker company Christie, Brown and Company (which later became the Mr. Christie brand).

Bruce and Dorothy Cowderoy married in 1942 and had two children: Anthony W. Brown and Elizabeth Cole-Hamilton.

The Browns were active with a number of cultural associations in Victoria, British Columbia, and donated their collection to the University of Victoria, Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and Royal Roads University.

Mariette Pathy Allen is a photographer based in New York, NY; she has been depicting transgender people and their communities since the late 1970s. Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, in painting. Pathy Allen was Awarded Thornton-Oakley Prize from the University of Pennsylvania. Other awards include: New York State Council on the Arts grant, 1988, Lambda Literary Award for “The Gender Frontier”, 2004, “Top Fifty”, Critical Mass, Photolucida, 2013, "Discoveries of the Meeting Place”, Fotofest, 2000 & 2014, and the Pioneer Award, Fantasia Fair, 2014

Her published works include: Transformations: Crossdressers and Those Who Love Them, E. P. Dutton Inc.,1989; Masked Culture: The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, Columbia U. Press, 1994; The Gender Frontier, Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany, 2004; TransCuba, Daylight Books, 2014; and Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma and Thailand, Daylight Books, 2017

Notre Dame University of Nelson (NDU) was established in 1950 and operated until 1977. It was first known as Notre Dame College (ca. 1950-60), then Notre Dame University College (ca. 1961-62). NDU was a private university affiliated with the Catholic diocese of Nelson, gaining its own provincial legislation in 1963.

In 1978 the David Thompson University Centre (DTUC) was opened in the Notre Dame University location and operated until 1984.