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The Department of Music had its origins in an affiliation between the Halifax Conservatory and Dalhousie dating back to 1889. The Conservatory offered a licentiate diploma and a Bachelor in Music degree, as did the Maritime Academy of Music, founded in 1934. The association with Dalhousie continued after the two music schools amalgamated in 1954 as the Maritime Conservatory of Music and, from 1949 until the mid 1960s, elective music appreciation classes and ensemble groups at Dalhousie were organized by Harold Hamer.

The Dalhousie Department of Music was established in 1968 and began offering practical instruction and theory: instrumental lessons and voice coaching were expanded in 1975 under the leadership of Peter Fletcher. While the initial aim of the department was to produce students of a high practical ability, by the late 1970s the department's mandate was to train prospective professional musicians, performers, composers and critics. The 1971 opening of the Dalhousie Arts Centre greatly enhanced teaching and performance capacity, as the new building offered performance halls, practice rooms and a piano lab. Imported instructors were replaced with both part-time and full-time faculty, and the department sponsored both professional and community ensembles such as the Dalhousie Chorale, the Dalhousie Opera Workshop and Musica Antiqua.

Beginning in 1977 the department offered four-year Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees and a five-year integrated degree program. Further academic programs included a pre-baccalaureate foundational studies program and a B Mus curriculum in organ and church music in collaboration with the Atlantic School of Theology and the community churches of the RCCO. Other programs were offered in collaboration with Henson College and the Department of Theatre.

In 2014 the Department of Music became a program in the Fountain School of Performing Arts.

Dalhousie's Department of Theatre developed out of the Dalhousie Drama Workshop, which was formed in 1963 by then recently appointed Professor of English John Ripley, who offered it as an adjunct to his English 9 (History of Drama) class. The following year, Susan Vallance was hired as an instructor, working jointly for the Education and the English departments and teaching Child Drama, the first credit course in any performance-based class. In 1965 theatre historian Lionel Lawrence came to Dalhousie, and in 1966 four credit courses in theatre were offered in the newly established Drama Division within the Department of English. In 1967/1968 a BA in Drama and Theatre was offered, and in 1968 the Senate agreed to separate the study of drama from the Department of English, and Alan Andrews left alongside to serve as the inaugural chair of the new Department of Theatre.

In its first few years, the department's offerings were largely theoretical and not designed to train students for the professional theatre, but with the 1971 opening of the Dalhousie Arts Centre, the capacity for offering practical instruction changed. The new building included a designated wing for theatre studies that housed the James Dunn Theatre, two teaching/performance studios, and costume and set workshops. In the 1973/1974 university calendar, the department description emphasized the nature of theatre as a performing art and offered its first degree credit classes in acting. The department began to develop collaborative relationships with local theatres, including Neptune, and teaching faculty included Canada Council Artists-in Residence such as Fred Allen and Nancey Pankiw (1974) and Robert Doyle (1977).

In 1975 the department began to offer a BA Honours degree in three streams—general, acting and scenography—and by 1976 all theatre students were expected to be involved regularly in either acting or in other areas of production work. With the support of Robert Doyle, in 1976 the department launched a three-year diploma program in Costumes Studies, which in 2005 started to be offered as a four-year Honours BA in Theatre (Costume Studies).

The Department of Theatre, along with the Department of Music, became a program within the Fountain School of Performing Arts in 2014.

Alan R. Andrews is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University. Born in England in 1935, he was educated at King Henry VII and King Edward VI schools before earning his BA, MA and a Diploma of Education from Leeds University. He later obtained his PhD at the University of Illinois.

Andrews was appointed to Dalhousie's English department in 1966, but moved to the newly created Department of Theatre in 1969, where he served as the inaugural chair until 1971. He was promoted to full professor in 1981. His scholarly interests included George Bernard Shaw, Granville Barker and St. John Hankin, about whom he wrote and lectured frequently, including at the Shaw Festival in Ontario. He directed many university theatre productions, served as an editor of The Dalhousie Review (1985-1995), and was secretary to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the early 1980s. He had close ties with Neptune Theatre, was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was President of the Canadian Association of University Teachers from 1992-1994. Alan Andrews retired from Dalhousie in June 2001.

Herbert Farquhar MacRae was Principal of Nova Scotia School of Agriculture from 1972-1989 and the namesake of Dalhousie's Agricultural Campus library. Born on 30 March 1926 in Middle River, Nova Scotia, he graduated from the Nova Scotia Teachers College in 1948, earning a Superior First-Class Teaching License. He taught high school for five years and then studied at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, graduating at the top of his class and receiving a scholarship at Macdonald College, McGill University. He earned his BSc in 1950, MSc in 1956, and his DPhil in Agricultural Chemistry in 1960. MacRae worked for two years with the Food and Drug Directorate, Health and Welfare Canada, before returning to Macdonald College to teach for twelve years, ending up as professor and chair of the Department of Animal Science.

In 1972 he returned to Nova Scotia as Principal of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, where he remained for the next 17 years, providing leadership to the agri-food industry in numerous capacities, including as a founding member and later Chairman of the Canadian Agricultural Research Council (CARC). He also served as President of the Association of Faculties of Agriculture in Canada; Chairman of the Atlantic Provinces Agricultural Services Coordinating Committee; Chairman of the Association of Deans of the Faculties of Agriculture in Canada; and Executive Director, Confederation of Canadian Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. MacRae received an Honorary Doctorate from McGill in 1987, was elected a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada in 1988, and was named to the Order of Canada in 1992. On his retirement from NSAC in 1989, the College library was renamed in his honour. He died in 2002 in Truro, Nova Scotia.

The Faculty of Architecture was established on 1 April 1997 with the merger of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) and Dalhousie University. It was the outgrowth of the first school of architecture in Atlantic Canada, which opened at the Nova Scotia Technical College in 1961, sharing a building on Spring Garden Road with the Nova Scotia Museum of Science. During the 1960s the professional architecture program began, consisting of two years of engineering at one of seven Maritime universities, followed by four years at the School of Architecture, leading to a BArch degree. In 1969 the engineering prerequisite was changed to two years in any university subject.

In 1970 the School of Architecture took over the entire building and initiated the trimester system and co-op work term program. In 1973 the architecture portion of the professional program included a two-year pre-professional degree (later called Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies) and a two-year professional BArch degree. The BArch program was validated by the Commonwealth Association of Architects and a one-year, post-professional Master of Architecture program was offered. In 1976 the NSTC Faculty of Architecture was established, with the School of Architecture continuing as a constituent part of the Faculty. The main floor of the building was renovated, including the addition of a mezzanine for faculty offices. The Master of Urban and Rural Planning program was first offered in 1977. In 1978 the Department of Urban and Rural Planning was established within the Faculty of Architecture, becoming the School of Planning in 2001.

In the early 1980s, after the Nova Scotia Technical College had become the Technical University of Nova Scotia, the building's studio level was renovated and mezzanines were added. In the mid-1980s the professional program was transformed, leading to a two-year MArch (first professional) degree with a thesis component. The school began to participate in overseas activities with the International Laboratory for Architecture and Urban Design (ILAUD) and external adjuncts and examiners were appointed. In the late 1980s the Faculty opened a publishing department, Tuns Press, to produce architecture and planning publications. An arrangement with Apple Canada introduced an initial fleet of computers for student use. In 1989 a one-year, non-professional Master of Environmental Design Studies degree was offered.

In 1993, following an international design competition, the first phase of a new addition designed by Brian MacKay-Lyons was built in the rear courtyard of the existing building. In a second phase in 2002, upper floors for studios were added inside the addition. In 1994 the School's professional architecture program became the first in Canada to receive full accreditation from the Canadian Architectural Certification Board. Full accreditation was granted again in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2015. In 1997, a decision by the Nova Scotia government to amalgamate universities led the three faculties of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (Architecture, Engineering, and Computer Science) to become part of Dalhousie University. In 2001 the Faculty of Architecture was renamed the Faculty of Architecture and Planning.

The Board of Governors is responsible for the overall conduct, management, administration and control of the property, revenue and business of Dalhousie University.

On 11 December 1817 Lord Dalhousie made a submission to his Council proposing the establishment of a college in Halifax, naming an interim Board of Trustees made up of the lieutenant governor (himself); the chief justice, the Anglican bishop; the provincial treasurer; and the Speaker of the Assembly (later adding the minister of St Matthews Church).

Two years later, in the face of mounting building debt, it was expedient to incorporate the governors of the college, which comprised Lord Dalhousie (now the Governor General of North America); Sir James Kempt (the current Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia); the Anglican Bishop of Nova Scotia; the chief justice; the treasurer of the province; the Speaker of the Assembly; and the president of the college (who was yet to be named). The 1821 Act was passed, incorporating the governors of Dalhousie College and beginning Dalhousie’s legal existence.

By August 1838, due to deaths, resignations and absences, the board was reduced to three: the lieutenant-governor, the treasurer of the province and the Speaker of the House. Despite disagreement and opposition, the board appointed three professors for the college’s first term, including Thomas McCulloch as president. In 1840 the Dalhousie Act reconfigured the board established by the Act of 1821. The Governor General of North America, the chief justice and all other ex-officio members were dropped, with the exception of the lieutenant governor and the president of Dalhousie College. Twelve new members were named and it was decided that future vacancies would be selected by the Legislative Council, with two members chosen by the Assembly and one by the Council. If cumbersome, the new 17-member board was more representative across political and religious spheres than earlier renditions. In 1842 the board drew up rules of governance, including age of admission and requirements for the Bachelor of Arts, and laid down principles of liberality with regard to religious affiliation. They reduced professorial salaries and tried to clarify their rights to the Grand Parade. Despite their renewed efforts, Dalhousie closed its doors in 1844 following the death of Thomas McCulloch.

The 1848 Dalhousie Act reduced the Board of Governors to between five and seven members to be appointed by the governor-in-council, and William Young, Joseph Howe, Hugh Bell, James Avery, William Grigor, Andrew MacKinlay and John Naylor were named to the board. Their efforts to make Dalhousie useful and solvent included opening it first as a collegiate school, then as a high school, and finally as a small university in union with Gorham College in Liverpool, England. None of these was successful and by 1862 the Board was down to four members and had not met in two years.

Three new appointments were made to the board along with amendments granting it greater authority, and in 1863 a new Dalhousie College Act was passed that gave the board power to appoint all college officers, including the president and professors, and, while internal governance was the responsibility of an academic senate, their rules were subject to board approval. The college was reconstituted as a university, conferring bachelors, master and doctoral degrees. In November 1863 Dalhousie College opened under the new board.

Gordon Barss Kinsman developed and introduced Nova Scotia's first wild blueberry extension program and encouraged the introduction of cultured wild blueberry methods. Born on 19 March 1927 in Lakeville, Kings County, he studied at Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Macdonald College at McGill University, and the University of New Hampshire. In 1949 he joined the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture as their first extension specialist for berry crops and was involved in developing a certified strawberry plant program. In 1962 he was appointed director of horticulture and biology services at the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing, and in 1978 became director of marketing and economics, directing a change in emphasis from service-oriented to developmental marketing. After his retirement in 1986, he became an agricultural consultant.

He was a charter member of the Nova Scotia Institute of Agrologists and a member of the VON Truro Branch and the Golden K Truro club. In 1990 he received the Calyx award from the North American Blueberry Council. A founding member of the Westmount Park Garden Club, he was awarded a medal of appreciation from the Nova Scotia Garden Association and recognition from the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. Kinsman was also active in cultural and heritage projects and was a life member of the Colchester Historical Society, chairman of the Nova Scotia Federation of Museums, Heritage and Historical Societies, and chairman of the Provincial Advisory Committee on Heritage Property. In 1978 he was awarded Nova Scotia's Cultural Life Award and in 1994 he received the President's Award from the Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage. He was chairman of the Truro Planning Advisory Committee and of the Joint Planning Advisory Committee for the Town of Truro, Town of Stewiacke and County of Colchester. He published nine agricultural historical papers and five genealogies. He died in 1999.

Killam Memoiral Library was the outcome of a campus development plan in the mid 1960s that acknowledged the need for a new university library, and the timely bequest of Dorothy Killam, who died in 1965 and left Dalhousie $32 million.

Leslie R. Fairn received the architectural contract for the new library, although NSTC professor of architecture Ojars Biskaps is considered the principal design architect, working closely with the new University Librarian, Louis G. Vagianos. The primary decision-maker behind the library's design philosophy, Vagionos had a vision of a library that served Humanities and Social Sciences students and strengthened the quality of education at Dalhousie through a single, continuous operating unit centred around the provision of public services.

Built by Fraser-Brace Maritimes Limited, work on the Killam Memorial Library began in 1966 and was completed in 1971 at a final cost of $7.3 million, 80 per cent of which came from a provincial self-liquidating loan. The library officially opened on 11 March 1971, with a special convocation and a week-long celebration of the arts, including a symposium with Alex Colville, Harold Hamer, John Hobday and Alden Nowlan; an exhibit of nineteenth-century French paintings on loan from the National Gallery; an Isaac Stern violin recital; and a performance by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. During the dedication ceremony, the keys to the library were exchanged five times, from contractor to architect, to the chairman of the Board of Governors, to President Henry Hicks, and finally to Louis Vagianos.

The 230,000 square foot building was designed to eventually accommodate 8000 undergraduate and graduate students, a faculty of 750 and library staff of 130. With a capacity for one million books, it was equipped with conference rooms, reading areas, telex equipment, public typing rooms and a conduit structure wiring each room to the basement's computer centre. The auditorium was named for Archibald McMechan, Dalhousie English professor from 1889-1933 and the university librarian from 1906-1931. An open courtyard was the principle source of light and intended to enhance traffic patterns. The design attempted to be inherently flexible and adaptable to future changes in computer and communications technology. The Killam, as it came to be known, won a 1971 Nova Scotia Association of Architects Design Award.

Finished in pre-cast concrete similar to Dalhousie Arts Centre, the Killam exemplified modern architectural and decorating features. Henry Hicks, a skilled cabinetmaker, pushed for the use of Brazilian rosewood in the interior, while Basil Cooke, a geologist and Dean of Arts and Science, recommended the micaceous slate tiles on the ground-level floors. The fourth and fifth floors initially contained departmental offices and the third floor housed the School of Library and Information Studies. In the early 1970s, the University Archives moved to its location on the fifth floor, where it remains along with Special Collections. When the Macdonald Library closed in 1990, the science collection was moved to the fourth floor.

In 1996, a glass roof enclosed the courtyard, creating an atrium, and the stone floor was restored after years of exposure to the weather. A coffee shop was introduced and the ventilation and lighting systems were replaced. In 2002, the first floor of the library was remodelled to house a Learning Commons with computer workstations, support services, offices and group meeting rooms. Later renovations included two additional Learning Commons, the GIS Centre; a graduate students' centre; the Collider, a multimedia room; and the Academic Technology Services offices. The Killam also houses the Writing Centre; the Centre for Learning and Teaching; and the Office of the Dean of Libraries.

The James Dunn Law Library opened in 1967, occupying the fourth and fifth floors of the newly built Weldon Law Building. The library was funded by the widow of Dalhousie Law School graduate Sir James Dunn. As early as 1969 the Dunn Foundation had initiated funding for the university's first professional law librarian, Professor Eunice W. Beeson, one of Canada's earliest qualified lawyer librarians who is widely credited with establishing the foundation of the modern law school library.

In August 1985, a lightning strike caused an electrical malfunction, igniting a fire that destroyed the library's fifth floor, along with hundreds of books. Despite the losses, the fire was considered a “mixed tragedy" as it spurred the construction of a four-storey addition on the north side of the law building. Completed in 1988, the new library was financed by Lady Beaverbrook, law foundations across Canada, and Dalhousie alumni. The Dunn Law Library now occupies four floors in the Weldon Law Building, offering space for study and research and a collection of over 220,000 volumes.

Macdonald Memorial Library was planned long before Dalhousie had the means to build it. Charles Macdonald, Chair of Mathematics from 1864 until his death in 1901, bequeathed the university $2000 to purchase books, a gesture that triggered an eponymous fundraising campaign. By 1905 the fund had risen to $33,000, but it was not until 1911 that the university purchased the Studley Campus land and a new library became feasible. During the cornerstone-laying ceremony on 29 April 1914, President Mackenzie noted that Macdonald himself had been a foundation stone of Dalhousie.

The library was designed by architects Frank Darling and Andrew R. Cobb to fit into the narrow space between the Science Building and the old Murray homestead at the crown of the hill on the new campus. Built of local ironstone, with simple lines relieved by an ornamented gable and portico, the library was constructed by contractors Falconer & MacDonald, and was completed at a total cost of $90,000.

When it opened in the summer of 1916, the library contained only offices and a large and airy reading room on the second floor. In 1921 a five-storey expansion added a much-needed stack area on the north side. The stack capacity for 125,000 volumes was insufficient to hold the growing collection, so the Chemistry, Physics and Geology departments housed their own libraries and the remainder of the books were stored in the library's attic.

On 20 July 1956, a special convocation celebrated the opening of an addition on the building's west side. The O.E. Smith Wing, built of quartzite and ironstone in the same Georgian colonial style as the original building, housed the collection of Rudyard Kipling's works given to Dalhousie by James McGregor Stewart.

By the 1960s there were frequent complaints about the library's crowded conditions—for both books and students. In 1963 a new mezzanine in the Reading Room increased study space by one third, but the stacks were already at capacity. A third addition in 1965 joined the MacDonald Memorial Library to the Science Building, creating 40,000 square feet of floor space for the Department of Chemistry.

A campus development plan in the mid-1960s recognized the library's crucial role within the university and plans were made for a new, larger building. After the Killam Memorial Library opened in 1970, the Macdonald Memorial Library became the MacDonald Science Library, until the science collection was moved to the Killam in 1989. In 1991 the stacks of the former Macdonald Library were converted into administrative offices, and the reading room was refurbished as a meeting and special event room called University Hall. The Kilpling Room remains in what is now known at the Macdonald Building.

Charles Macdonald taught mathematics at Dalhousie University from 1862-1901 and was the namesake of the Macdonald Memorial Library. Born in Aberdeen in 1828 to Elizabeth and John Macdonald, he graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1850, where he distinguished himself as the recipient of the Hutton Prize for the arts curriculum. After receiving his MA, he studied divinity and became a licentiate in the Church of Scotland, but turned his energies to teaching. He was at the Aberdeen Grammar School in 1862 when he was selected by the Church of Scotland in Nova Scotia as its nominee for the chair of mathematics at the newly re-opened Dalhousie College in Halifax.

Beloved among his students and a popular public speaker, Macdonald lectured on whimsical topics such as “On Fun,” as well as giving more contentious addresses on evolution and education. In 1882 he married Susan Morrow, who died after childbirth one year later. Macdonald did not remarry, raising his son as a single father.

Macdonald died in 1901 at the age of seventy-two after contracting pneumonia. In his will he left $2,000 to buy books for the university library, which prompted a movement among alumni to build a proper library in his honour. The Macdonald Library was built in 1916 and served as the university library until the 1970s.