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University of Toronto

The crest of U of T
Motto Velut arbor ævo
(As a tree through the ages)
Established 1827
Type Public
Endowment $1.688 billion (CAD)
Chancellor David Peterson
President David Naylor
Staff 8,000
Undergraduates 52,500 full-time, 6,600 part-time (2005)
Postgraduates 10,300 full-time, 2,100 part-time (2005)
Location Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Campus Urban
Sports teams Varsity Blues
Mascot True Blue
Website http://www.utoronto.ca
Crest image © University of Toronto

The University of Toronto (U of T) is a non-denominational, provincially-supported, coeducational public research university located in Toronto, Ontario. U of T is the largest university in Canada by student population, with over 9,000 faculty and staff members, and over 60,000 graduate and undergraduate students. It offers teaching programs in 17 academic divisions across three campuses: the St. George campus, University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) and the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTS).

The University of Toronto was founded as King's College by John Strachan, an Anglican bishop of Toronto, in March 15, 1827. The institution gained the status of a university in 1849 after its connection with the Church of England was removed. In 1853, University College became the teaching branch of the university, and later, as enrollment expanded, other colleges such as Trinity College and Victoria College became federated with the university. The University of Toronto is presently governed under the University of Toronto Act (1971).

Academically, the university is consistently ranked as one of North America's leading universities.[1][2] In the 2005 national university ranking completed by Maclean's Magazine, U of T placed second in Canada.[3] Additionally, the university has topped Maclean's Medical/Doctoral category for twelve consecutive years, and is consistently placed in the top three for "Highest quality" and "Best overall".

Contents

[edit] History

The gothic University College, originally founded in 1853 as "the Provincial College" and is a National Historic Site.
The gothic University College, originally founded in 1853 as "the Provincial College" and is a National Historic Site.

The University was established on March 15, 1827, when King's College was granted its Royal Charter. The institution was founded by John Strachan, Anglican bishop of Toronto, and the school was strongly Anglican, Upper Canada's established religion at the time. Most of the region's population was not Anglican, however, and when the colony was granted responsible government in 1848 the college was transformed into a nondenominational institution, and in 1849 was renamed the University of Toronto. The old King's College building, located on the current site of the provincial legislature, was closed and the new University College opened in 1853 as "The Provincial College," and was completed in 1858.

Robarts Library, completed in 1973, is part of the fourth-largest university library system in North America.
Robarts Library, completed in 1973, is part of the fourth-largest university library system in North America.

In 1853, University College was founded, as a non-denominational teaching institution within the university. Several other Toronto-area religiously affiliated universities and colleges would incorporate with University of Toronto, becoming "federated" with it. The structure of the university was modeled after the federal University of London. Those federated universities are the Catholic St. Michael's, Methodist Victoria, and Anglican Trinity.

Over the next decade the school grew both by building, and by federating with smaller universities. The area around Ontario had a network of denominational schools, but these smaller private schools found it difficult to compete. Thus, often with great reluctance, they decided to affiliate with the University of Toronto. Federation meant the colleges kept their autonomy, but their students had full access to U of T facilities. The Methodist Victoria University joined in 1892, the Anglican Trinity College in 1904, and the Catholic St. Michael's College in 1910. These federated colleges retain much of their independence.

King's College Road, with University College in the background
King's College Road, with University College in the background

After the turbulent years of the Great Depression and the World Wars, in which many U of T students and faculty served, the school began to grow dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s due to the baby boom and the ever increasing rate of university attendance. During this period five new colleges were established: New College, Innis College and Woodsworth College were all created on the St. George campus, while 30 km to the west Erindale College was established in Mississauga and the University of Toronto at Scarborough was established 30 km to the east in that suburb.

Hart House, the university's student centre, exemplifies many of the oldest buildings.
Hart House, the university's student centre, exemplifies many of the oldest buildings.

The 1980s and 1990s saw a dramatic change in Canadian education as years of government budget cuts forced universities to turn increasingly to the private sector for donations and sponsorships. The University of Toronto, located in the heart of Canada's financial capital, and as the traditional feeder school for the city's commercial elite, was by far the most successful in this fundraising, rapidly collecting an endowment that today approaches $1.5 billion, the largest of any Canadian university. The 1990s and 21st century have also seen expansion resume on all three campuses.

[edit] Academics

U of T has 75 PhD programs, and 14 professional faculties. It attracts many scholars around the world and was ranked by The Scientist as the best place to work in academia outside the United States. Research InfoSource also ranks U of T as one of the top research universities in Canada [5]. Over the last two decades, its faculty members have received almost a quarter of all national awards although they represent just over seven percent of Canada's university professors.[4]

The size of the university allows for a large variety of courses. Everything from Intermediate Sanskrit, to Computational Genomics, and Estonian Literature from 1700 can be taken at U of T. There are some programs that are not offered by the university. One of the most prominent absences is of any journalism program at the St. George Campus, in part because nearby Ryerson University has such a prominent journalism school. (The Scarborough Campus offers a joint program with Centennial College). As such, the many campus newspapers have long been seen as U of T's unofficial journalism school. The size of the university also means that some classes are enormous. General introductory courses in psychology, sociology, and other subjects are taught in Convocation Hall with well over a thousand students at each lecture.

According to the academic ranking of world universities compiled at the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Toronto has been ranked the world's 24th top university in the years of 2004 and 2005.[6]. For twelve years in a row, U of T has been ranked the top medical-doctoral research university in Canada by Maclean's Magazine (in 2005, it was tied for first with McGill University). It is ranked 24th in the world in terms of best science and 20th in the world in terms of biomedicine (Higher times Supplement 2005). It was also ranked 29th overall in the world, (2nd in Canada) by the Times Higher Educational Supplement's 2005 World University Rankings.[5]

Among other accomplishments, affiliated researchers developed the first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, built the first practical transmission electron microscope and extracted insulin.

The university's library system, including the fourteen-storey Robarts Library, is the largest in Canada. The Association of Research Libraries ranked it the third-best research library in North America, following Harvard and Yale (ARL Index 2004).[6] Also according to ARL Statistics, it ranks fourth in the total number of volumes held (after Harvard, Yale and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and number one in the total number of computer files held. The University of Toronto has been working with the Internet Archive to digitize many of its collections for an online library[7] and more recently became a founding member of the Open Content Alliance, joined by Yahoo and the University of California.

The university's endowment exceeds $1.6 billion[8] - far larger than any other Canadian university. It has an operating budget of $1.1 billion, with $517 million in research and grant and contract support. The university has nearly 100 spin-off companies with over 3,000 employees and revenues of $821 million. The university itself is the 15th largest employer in the Greater Toronto Area.[8]

U of T attracts many students from Ontario and the rest of Canada, and has a significant number of international students (over 6,000, or about 9% of the student population).[8] Its student selectivity is generally high but consistent with the spirit of a public institution.

The University of Toronto publishes more research than any other university in North America besides Harvard University[9].

[edit] Student life

The university's main entrance - King's College Road.
The university's main entrance - King's College Road.
The former Louis B. Stewart Observatory is the home of the Students' Administrative Council
The former Louis B. Stewart Observatory is the home of the Students' Administrative Council
Graduate House, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne, reflects the postmodern design of many newer structures.
Graduate House, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne, reflects the postmodern design of many newer structures.

Despite the prevalence of a wide variety of student interest groups and related organisations (its 340 student clubs and organisations [7] are probably more than any other Canadian university), U of T suffers from the same impersonal atmosphere as other large universities and rates low on surveys of student happiness.[citation needed] Most students live off-campus, and for many the U of T experience is limited solely to attending classes. This has resulted in a general lack of school spirit and the disconnection many of its students feel from the school and other students. Student government is headed by the Students' Administrative Council, and votes for student council generally gets a turnout of below 10%.[citation needed]

The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Toronto Varsity Blues. Today, they are not particularly successful, but have a long and storied history, such as winning the first ever Grey Cup. There are six main sports funded by the university: hockey, football, basketball, track and field, soccer, and swimming. The numerous other sports are funded through donations and fees paid by those participating.

The school has two main newspapers. The Varsity and The Newspaper. Each college, faculty, and many other groups also publish newspapers. It has a radio station CIUT.

[edit] Student activism

The University has borne witness to much activism over the years. In 1895, University College students, allegedly led by William Lyon Mackenzie King, boycotted classes for a week after the editor of the Varsity student newspaper was suspended for anti-administration articles. Although King is traditionally given credit for leadership of the strike, recent scholarship has suggested that his involvement has been overstated.

The 1960s saw the creation of Rochdale College, a large high-rise residence where many students and staff lived, though it was "officially" not connected to the university. Rochdale was established as an alternative to what had been seen as the traditional, authoritarian, and paternalistic structures within universities.

In the fall of 1969, after Pierre Trudeau decriminalized homosexuality, the first gay and lesbian group in Toronto or on any Canadian campus — the University of Toronto Homophile Association — was formed. Jearld Moldenhauer, a research assistant at the Faculty of Medicine, placed an advertisement in The Varsity, asking others to join in setting up an organization. While the first meeting drew a meager 16 people — 15 men and one woman — the group quickly established a significant profile within the community and the city at large. Two decades later, David Rayside, a professor of political science, would organize the Committee on Homophobia. Ten years after that, he would help introduce a sexual diversity studies program at University College, to much success. Today, 35 years after the start of LGBTQ activism at U of T, the student queer community embodied in Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgendered of the University of Toronto or simply known as LGBTOUT, is one of the most active LGTBQ activist and social groups. It organizes various events such as the famous Homohop held every month. LGBTOUT also organized the first LGBTQ student award (scholarship) honouring queer student activists and their efforts. LGBTOUT remains entirely student run and one of the most vocal and active student queer groups on the campus and the country.

[edit] Student groups

U of T has numerous prominent students groups. One of the most notable is the Hart House Debating Club, home to one of the top-ranked debating teams in the world, and champions at the 2006 World Universities Debating Championship. Another world premiere team is the University of Toronto Formula SAE Racing Team. Of the nearly 300 Formula SAE teams around the world they are one of only five teams to have won three or more championships, having won three Formula Student UK Championships in the last four years.

[edit] Campuses

Old Vic, the main building of Victoria College
Old Vic, the main building of Victoria College

The University comprises three campuses. All three campuses are undergoing massive construction, with over 40 facilities recently completed, upgraded or in the works. These capital expansion projects are designed to increase study space as well as attract top-level talent. The study space requirement is large due in part to the cancellation of OAC (Grade 13) and predicted increases in enrolment.

[edit] St. George

Convocation Hall
Convocation Hall

The downtown, or St. George campus, includes four constituent undergraduate colleges, and three colleges from its three federated universities (federated universities were incorporated into the University; constituent colleges were created within the University). The campus is also home to several theological colleges associated with the Toronto School of Theology, as well as the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and Faculty of Arts and Science, U of T.

The downtown campus has a rich architectural history, making it a popular attraction for visitors to the city, weddings, and a common location for shooting movies. It is bounded by Spadina Avenue to the west, Bloor Street to the north, Bay Street to the east, and College Street to the south. The campus is well-served by public transportation (TTC), namely by the Spadina, St. George, Museum, and Queen's Park subway stations. At the centre of the university is Queen's Park, the home of the Ontario Legislature. The Royal Ontario Museum is also located within the university area.

[edit] Mississauga

Thirty kilometres (18 miles) west of the St. George campus is the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM; formerly Erindale College) in suburban Mississauga. Set on the banks of the Credit River, UTM's 224 acre (0.9 km²) campus is decidedly modern. It is off Mississauga Road between Dundas Street and Burnhamthorpe Road in the Erindale area. A shuttle bus connects the UTM and St. George campuses. UTM is currently undergoing massive construction, and will soon be the home of a new athletics facility, including a state-of-the-art pool. Also in the works at UTM is brand new library called the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre, set to open its doors in June of 2006. Recently decided, UTM will be home to a new Academy of Medicine, with a close affiliation to the Trillium Health Centre and the Credit Valley Hospital. In the summer of 2007, UTM will open a brand new residence building. UTM is the pre-season home of the Toronto Argonauts.

[edit] Scarborough

At the other end of the Greater Toronto Area is the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTS; formerly University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC), and prior to that, Scarborough College), approximately 30 kilometres east of the downtown campus. The 300 acre (1.2 km²) campus is on Highland Creek in the Scarborough area of eastern Toronto, on Military Trail, near Highway 401 and Morningside Avenue. Scarborough campus is the home for the majority of U of T's co-op programs, most notably in management and computer science. It too is undergoing a large construction project, adding a new library, residence, student centre, management building and arts building. In the near future, they will also be adding a new science wing.

[edit] Notable Events

Every 9th of August, the Computer Science Faculty celebrates with the annual "Software is Shareware" Festival in honour of the deceased patron saint St Nicos X. Sharifi. This includes the distribution of open source software such as Linux and unlicensed programs for the benefit of the Computer Science student body.

[edit] The college system

The Brennan Hall complex at St. Mike's
The Brennan Hall complex at St. Mike's

Every arts and science student on the St. George Campus is a member of one of the seven arts and science colleges. The Faculty of Arts and Science administers almost all courses, allowing students to enroll in classes independent of their college. The college registrars and counsellors are responsible for assisting students with applications and course-related queries. While U of T's college system was originally based on the college system at Oxford University, U of T's colleges are not as autonomous, nor do they bear as much of an instructional responsibility to their students. However, first-year seminars and academic programs are offered by all colleges.

Each college has at least one student residence; some are co-ed, others are single-sex. The University of Toronto offers a housing guarantee to all full-time undergraduates entering first year who expressed an interest in residing on-campus during the application process. Notably, U of T successfully upheld this guarantee during the Ontario double cohort of 2003[10].

The colleges differ in character and resources. Trinity and Innis offer fewer placements for students and are thus more selective. St. Michael's College is a Catholic institution. In addition, each college houses specific academic programs, which serve to attract students. Trinity is home to the Munk Centre for International Studies, University College is home to the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and the Centre for Sexual Diversity, while the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies is associated with St. Michael's.

In addition to the arts and sciences colleges, there are also four theological colleges and a graduate college affiliated with the university. The theological colleges form part of the Toronto School of Theology.

[edit] List of Colleges

Name Established Federated Constituent/Federated Type Religious affiliation Website
Emmanuel College 1928 Constituent of Victoria University Theological United Church Website
Innis College 1964 Constituent Arts and sciences Non-denominational Website
Knox College 1858 Constituent Theological Presbyterian Website
Massey College 1963 Constituent Graduate Non-denominational Website
New College 1962 Constituent Arts and sciences Non-denominational Website
Regis College 1930 Constituent Theological Jesuit Website
St. Michael's College 1852 1910 Federated Arts and sciences/theological Roman Catholic Website
Trinity College 1851 1904 Federated Arts and sciences/theological Anglican Website
Victoria College 1836 1892 Federated Arts and sciences Non-denominational Website
University College 1853 Constituent Arts and sciences Non-denominational Website
Woodsworth College 1974 Constituent Arts and sciences Non-denominational Website
Wycliffe College 1877 Constituent Theological Anglican Website

[edit] Faculties

School of Continuing Studies.
School of Continuing Studies.

The university is also divided into a series of faculties. These faculties are directly administered by the university with varying degrees of autonomy. Some are undergraduate, but many are only open to graduate students, though these often cooperate with the Faculty of Arts and Science to offer undergraduate programs. Undergraduate professional faculty students (profacs) live in the residences of the Arts and Science colleges. The faculties are:

[edit] Other divisions

[edit] Centres and institutes

[edit] Affiliated teaching hospitals

[edit] Other affiliated units

[edit] Previously affiliated institutions

[edit] Notable faculty, alumni, and senior officers

Main article: List of University of Toronto people

[edit] See also

[edit] References and footnotes

  1. ^ Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2005. Retrieved, May 26, 2006.
  2. ^ The Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings. October, 2005. Accessed June 28, 2006.
  3. ^ Maclean's. "Research Tool." Retrieved July 29, 2006
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ [3]
  7. ^ [http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113111987803688478-VNpw62xi_JA4avE8cxOZf0pf_nM_20061109.html Building an Online Library, One Volume at a Time]
  8. ^ a b c University of Toronto (2005). Facts & Figures (PDF). University of Toronto. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
  9. ^ [4]
  10. ^ U of T ready to welcome double cohort. Retrieved, June 30, 2006.

[edit] External links

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