Université d'Ottawa - University of Ottawa | |
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Latin: Universitas Ottaviensis | |
Motto | Deus Scientiarum Dominus Est "God is the Lord of Knowledge" |
Established | 1848 College of Bytown. Subsequent names, College of Ottawa (1861), University of Ottawa (1866), now University of Ottawa/Université d'Ottawa |
Type | Public |
Endowment | $129.2 Million[1] |
Chancellor | Huguette Labelle |
President | Allan Rock |
Admin. staff | 4,057 [2] |
Undergraduates | 32,630 [2] |
Postgraduates | 5,230 [2] |
Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Campus | Urban, 105 acres (0.42 km2)[2] |
Colours | Garnet and Grey [3] |
Sports | Gee-Gees |
Affiliations | AUCC, CARL, IAU, AUFC, COU, ACU, CIS, CUSID, OUA, QSSF, Fields Institute, Ontario Network of Women in engineering, CBIE |
Website | uOttawa.ca |
The University of Ottawa or Université d'Ottawa in French (also known as uOttawa or nicknamed U of O, and Ottawa U) is a bilingual,[4] research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada, and was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.[5] Formerly a liberal arts college, it has been teaching pure and applied sciences in both French and English since the 1800s. The university has been conferring Bachelor's degrees since 1872, Master's degrees since 1875, and Doctorates since 1888. Saint Paul University is federated with the university and is also located in the city of Ottawa. The enabling legislation is The University of Ottawa Act, 1965. [6] The University of Ottawa is ranked 5th in research-intensity, and 9th in total-research funding in Canada.[7] It is a member of the Group of Thirteen, a league of the most research-intensive universities in the country.
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The University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution founded in 1848 as the Roman Catholic College of Bytown by Monseigneur Joseph-Bruno Guigues, OMI.[8] The college was originally for boys only and taught a classical liberal arts curriculum. Morning classes were taught in French and afternoon classes in English.[9]
The campus was originally located in the Lower Town district of the city of Bytown on the site of what is now the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. One of the original buildings still stands at the intersection of Sussex Drive and Guigues Avenue.[10] The college moved to its current location in Sandy Hill in 1856 when land was donated by notary Louis T. Besserer.[9]
In 1861, the College of Bytown became the College of Ottawa.[11] In 1866 the college received a Royal charter from London, England to become the University of Ottawa.[12] In 1889, the University of Ottawa was granted a pontifical charter by Pope Leo XIII.[13] The pontifical charter would later be transferred to Saint Paul University during a reorganization in 1965.[12]
The Main Academic Building was constructed in various stages between 1865 and 1885 and was destroyed by fire in 1903.[14] Academic Hall was completed in 1901[14] and still stands to this day as one of the oldest buildings still in use by the university.[15] The Main Academic Building was rebuilt in various stages from 1905 to 1931. The design for the new building was inspired by the Capitol Building in Washington by architect A. O. Von Herbulis.[16] The building was renamed in 1971 to Tabaret Hall in honour of Father Joseph-Henri Tabaret, OMI.[16]
Women began attending classes on campus in 1919.[17]
In 1935, the Catholic Centre was organized at the University of Ottawa. In 1939 the Canadian Officers' Training Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force began using some of the university's facilities.[18] In 1942, temporary military barracks were constructed on campus for the Canadian Women's Army Corps. A total of 1158 students and alumni enlisted in the war effort.[19]
The University of Ottawa was restructured and made non-denominational in 1965. The Ontario legislature passed the University of Ottawa Act in 1965, making the university a provincially funded institution.[20] Saint Paul University was founded at this time and the university's theology programs were transferred.[12]
The average entering grade as of the Fall 2008 was 81.6%, of which 33.6% of students had an average of 85% or higher.[2]
The largest faculties by number of students are Social Sciences (22.7%) and Arts (19.6%). The remaining students are mostly enrolled in the faculties of Health Sciences (12.2%), Science (10.7%) and Management (10 %). The faculties of Engineering, Medicine, Education, Law and Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies make up the remaining 25% of students.[21]
The university launched Canada's first program in biopharmaceutical sciences.[22]
The National Program of the university's Faculty of Law allows students to receive both a civil law and common law degree in four years.[23]
The university is partnered with The Ottawa Hospital as well as the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario as teaching hospitals.[24] Students also get exposure to Montfort Hospital in Ottawa and the Centre Hospitalier des Vallées de l'Outaouais hospitals in the Gatineau/Hull area.[25]
The university's faculty of engineering is accredited by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers in the following disciplines: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Software Engineering.[26]
Of the total student population, 69.4% of students use English and 30.6% use French as their primary language of communication with the university.[2] The university offers a French immersion study program that includes a French immersion designation on the student's diploma, as well as the option to obtain a Second Language Certificate in French.[27] A Second Language Certificate can also be obtained in English.[28] The university allows students to produce their work in French or English regardless of the language of instruction of the course, with the exception of language courses.[29]
The university is federated with the Catholic Saint Paul University (French: Université Saint Paul), which has faculties of Canon Law, Human Sciences, Philosophy and Theology.[30]
University rankings | |
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ARWU World[31] | 201-302 |
ARWU N. America[32] | 100-134 |
THE-WUR World[33] | 226 |
THE-WUR Arts/Humanities[34] | 210 |
THE-WUR Life Sciences[35] | 208 |
THE-WUR Physical Sciences[36] | 191 |
THE-WUR Social Sciences[37] | 156 |
THE-WUR Engineering/Tech.[38] | 171 |
Canadian rankings | |
Maclean's Medical/Doctoral[39] | 9 |
The University of Ottawa's department of neurosciences is ranked 1st in Canada, and 2nd in clinical medicine, in citations per paper (highest impact) from 2000-2004 by Science Watch newsletter, published by Thomson Scientific in 2005, which uses university science indicators to examine the research of 46 Canadian universities in 21 different scientific fields.[40]
The 2004 Financial Times global survey of EMBA programs ranked the U of O Executive MBA 65th out of 220 worldwide. The EMBA program also scored a "Best in Canada" distinction across three categories in "career progress achieved by graduates", "calibre of program faculty", and "international component of its curriculum (ranked among the top 10 in the world)". In the 2007 rankings, the university placed 87th out of the top 90 EMBA programs.[41]
The Corporate Knights magazine 2005 survey of business schools ranked the university’s undergraduate program 4th in Canada. In the 2007 survey of business and law rankings, the undergraduate business program placed 10th, and the University of Ottawa's Common Law program was ranked 1st in Canada. The rankings use additional components of social and environmental impact management infused into their curricula.[42]
In the THES - QS World University Rankings of the top 500 universities in the world for 2009, the University of Ottawa placed 226th, and 13th overall in Canada[43]
The 2008 international table "Academic Ranking of World Universities" produced by Shanghai Jiao Tong University rated University of Ottawa in the 7-18 bracket nationally, and in the top 201-302 of 500 universities in the world.[44].
In 2005, the School of Management was featured in the Princeton Review’s Best 143 Business Schools Worldwide, which produces test preparation, such as the SAT's and information regarding college admissions.
In 1981 and 1982 Martin LaPlante and Michael McCulloch of the university were finalists in the World Universities Debating Championship[45]. Finally in 2005, the University of Ottawa won the World Universities Debating Championship by defeating the participants University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and University of Toronto in the final. The contestants representing the university were Jamie Furniss and Erik Eastaugh.
The Maclean's 2007 university ranking guide, that takes a measure of the "undergraduate experience", ranked the school 8th in the Medical Doctoral peer grouping, tied with Dalhousie University.[46]
Maclean's also published their first Law School rankings in 2007, which the university placed 1st in National Reach, 3rd in Supreme Court Clerkships, and 4th Overall in Canada for their Common Law Program. In the Civil Law Program, the school placed 1st in National Reach, 1st in Supreme Court Clerkships, and 2nd Overall.[47]
In August 2006, the University of Ottawa announced, along with 10 other Canadian universities, that it disagreed with the ranking of Canadian universities as put forth by Maclean's magazine.[48] The universities will be in a sense boycotting their rankings by refusing to participate in future surveys by the magazine. The reason for the boycott is that the university disagrees with the methodology used in reaching the ranking.[49]
The university is a member of the Group of Thirteen,[50] a group that describes itself as the leading research-intensive universities in Canada.[51] For the 2006-2007 period, total research revenues were $229 million.[2] According to the RESEARCH Infosource 2007 publication, the university's ranking among Canadian universities was 5th in research intensity and 9th in total research funding.[52]
The university has an office of Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise designed to set up contract research, manage intellectual property and develop external partnerships for research work.[53]
The university houses over twenty research centres and institutes[54] and is affiliated with several research institutes in the Ottawa area.[55] The faculty of medicine is affiliated with the Ottawa Health Research Institute, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the University of Ottawa Eye Institute among others.[55]
The university is a member of the High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory (HPCVL), led by Queen's University. The HPCVL mission is to provide supercomputer power to a number of universities in Eastern Ontario: Queen's University, Royal Military College of Canada, the University of Ottawa and Carleton University.[56] Researchers are provided with the computational power needed to solve increasingly complex problems.[57]
University of Ottawa Press, which was founded in 1936, deals with French Canadian civilization, literature, philosophy, medieval studies, translation studies, law, the social sciences, the physical sciences and engineering.[8]
The university is situated near downtown Ottawa. It is within walking distance of the Rideau Canal, Sandy Hill, Rideau Centre, Byward Market, National Arts Centre, Supreme Court of Canada, Government agencies, and Parliament Hill. The university is also serviced by the OC Transpo transit system which links the campus to a wide range of amenities in the City of Ottawa.
The university is home to over 175 student clubs and organizations.[58]
All student services are provided bilingually, particularly important to the Franco-Ontarian and Quebec communities.
UOttawa is home to a number of fraternities and sororities, both local and international. The Greek life at UOttawa is a generally understated affair and there is no "Greek row" on campus. The University of Ottawa Greek Council (of which nearly all fraternities and sororities are members) provides a forum for the Campus Greeks to coordinate events together and otherwise collaborate. Fraternities and sororities are active on campus, participating in fund raising events, campus clean ups, days of service and more.
The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) claims to represent undegraduate students of the university, while the Graduate Students' Association des étudiant.e.s diplômé.e.s (GSAÉD) claims to represent its graduate students.
On April 9, 2008, the university presented a draft version of a Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct.[59] Students held a rally in opposition of the proposed code, with representatives from the two student associations stating that it had the potential to stifle student dissent and the rights of students for free speech with respect to university affairs. Around 3000 out of 43000 students signed a petition against the code of conduct and hundreds participated in the April 25 rally.[60][61] As of August 2008, the university announced the draft code has been abandoned in favour of a "different solution that will be created and agreed upon by all members of the university community, including students, professors, staff and the University administration".[62]
The solution adopted by the University of Ottawa to replace the non-academic student code of conduct was announced on December 4, 2008 with the launch of a web site outlining a new Declaration of Rights for members of the University community.[63]
There are two weekly newspapers published by students, the Fulcrum in English[64] and La Rotonde in French.[65] There also exists a bilingual video production house called Zoom Productions[66] and a campus radio station, CHUO[67] where actor/comedian Tom Green[68] and model/MTV VJ Quddus[69] both hosted late-night shows at different times for several years. Currently noted academic activist and former University of Ottawa professor Denis Rancourt is also the host of Thursday night program at CHUO [70]. The Undergraduate English Students' Association publishes the arts and literary journal Ottawa Arts Review.
On-campus residences are situated in downtown Ottawa. With a capacity to house over 3000 full-time students, UofO has seven residence buildings: four traditional-style buildings: Thompson, Stanton, Marchand, and Leblanc, the dormitory/apartment hybrid 90 University (opened in 2002), and two apartment-style buildings: Brooks and Hyman-Soloway (opened in 2005). At uOttawa all first year undergraduate students are guaranteed a place in residence.
The main residential complex (including 90 University, Stanton, and Marchand) is open during the summer as a hotel to independent travellers, conference attendees, school groups, and others.[71][72] Additionally, the 20th floor of 90 University is open year-round as a short-term hotel, catering particularly to visiting professors and researchers.[72]
Is not unusual that last minute students, unavailable to secure on-campus residence, are housed at Saint Paul University's suite-style residence opened in 2006 on the campus of Saint Paul University, which is federated with the University of Ottawa. Saint Paul University is located at 200 Main Street, a 15 minute walk from the main campus or a 5 minute shuttle ride.
Recently the university has been featured in national coverage criticizing the residence system, particularly cleaning and upkeep of housing from year to year.[73][74]
The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The University of Ottawa competes in basketball, ice hockey, Canadian football, rugby, soccer, swimming, volleyball, and track and field.[75]
The Gee-Gees football team won the national championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000 and also appeared in the championship game in 1970, 1980, and 1997.
Prior to adopting the current mascot, students used the university's colours, garnet and grey, to refer to the school's sports teams. The abbreviation of the two colors, GG, eventually developed into the Gee-Gee mascot used today. A gee-gee is a lead racehorse.[76]
The University joined Project Hero, a scholarship program cofounded by General (Ret'd) Rick Hillier, for the families of fallen Canadian Forces members.[77]
In 1848, the institution — then called Bytown College — brought together Francophone and Anglophone students. From the outset, the college’s founders, the Oblates, believed that their institution should promote reconciliation and a better understanding between French and English Canada.
In 1965, the “Université d’Ottawa - University of Ottawa” was created by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. With its new provincial charter as a publicly-funded institution, the University was given the dual mandate of furthering bilingualism and biculturalism, as well as preserving and developing the French culture in Ontario and in Canada.
The University of Ottawa implemented a policy on promoting bilingualism in 1974.[78] Today, students have the choice to study in English, French, or both depending on their programme of study. Controversy has arisen over the years regarding implementing a course to be taught in both languages over alternating years, and eliminating English courses altogether in some faculties.
A study of full professors' employment contracts carried out by the Human Resources Service as part of Vision 2010 concluded that about half of the professors are actively bilingual when they are hired. Ninety-seven percent of support-staff positions are designated as “actively bilingual” and 93% of these positions are held by bilingual staff.
From time to time the bilingual nature of the University of Ottawa has been the subject of linguistic debate. For example in October 2005, the Canadian French newspaper Le Droit reported on an internal memo to University of Ottawa recruiting officers heading to a recruitment fair in Toronto who were directed to speak solely in English while manning the booth.[79] This sparked debate on the widely-held perception that students must speak French to study at the University of Ottawa. In fact just under 70 per cent of University of Ottawa students are anglophones, but most of the administration employees are francophones. [1]
In March 2006, an open letter appeared in Le Droit signed by several University of Ottawa professors voicing their concerns on the status of French at the university. In the ensuing weeks, opinion pieces and letters to the editor ignited vigorous debate.
In June 2006, the university established a Task Force on Programs and Services in French mandated to submit to the senate a development plan for programs and services in French for 2007-2012 that will help the university fully assume its mission and commitment to promote and develop French culture in Ontario. A final report will be submitted to the senate in the spring of 2007.
The university is a member of L'Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne, a network of academic institutions of the Canadian Francophonie.[80]
The University of Ottawa's endowment as of April 2009 is $129.2 million.[2]
In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, approximately 61% of the university's sources of funding were from operating and research grants. Tuition made up approximately 23%. Remaining sources of funding included investment income, donations, student housing, capital grants and sale of services, among other items.[81]
The university also reported that over half of the expenditures for 2006-2007 were related to salaries and benefits. Buildings, renovations, furniture, equipment and supplies collectively made up 23.3%. Scholarships and bursaries made up 5.9%.[81]
In May 2007, the university surpassed their fund raising campaign goal of $200 million a year ahead of schedule. Alumnus Ian Telfer, CEO of Goldcorp Inc., presented the school with a $25 million gift which put their total fund raising campaign to $226 million.[82] The gift by Telfer was also the biggest donation in history made to a Canadian business school.[83]
On 22 March 2010, the University of Ottawa made international news when a speech by Ann Coulter was cancelled in response to protesters. Event organizers cited security concerns, but the Ottawa Police Service said the crowd did not get way out of hand, and that there were no arrests.[84] There was initially disagreement as to who cancelled the speech, but a police representative said Coulter's security team decided to call off the event.[85] Event organizer Ezra Levant blamed the protest on an email sent to Coulter (which Coulter leaked to the media) by academic vice-president Francois Houle, which warned that "hate speech" could lead to criminal charges.[86] After the cancellation, Coulter criticized the university.[87]
Seamus Wolfe, Ottawa’s student federation president, ordered that posters for the Coulter event be removed from student union property and wrote to University President Allan Rock to ask that “you notify Ms. Coulter that she is not welcome on our campus, and that her event will not occur on uOttawa property.”[88] Other students who participated in the protest later stated that they supported shutting down the event, with one student stating, in regards to the event's cancellation, that “I think that’s great. I think we accomplished what we were here to do, to ensure that we don’t have her discriminatory rhetoric on our campus.”[89]
It was subsequently revealed that Vice-president academic and provost, François Houle had sent Coulter an email warning her that freedom of speech is defined differently in Canada than in the U.S. and that she should take care not to step over the line.[89]
In an interview on April 2010, Mr. Rock admitted that he knew about the letter sent by Francois Houle, advising Ms. Coulter of Canada's hate-speech laws. Rock stated "It was sent on behalf of the administration with my knowledge, so I share responsibility. I acknowledge that there were other and better ways of achieving the letter's purpose." Mr. Rock told the university senate that he hopes to develop a new policy on free speech, based on the university's "collective view."[90]
In July 2010, the Canadian Press (CP), published emails from University President Allan Rock, the former federal Liberal Justice minister, to Vice-president academic and provost, François Houle, which reportedly revealed that he was the force behind an intimidating email to Ms. Coulter prior to her visit. In the email, Rock wrote:
“Ann Coulter is a mean-spirited, small-minded, foul-mouthed poltroon … ‘the loud mouth that bespeaks the vacant mind.’ She is an ill-informed and deeply offensive shill for a profoundly shallow and ignorant view of the world. She is a malignancy on the body politic. She is a disgrace to the broadcasting industry and a leading example of the dramatic decline in the quality of public discourse in recent times.”[88]
The National Post sharply criticized Rock, "for a former head of the Law Society of Upper Canada to have such a false concept of fundamental political rights is appalling.” The Post further argued that a University "is supposed to be a sanctuary for free inquiry, not a shrine for the worship of political correctness" and express concern about providing "intellectual cover to censorship by permitting politically correct persons simply to define any speech with which they happen to disagree as 'hate speech.'"[88]
The University of Ottawa currently reports 153,086 alumni.[2]
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