| University of Alberta | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Quaecumque Vera |
| Motto in English | Whatsoever things are true |
| Established | 1908 |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | $783.3M[1] |
| Chancellor | Linda Hughes |
| President | Indira Samarasekera |
| Provost | Carl G. Amrhein |
| Academic staff | 3,506[2] |
| Admin. staff | 10,640[2] |
| Undergraduates | 29,100 full-time, 1,844 part-time[3] |
| Postgraduates | 5,964 full-time, 1,382 part-time[3] |
| Location | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Colours | Green and Gold |
| Nickname | The Golden Bears (men), The Pandas (women) |
| Mascot | GUBA (men), Patches (women) |
| Website | http://www.ualberta.ca/ |
The University of Alberta (U of A) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,[4] the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory,[5] its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada.[6] The main campus covers 50 city blocks with over 90 buildings directly across the North Saskatchewan River from downtown Edmonton. The enabling legislation is the Post-secondary Learning Act.[7]
As of 2005[update] the continued economic boom in Alberta, driven mainly by high energy prices, had resulted in multi-billion dollar government fiscal surpluses.[8] This led to the introduction of Bill 1 by the provincial government, which creates a $4.5 billion endowment for Alberta's post-secondary institutions.[9]
The University of Alberta was founded on May 8, 1906 in Edmonton, Alberta. [10] The University of Alberta, a single, public provincial university, was chartered in 1906 in Edmonton, Alberta with a new University Act. University of Alberta was modelled on the American state university, with an emphasis on extension work and applied research.[11]
University of Alberta is a non-denominational university which offers undergraduate and graduate programs.[12] With the hiring of Henry Marshall Tory in 1907, the University of Alberta started operation in 1908 using temporary facilities, while the first building on campus was under construction.[12]
In a letter from Henry Marshall Tory to Alexander Cameron Rutherford in early 1906, while he is in the process of setting up McGill University College in Vancouver, Tory writes "If you take any steps in the direction of a working University and wish to avoid the mistakes of the past, mistakes which have fearfully handicapped other institutions, you should start on a teaching basis."[13] The University of Alberta was established by the University Act, 1906[14] in the first session of the new Legislative Assembly, with Premier Alexander C. Rutherford as its sponsor.
The governance was modelled on Ontario's University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the 2 bodies and to perform institutional leadership.[11]
On September 23, 1908 forty-five students attended classes in English, mathematics and modern languages, on the top floor of the Queen Alexandra Elementary School in Strathcona. Dr. Henry Marshall Tory (1864-1947) was the first director. [15]
Percy Erskine Nobbs & Frank Darling designed the master plan for the University of Alberta 1909-10. Nobbs designed the Arts Building (1914-15); laboratories and Power House (1914). With Cecil S. Burgess, Nobbs designed the Provincial College of Medicine (1920-21). [16]
Herbert Alton Magoon (architect) designed several buildings on campus including: the residence for Prof. Rupert C. Lodge, 1913; and St. Stephen's Methodist College, on the campus of the University of Alberta, 1910. [17]
It awarded its first degrees in 1912.[12] In 1912 the university established its Department of Extension. In the early part of 20th century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.[11] In 1929, the university established a School of Education. In 1932, the University Department of Extension established the Banff School of Finer Arts.
The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s responded to population pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society. On September 19, 1960 the university opened a new 130 hectare campus in Calgary, Alberta.[18]
In 1966, the University of Alberta introduced a masters program in community development.
The single-university policy in the West was changed as existing colleges of the provincial universities gained autonomy as universities - the University of Calgary was established in 1966.[11] The University of Alberta first offered programs of study at Calgary in 1945 and continued until 1966 when the University of Calgary was established as an autonomous institution.[12] Canada's first organ transplant research group was established at the University of Alberta on April 2, 1970, by the Medical Research Council. [19]
In 1976, structural engineer Reuben VandeKraats made the decision to add a more complex building style to the newly designed science and art wings of the school.[20]
Gladys Young donated $3.7 million to the university undergraduate scholarship fund in memory of Roland Young, who graduated from UA in 1928. [21]
The location of the university was to be decided along the same lines as that of Saskatchewan. (The province of Saskatchewan shares the same founding date as Alberta, 1905.) Saskatchewan had to please two competing cities when deciding the location of its capital city and provincial university. Thus, Regina was designated the provincial capital and Saskatoon received the provincial university, the University of Saskatchewan. The same heated wrangling over the location of the provincial capital also took place in Alberta between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. It was stated that the capital would be north of the North Saskatchewan River and that the university would be in a city south of it.[4] In the end the city of Edmonton became capital and the then-separate city of Strathcona on the south bank of the river, where Premier Alexander Rutherford lived, was granted the university, much to the chagrin of Calgary, for many years to come.
Meanwhile, in 1912 the two cities of Edmonton and Strathcona were amalgamated under the name of the former; Edmonton had thus became both the political and academic capital, at the expense of Calgary. This was just one act in a larger rivalry between the two cities, often called the Battle of Alberta.
In 1940 the Garneau neighbourhood adjacent to the University was chosen as the location for the Garneau Theatre, in large part an effort to garner the University students' patronage.
In 1913, a medical school established at the University of Alberta in Edmonton was opened.[22] By 1920, the university had six faculties (Arts and Sciences, Applied Science, Agriculture, Medicine, Dentistry, and Law) and two schools (Pharmacy and Accountancy). It awarded a range of degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA), Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Bachelor of Pharmacy (PhmB), Bachelor of Divinity (BD), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), and Doctor of Laws (LLD). There were 851 male students and 251 female students, and 171 academic staff, including 14 women.[23]
The university has two main newspapers, Folio[24] and The Gateway.[25] Folio is the official newspaper published by Marketing & Communications/University Relations every two weeks from September to June and once each in July and August. The Gateway is the official student newspaper. Fully autonomous, it publishes "most Wednesdays."
The university also has a monthly student newspaper, the Dagligtale, published at Augustana Campus in Camrose, Alberta.[26]
In 1927, the university established the CKUA Educational radio station.
The University of Alberta Press, which was founded in 1969, concentrates on western Canadian history, general science and ecology.[27] The University of Alberta Press publishes an average of between 20 and 30 books per year, often accepting submissions from across Canada for over 50% of the publications. Their current active title listing has more than 150 books,[28] as of 2007.
As of 1 December 2010[update], the U of A had approximately 38,200 students, including 7,300 graduate students[3] and 5,800 international students representing 119 countries.[29] The university has 3,506 academic staff along with about 10,640 support and trust staff.[2] University professors have won more 3M Teaching Fellowships (Canada's top award for undergraduate teaching excellence) than any other Canadian university, 30 awards since 1986.[30][31] The university offers post-secondary education in about 200 undergraduate and 170 graduate programs. Tuition and fees for both fall and winter semesters are slightly more than $5,000 for a typical undergraduate student, although they vary widely by program.[3] The University of Alberta switched from a 9-point grading scale to the more common 4-point grading scale in September 2003. 67 Rhodes Scholars have come from the University of Alberta.[32]
The university has eighteen faculties and two affiliated colleges.
The University of Alberta library system [1], received a tremendous boost with the opening of the Rutherford Library in May 1951, and now has one of the largest research libraries systems in Canada. As of 2004, according to the Association of Research Libraries, the library system is the second-largest, by the number of volumes held, among all Canadian universities, after the University of Toronto Library.[38] In 2006, the university library was rated 20th in North America by the Association of Research Libraries (up from only 28th a year earlier).[38] With over 5.7 million printed volumes combined with online access to more than 410,000 full-text electronic journals and more than 600 electronic databases[39] the library system ranks first in Canada in terms of the number of volumes per student.
The library system comprises the following libraries:
The university is also home to a School of Library and Information Studies. Notably the school offers a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree,[40] accredited by the American Library Association,[41] and is hosted in Rutherford South, the original four story brick, marble, and oak main campus library, opened in 1951.
Housing over 400 distinct research laboratories, the University of Alberta is one of the leading research universities in Canada. The university is a member of the G13 universities, which are the leading research universities in Canada. In the period from 1988 to 2006, the University of Alberta received about $3.4B for research from external sources, with $404M in 2005-2006 alone.[42] The University of Alberta is consistently ranked among the top research universities in Canada.[43][44][45][46]
Notably the University of Alberta is also the national scientific and administrative headquarters for:
Medical researchers are developing the Edmonton Protocol, which is a new treatment for type one diabetes that enables diabetics to break their insulin dependence. The project was originally developed by Drs. James Shapiro, Jonathan Lakey, and Edmond Ryan.[47] The first patient was treated in 1999. As of 2006, the project is developed through the Clinical Islet Transplant Program.
Biomedical researchers, headed up by Michael Ellison have initiated a project to model Eukaryotic cells in detail, called Project Cybercell.
In June 2006, a new 120 million dollar building for the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) was opened on campus. The NINT complex is one of the world’s most technologically advanced research facilities, housing the quietest, and cleanest, laboratory space in Canada.[48] NINT occupies five floors of the new building with the top two floors being reserved by the university for nanotechnology-related research. Recently some staff members have been jointly recruited by the NRC and the University of Alberta.
The University of Alberta provides services to Aboriginal people in more remote communities. University of Alberta provides special first-year bridging programs for Aboriginal students. The University of Alberta’s Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Blue Quills First Nations College was developed in partnership with specific Aboriginal communities to meet specific needs within Aboriginal communities. The Faculty of Native Studies at University of Alberta was designed to meet the knowledge needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The University of Alberta reaches into Aboriginal communities to talk to potential students at a much younger age through its Summer Science Camps for Aboriginal high school students.[50]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| University of Alberta | |
| ARWU World[51] | 102-150 |
| ARWU Engineering & CS[52] | 76-100 |
| ARWU Life Sciences[53] | 76-100 |
| ARWU Clinical Medicine[54] | 76-100 |
| ARWU Social Sciences[55] | 76-100 |
| THE-WUR World[56] | 100 |
| THE-WUR Health Sciences[57] | 49 |
| Canadian rankings | |
| ARWU National[58] | 5-6 |
| Maclean's Medical/Doctoral[59] | 5 |
The University of Alberta consistently ranks as one of the top universities in Canada. Historically the university has produced 65 Rhodes Scholars and 1 Nobel Laureate. In 2011 QS World University Rankings[60] ranked the university 100th overall in the world. In October 2008, the University of Alberta was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, the university was also named one of Alberta's Top Employers.[61][62][63] The Globe and Mail's University Report Card reflects the opinions of 32,700 current undergraduates who responded to some 100 questions about their respective universities.[64] The University of Alberta received scores of A- and above in the following categories:
The university has several distributed campus facilities including, in addition to the Main Campus, two auxiliary satellites: Campus Saint-Jean in southeast Edmonton, and Augustana Campus in Camrose. An extensively renovated and refurbished historic Hudson's Bay department store in downtown Edmonton, renamed Enterprise Square, serves as a campus for adult students belonging to the Faculty of Extension. Notably the university owns a set of large parcels of mostly undeveloped land (currently used as an experimental farm and the site of several agricultural and sports facilities) slightly south of the main campus, called South Campus (previously the University Farm), in which an entire new university complex will gradually be constructed of similar magnitude to the Main Campus.
Also known as Main Campus, the North Campus is the original location of the University of Alberta. It is located on the southern banks of the North Saskatchewan River. It has 145 buildings on 92 hectares (230 acres) of land.[65] A satellite view of the main campus can be seen on Google maps.
Architect Barton Myers completed the long-range campus plan in 1969 and continued as a planner for the University until 1978.
The Campus Saint-Jean is a francophone campus located 5 km east of the main campus, in Bonnie Doon. It is the only French-language university campus west of Manitoba. Due to increasing enrolment, the Campus Saint-Jean is currently undergoing expansion, acquiring new laboratory and classroom spaces. Students at Campus Saint-Jean currently may pursue Bachelor's degrees in the sciences or arts, or complete their first year of Engineering, after which they often transfer to the University of Alberta's main campus. Bilingual Nursing and Business programs are also available.
The Augustana Campus is located in Camrose, a small city in rural Alberta about 100 km southeast of Edmonton. In 2004, the former Augustana University College in Camrose merged with the University of Alberta, thus creating the new satellite Augustana Campus. Students enrolled at the Augustana Campus currently may pursue four-year Bachelor's degrees in arts, sciences, or music.
Enterprise Square opened for business January 15, 2008 on the north side of the North Saskatchewan river in downtown Edmonton.[66] It is located in the historical building previously occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company. The building underwent major renovations. Currently, Enterprise Square houses the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension, the professional development activities of the Alberta School of Business, the Alberta Business Family Institute, and the Design Gallery. It is also the new home of the University of Alberta Alumni Association.
The University of Alberta has future plans for one more Edmonton campus. The South Campus is much larger in terms of land area and located two kilometres to the south of the Main Campus, with a convenient high speed link via Light Rail Transit. The transit station is near Foote Field and Saville Sports Centre, forming a natural gateway to the new campus architectural model. Since South Campus LRT opened in April 2009, the U of A became the only university in Canada with four LRT/Subway stations on its campuses (Along with University, Health Sciences/Jubilee, and Bay/Enterprise Square stations). Preliminary long range development thinking[67] for South Campus implies it may become an expanding academic and research extension of the Main Campus, with rapid development over the next few decades. New architectural guidelines, differing from the Main Campus might encourage a somewhat more consistent, high quality, aesthetic architectural style. As there is a large expanse of land available, significant green space will be incorporated[67] to provide a park like context overall.
$1.6 billion dollars in construction is underway at the University in regards to fields in health and science. Most projects will be complete in 2011 and are expected to greatly expand the University of Alberta's research capacity in the field of health in particular. Currently the University of Alberta attracts approximately $500 million in external research funding a year, the second highest in Canada,[68] and is expected to increase due to added state-of-the-art research and teaching capacity.
One of the major projects underway is the construction of a new $400 million state-of-the-art facility, scheduled for completion in January 2011 and to be known as the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS),[69] a facility for interdisciplinary research groups, as well as the Department of Physics. Three buildings - V-Wing (a large one-floor building composed of 10 lecture halls, of which two will remain), the Avadh Bhatia Physics Building (a six-storey building formerly housing the Department of Physics offices and laboratories), and the old Centre for Subatomic Research[70] - have been demolished to make way for CCIS. Many of the classes and labs that were held in these buildings have now been relocated to other new or recently renovated buildings, such as the building now known as the Civil Electrical Building (CEB), which currently holds the Department of Physics offices, undergraduate labs, and classrooms,[71] plus the first phase of the CCIS facilities which presently house the Condensed Matter labs.
Construction on two new buildings totalling $909 million 170,000 m² multidisciplinary health science facility, surrounding the Health Sciences LRT Station, started in early 2008. The Edmonton Clinic North being built by the University of Alberta is slated for completion in 2011. The Edmonton Clinic South being built by Alberta Health Services is slated for completion in 2012.[72] The Edmonton Clinic (formerly the Health Science Ambulatory Learning Centre) is a joint project with Alberta Health Services, and consists of two separate buildings. Edmonton Clinic South, a 9-story building, will focus on patient care and house most of the medical and dental clinics, while Edmonton Clinic North is a 6-story building that will focus on research and education currently held at the university.
Two new $300 million buildings adjacent to the Heritage Medical Research Centre building on the main campus will contribute to research by allowing the university to hire over 100 additional biomedical and health researchers, this is projected to result in a doubling of research funding by 2014.[73]
Health Research Innovation Facility (HRIF) is a translational research centre designed to create an environment for innovative "bench-to-bedside" health research by increasing interaction between researchers and clinicians focused on common medical issues. A total of 65,000 square metres (699,700 square feet) gross area constructed on two sites.
HRIF West
The hub of the complex is HRIF West, an 8-story building which provides the main entrance to the complex and becomes the critical link between MSB and HMRC. The atrium connection between MSB and HRIF West provides an impressive public venue for the entire facility. The large Lecture Theatre, Teaching and Learning Centre and food service kiosks are located with the atrium which also supports interaction between researchers as well as important links to the existing circulation systems.
HRIF East
HRIF East provides access to the complex from the south and east as well as to the Alberta Diabetes Research Institute ("ADRI") which will occupy several floors within this 9-stoery building. Both the east and west buildings of HRIF are linked at every floor to HMRC with the exception of Level 1 of HRIF West. HRIF West is linked to MSB through the atrium and bridge connections at several levels. In addition HRIF East connects directly to NANUC as well as the new parkade to the south. Completing the complex, the Zeidler (GI) Building and Clinical Training Centre ("CTC") is also connected to the parkade and directly linked to Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre ("WCMHSC"). A Bio-Hazard Level 3 laboratory is located in the basement of the east building, one of the largest one in Canada at over 5,000 square feet (460 m2) over nine stories.
In 1946 the university student council met to consider possible blueprints for a new building, including a large auditorium, during a time when veterans were returning to complete their interrupted studies. The new building was financed by a series of mechanisms, and the completed structure, after a series of additions, now with the large auditorium, named after Myer Horowitz, opened in 1967.
The Students' Union Building (SUB) has been expanded twice since its original construction. It holds a number of services and businesses owned and operated by the Students' Union as well as services owned and operated by the University of Alberta, including the University Bookstore.
Undergraduate and graduate students' organizations are registered with the Students Union (SU) and Graduate Students Association (GSA) of the university.
The University of Alberta offers a wide range of residences on its campuses.
While a majority of the university's students live off-campus, a significant number of students from outside Edmonton in early years of their post secondary education opt to live in residences operated by the university's Residence Services.[74]
Greek societies were banned at the University of Alberta until 1930 after a public campaign. Today the Greek population counts around 500 involved and active students on campus. There are many notable Greek alumni from the University of Alberta including former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, scientist Jay Ingram, former Conservative minister Jim Prentice, current M.P. Linda Duncan and prolific Canadian author W.O. Mitchell.
The female fraternities on campus, recognized through the National Pan-Hellenic Conference, are Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta Phi, and Ceres[85]. The male fraternities on campus, as recognized by the Inter Fraternity Council, are Delta Chi, Delta Upsilon, Farmhouse, Zeta Psi, Theta Chi, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Gamma Delta, and Phi Delta Theta[86]. The IFC also recognizes the Alpha Psi local sorority as a member[87].
The University of Alberta is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Alberta Golden Bears (men's) and the Alberta Pandas (women's). The Green & Gold Soccer Club is the university's soccer centre.[88]
As of November 2006, the Panda's hockey team has won the Canada West Conference 7 times in the 8 year history of competition.[89] In addition, they have claimed the national championship five times in the last seven years, in 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2000. They also boast a pair of silver medals (2005, 1999) since the inception of the CIS championship in 1997-98. When the Pandas lost the CIS championship game in March 2005, it ended a 110-game undefeated streak (109-0-1).[89]
The Pandas volleyball team are frequent national contenders. They last claimed the national championship after beating Laval University 3-1 in March 2007. They previously won 6 national titles in a row beginning in the mid 1990s.
The Golden Bears hockey team has played in the CIS University Cup finals, winning an unprecedented 13 times.[90] Every fall the team plays against the Edmonton Oilers rookies. In 2006 they lost 6-3, ending their five game winning streak against the rookies.[90]
The soccer team of the Golden Bears played as Green & Gold Soccer Academy and L'Academie Vimy Ridge Academy.[91]
The $65 million project has been approved by the student body and is in the final stages of approval. The University of Alberta is proposing to develop a new 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) fitness centre and state-of-the-art climbing complex as a part of the proposed overall Physical Activity and Wellness (PAW) Centre. The PAW Centre would include the integration the Fitness and Lifestyle Centre/Climbing Complex at the corner of 87 Avenue and 114 Street.
The PAW Centre will enhance student experience by providing: A new indoor atrium student lifestyle centre called the “social street,” which is created by enclosing the existing outdoor space between the main gymnasium, Universiade Pavilion and the Van Vliet Centre – East Wing; Additional student-focused multi-purpose space, including food retail, quiet study space, a games room, lounges, and prayer/meditation space; Fitness component includes individual and group training space, free weights, machine weights, stretching areas, cardio and fitness equipment, and locker room renovations; combine new construction with interior renovations of existing buildings.
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation, and athletic games are: 'University of Alberta cheer song' with words by R.K. Michael and music by Chester Lambertson; 'The Evergreen and Gold' (1915) with words by William H. Alexander and sung to the Russia national anthem; and 'Quaecumque vera,' with words and music by Ewart W. Stutchbury.[92] A recent arrangement of the 'University of Alberta Cheer Song' by University of Alberta Professor of Secondary Education, Dr. Thomas Dust has been performed at University convocation ceremonies for the past several years.
To date the U of A has produced 67 Rhodes Scholars.[107] A few of them are:
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