| The University of Western Ontario | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Latin: Veritas et Utilitas |
| Motto in English | Truth and usefulness |
| Established | 7 March 1878 |
| Type | Public university |
| Endowment | $318.879 million[1] |
| Chancellor | John Thompson |
| President | Amit Chakma |
| Academic staff | 1,381[2] |
| Undergraduates | 20,524 [3] |
| Postgraduates | 5,297[3] |
| Location | London, Ontario, Canada |
| Campus | Urban, 455 hectares (1,120 acres)[4] |
| Former names | Western University of London Ontario (1878–1923) |
| Colours | Purple and White |
| Athletics | Western Ontario Mustangs |
| Mascot | JW the Mustang[5] |
| Affiliations | ACU, AUCC, CARL, CBIE, CIS, COU, CUP, CUSID, Fields Institute, IAU, OUA, U15 |
| Website | www.uwo.ca |
The University of Western Ontario (commonly referred as Western or UWO) is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers 455 hectares (1,120 acres) of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and schools. Western administers a wide variety of academic programs between twelve faculties, professional schools and three affiliated university colleges.[6]
The university was founded as The Western University of London Ontario, a denomimational school of the Church of England, by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth and the Anglican Diocese of Huron. The university became secular in 1908 and was given its present name in 1923. The university has over 23,000 undergraduate and over 5,000 graduate students. More than 220,000 alumni and former students of Western can be found in over 100 countries around the world. The Western varsity athletic teams are known as the Western Ontario Mustangs, and are members of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
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The university was founded on March 7, 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth(1817-1901) of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as "The Western University of London Ontario."[7] It incorporated Huron University College, which had been founded in 1863.[8] The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine, and there were originally only 15 students when classes began in 1881. [9] The first of these students graduated in 1883. The Western University of London was eventually made non-denominational in 1908.[7]
In 1916, the current site of the University was purchased from the Kingsmill family, and in 1923 the Western University of London was renamed The University of Western Ontario.[7] The first two buildings constructed at the new site were the Arts Building (now University College) and the Natural Science Building (now the Physics and Astronomy Building). These were built in a neo-Gothic or "Collegiate Gothic" style, and classes on the present site of the school began in 1924.[10] The University College tower, one of the most distinctive features of the University, was named the Middlesex Memorial Tower in honour of the men from Middlesex County who had fought in World War I. Western later became affiliated with St. Peter's College seminary of London, Ontario in 1939, and it eventually became King's College, an arts faculty.[8]
Although enrolment was relatively small for many years, the University began to increase greatly in size after World War II and by the 1970s, 10% of university students in Ontario were enrolled at Western. The University saw the addition of a number of new faculties in the post-war period, such as the Faculty of Graduate Studies (1947), the School of Business Administration (now the Richard Ivey School of Business) (1949), the Faculty of Engineering Science (now the Faculty of Engineering) (1957), the Faculty of Law (1959), and Althouse College for education students (now the Faculty of Education) (1963) and the Faculty of Music (1968).[11]
The University of Western Ontario is situated in the city of London, Ontario, located in the southwestern end of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The majority of the campus is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, with the Thames River bisecting the eastern portion of the campus. Western Road is the major transportation artery of the university, going north to south. While the campus covers 455 hectares (1,120 acres), the majority of the teaching facilities are centered within the core approximately 169.3 hectares (418 acres).[4]
Campus sustainability at Western is managed by the President's Advisory Committee on Environment & Sustainability. The committee's mandate includes incorporating sustainability into our academic programming, engaging in research across the disciplines into issues of environmental sustainability, utilizing ecological landscaping methods and preserving green space and building and renovating facilities in accordance with energy efficiency and sustainability principles[12] Along with the other members of the Council of Ontario Universities, Western had signed a pledge in 2009 known as Ontario Universities Committed to a Greener World, with the objective of transforming its campus into a model of environmental responsibility.[13] Western is also a signatory of the Talloires Declaration, a sustainability declaration created for presidents of higher education.[14] The university campus received a B- grade from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card for 2011.[15]
The governance of the university is conducted through the Board of Governors and the Senate. The Senate was the university's first governing body, created in the university's founding document, An Act to Incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1878.[16] The Board of Governors was later established in An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1892.[17] The Board is responsible for the for the overall management of the university, including financial matters.[18] Ex officio governors of the Board include the university's chancellor, president, the mayor of London, the warden of Middlesex County and the secretary of the Board of Governors. The Board also consists of 26 other governors, either appointed or elected by the various members of the university's community and the surrounding commuity, including elected representatives from the student body.[19]
The Senate is responsible for the university's academic policies.[20] The Senate consists of 20 ex officio positions in the Senate granted to the chancellor, the president, the vice-presidents of the university, the senior dean of each faculty, the university librarian and the secretary of the senate. The secretary of the senate is a non-voting ex officio member. The Senate also consists of 46 elected members from the university's faculty, 18 members from the student population, and 9 members from the Western's affiliated colleges, including their principals. The Senate also consists of 9 other members from around the university community. In total, there are 103 members of the Senate, 102 of which may vote and 10-13 official observers of the Senate.[21]
The president and vice-chancellor acts as the chief executive officer of the university who is accountable to the Board of Governors and the Senate, and supervises and directs the academic and administrative work of the university and of its teaching and non-teaching staff.[22] Amit Chakma is the tenth president of the university, serving the post since 1 July 2009.[23] The chancellor of the university acts as the honourary and symbolic head of the university. The position of chancellor is a four year, non-renewable term.[24] The current chancellor of the university is John Thompson, who held the position since 2008.[25]
Programs at the university is divided amongst 12 faculties and schools, including Althouse College of Education, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Richard Ivey School of Business, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Western Law School. The university also is affiliated with three university colleges, Brescia University College, Huron University College and King's University College.[6]
Western is a publicly-funded research university, and a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.[26] The full-time undergraduate programs comprise the majority of the school's enrolment, made up of 23,690 full time, part time undergraduate students and concurrent education students. The graduate student population is 5,297, including full time students, part time students and post-graduate medical residents.[3] The university conferred 4,504 bachelor degrees, 207 doctoral degrees, 1,427 master degrees, and 1,180 second entry professional degrees in 2008–2009.[27] Students may apply for financial aid such as the Ontario Student Assistance Program and Canada Student Loans and Grants through the federal and provincial governments. The financial aid provided may come in the form of loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief, and work programs.[28]
Admission requirements at Western differs depending upon the education system in which the applicant has originated from, due to the lack of uniformity in marking schemes.[29] The acceptance rate at Western fell from 66% in 2005 to 58% in 2010.[30] The secondary school average for full-time first-year students at Western was 86.8%,[31]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| The University of Western Ontario | |
| ARWU World[32] | 201-300 |
| ARWU Social Sciences[33] | 76-100 |
| THE-WUR World[34] | 201-225 |
| Canadian rankings | |
| ARWU National[35] | 9-18 |
| Maclean's Medical/Doctoral[36] | 9 |
The University of Western Ontario has ranked as one of Canada's top universities. According to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) rankings, the university ranked 201-300 in the world and 9-18 in Canada.[35] The 2011 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 157th in the world.[37] In terms of national rankings, Maclean's ranked Western 9th in their 2011 Medical Doctoral university rankings.[36] Western was ranked in spite of having opted out—along with several other universities in Canada—of participating in Maclean's graduate survey since 2006.[38]
Several of Western's programs were also ranked in individual rankings. Social sciences at Western was ranked 96th in the world in the 2010 QS World University Rankings.[37] In 2011, the ARWU similarly ranked social science at Western 76-100 in the world.[33] Western Law School was also ranked 9th nationally in Maclean's 2011 rankings for common law schools in Canada.[39] Western's Richard Ivey School of Business has also ranked well internationally. In 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek had ranked the Ivey as the 6th best business school outside of the United States and second in Canada.[40] In 2011, the Financial Times had also ranked Ivey 46th in its 2011 global MBA ranking, placing second nationally.[41]
Western has four primary fields of research in which it currently operates: life sciences and the human condition, culture analysis and values, the human and physical environments, and social trends, public policy, and economic activity.[42] In Research Infosource's 2011 ranking of Canada's 50 top research universities, Western was ranked 10th, with a sponsored research income of $$221.236 million, averaging $155,600 per faculty member.[43] The federal government is the largest source of funding providing 46% of Western's research budget, primarily through grants. Private corporations contribute 10% of Western's research budget.[44] The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT), an organization which also evaluates universities based on their scientific paper's performances, ranked Western 184th in the world and 9th nationally in its 2011 rankings.[45] Western was also ranked 87th in the world within the field of social sciences in HEEACT's 2011 rankings.[46]
Research regarding the human brain has also become a major focus at the university. The Centre for Brain and Mind was created to provide a focus for research in cognitive neuroscience at Western.[47] and the Centre recently discovered that the blind may echolocate by using the visual cortex of the brain.[48] Another recent study at Western has suggested that people deaf from birth may be able to reassign the area of their brain used for hearing to boost their sight.[49]
The two main student unions on administrative and policy issues is the University Students' Council for all undergraduate students and the Society of Graduate Students for graduate students.[50][51] The University Students' Council recognizes more than 180 student organizations and clubs, in which more than 19,500 people are a member.[52] These clubs and organizations cover a wide range of interests such as academics, culture, religion, social issues, and recreation.[53] The oldest accredited club at Western is The University of Western Ontario Debating Society, which was first established in 1896.[54]
The main campus at UWO has a number of student residences: Alumni House; Elgin Hall; Delaware Hall; Essex Hall; Medway-Sydenham Hall; Perth Hall; Saugeen-Maitland Hall; Huron College has the following residences: Benson House; Brough Hall; Cronyn House; Hellmuth Hall; Henderson House; O'Neil, Ridley Hall Residence; The Southwest Residence; Young House; and London Hall. Brescia College has one residence: Ursaline Hall. King's College has the following residences: King's Alumni Court; Wemple Building (Portions of the upper two floors are reserved for residence space, the rest of the building contains classrooms, cafeteria, administrative offices etc.) ; Town Houses #1-10. [55]
There are a number of fraternities and sororities existing throughout the student community. There are currently five sororities at Western, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Beta Phi.[56] There are also six fraternities existing at Western, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Upsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Chi.[57][58][59][60][61][62] The fraternities and sororities that exist within the student community of Western are not recognized or accredited by the University Students' Council.[53]
The Don Wright Faculty of Music offers over 300 concert performances of various styles throughout the year, most of which are open to the public. The UWO Symphony Orchestra and the UWO Chamber Orchestra perform regularly under conductor Geoffrey Moull. UWOpera, under the direction of Theodore Baerg, performs a wide variety of repertoire ranging from operetta to full operatic works in the Paul Davenport Theatre (refurbished and renamed in 2009 from Talbot Theatre).[63] UWO is presently planning the construction of a new Concert Hall with 1100-1400 seats, which would include amenities and equipment suitable for major orchestral, operatic and choral events.[64] Theatre Western produces a season that includes an annual musical revue of modern and classic Broadway, Purple Shorts (Western's One-Act Play Festival,) and a major musical production each spring. Recent productions include West Side Story, Cabaret, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The Faculty of Education typically puts on a major production every year. Past years have included such shows as Hair, Into The Woods, Chess, Seussical and Urinetown. 2010's production will be Jason Robert Brown's '13'. The Huron Underground Drama Society (or "HUDS") is a student run drama group that puts on several shows per year. Their plays or skits are usually completely student written, and are well known for their edgy comedic content.
The university's student population operates a number of media outlets throughout the campus environmennt. The Gazette is a student newspaper which has been in publication since 1906.[65] The University Students' Council also own and operates a campus radio station CHRW-FM (94.9 FM).[66] The first campus radio to operate at Western was in 1971, although the present day station CHRW-FM, was not established until 1979, one year after the closure of the Western's first campus radio station.[67] The University Students' Council had previously operated a closed-circuit television station, known as tvWestern.ca. The television station began broadcasting in 1994.[68] The television station was discontinued by the student union in 2010 after being cut from its operating budget.[69]
Athletics at Western is managed by Sports & Recreation Services, a division of the Faculty of Health Sciences.[70] The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport. The varsity teams are known as the Western Ontario Mustangs. As is mandatory for all members of Canadian Interuniversity Sport, Western does not provide full-ride athletic scholarships.[71]
The university has a number of athletic facilities open to both their varsity teams as well as to their students. TD Waterhouse Stadium has been the main stadium of the university since it opened in 2000, with a seating capacity for over 8,000 spectators. The stadium is home to the university's varsity football team, and has hosted a number of events including the World Lacrosse Championships and the Canada Games.[72] The Thompson Recreation & Athletic Centre which houses a number of athletic venues, including an ice rink, tennis facilities and a track, is home to the varsity ice hockey teams and the varsity track and field teams.[73] Another athletic facility at the university is Alumni Hall, which is a multipurpose venue for sports such as basketball, volleyball and other indoor events.[74]
Intramural sport leagues and tournaments have a high level of participation at Western.[75] Opportunities are offered at multiple skill levels and across a variety of sports to service a range of interest and ability. Sports offered include traditional sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as less traditional events like dodgeball and inner tube water polo. Western also hosts secondary school football games at their TD waterhouse stadium.[76]
As of November 2007, the University of Western Ontario has over 220,000 alumni residing in over 100 countries.[77] Throughout Western's history, faculty, alumni, and former students have played prominent roles in many different fields and have won the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize and other awards such as the Rhodes Scholarship.[78][79] Former faculty member Frederick Banting received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of insulin.[80] Two graduates from Western have also travelled in space, namely Bjarni Tryggvason and Roberta Bondar.[81][82]
Many former students have gained local and national prominence for serving in government, such as James Bartleman, who served as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007.[83] Western's alumni also include a number of provincial premiers, including former premiers of Ontario John Robarts and David Peterson,[84] and the former premier of Alberta, Don Getty.[85] A number of graduates have also served prominent positions on the international level. Examples include Glenn Stevens,[86] the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization.[87]
A significant number of prominent business leaders have also studied at Western. Examples include Thomas H. Bailey, founder and former chairman of Janus Capital Group,[88] Geoff Beattie, president of The Woodbridge Company and chairmain of CTVglobemedia,[89] George Cope, president and CEO of Bell Canada Enterprise,[90] Edward Rogers III, deputy chairman of Rogers Communications, and former president of Rogers Cable,[91] Arkadi Kuhlmann, chairman of ING Direct,[92] Rob McEwen, chairman and CEO of US Gold Corporation, Minera Andes and the founder, chairman and former CEO of Goldcorp Inc.,[93] John Thompson, former chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank and chancellor of Western,[94] Prem Watsa, chairman, CEO of Fairfax Financial,[95] Lee Seng Wee, former chairman of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation,[96] Galen Weston, chairman and president of George Weston Limited.[97]
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