University of Ottawa

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Université d'Ottawa - University of Ottawa
Latin: Universitas Ottaviensis
Motto: Deus Scientiarum Dominus Est
"God is the Lord of Knowledge"
Established: 1848
Type: public
Endowment: $100.5 Million [1]
Chancellor: Huguette Labelle
Rector: Gilles G. Patry (end of term: June, 2008)
Staff: 3,048
Undergraduates: 30,283
Postgraduates: 4,100
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Campus: Urban, 105 acres
Colours: Garnet and Grey            [2]
Affiliations: AUCC, IAU, AUFC,COU, ACU
Website: uOttawa.ca
For the university in Ottawa, Kansas, see Ottawa University.

The University of Ottawa or Université d'Ottawa in French (also known as uOttawa or nicknamed U of O or Ottawa U) is a bilingual [1], research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. 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 also located in Ottawa, is federated with the University.

The University of Ottawa is ranked 5th in research-intensity, and 9th in total-research funding in Canada[3]. It is a member of the Group of Thirteen, a league of the most research-intensive universities in Canada. It is also ranked 10th in Canada in the Gourman Report university ranking guide. In the THES - QS World University Rankings of the top 500 universities in the world for 2007, the University of Ottawa placed 227th, and 14th among Canadian universities.

Contents

[edit] Reputation

Tabaret Hall
Tabaret Hall
Fauteux Hall, the Faculty of Law
Fauteux Hall, the Faculty of Law
At left, Morisset Library. At right, former headquarters of campus radio station CHUO, currently the Déjà Vu lounge.
At left, Morisset Library. At right, former headquarters of campus radio station CHUO, currently the Déjà Vu lounge.
The Desmarais Building, the university's newest building in 2007.
The Desmarais Building, the university's newest building in 2007.

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, which uses university science indicators to examine the research of 46 Canadian universities in 21 different scientific fields[2].

The 2004 Financial Times global survey of EMBA programs ranked the U of O Executive MBA 65th out of 220 worldwide. The University 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)".

The Corporate Knights magazine survey of business schools ranked the university’s undergraduate program 4th in Canada. A recent international table produced by Shanghai Jiao Tong University rated University of Ottawa in the 203-300 bracket of top 500 universities in the world[3].

In 2005, the U of O won the World Universities Debating Championship by defeating the participants Cambridge University, Oxford University and University of Toronto in the final. The contestants representing the university were Jamie Furniss and Erik Eastaugh. In 2006 the University of Toronto won the debating competition marking the first time that Canada won back to back competitions.

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 [4]. 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 [5].

[edit] Academics

The students of the University of Ottawa in the faculty of medicine were recently ranked the best in Canada as demonstrated in the national qualifying examinations by the Medical Council of Canada. The university launched Canada's first program in biopharmaceutical sciences. The faculty itself is affiliated with several research institutions including:

The university's law school has a special program called the National Program, in which students receive both a civil law and common law degree in only four years.

Masters and doctoral degrees are offered in most disciplines by the faculty of graduate and postdoctoral studies.

Its 10 faculties offer an array of undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide variety of disciplines:

[edit] Faculty of Arts

[edit] Faculty of Law

[edit] Faculty of Education

[edit] Faculty of Engineering

[edit] Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

[edit] Faculty of Health Sciences

  • Including the Faculty of Nursing

[edit] Telfer School of Management

[edit] Faculty of Medicine

[edit] Faculty of Science

[edit] Faculty of Social Sciences

Saint Paul University (French: Université Saint Paul) is a federated Catholic university that is affiliated with the University of Ottawa.

[edit] Student life

The university is situated in the heart of downtown Ottawa. It is within easy walking distance to 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 a transit system which links the campus to a wide range of amenities in the City of Ottawa.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's peace campaign came to the University of Ottawa, in 1969, after student leaders Allan Rock and Hugh Segal invited the couple.

There are two weekly newspapers published by students, Fulcrum in English and La Rotonde in French, The bilingual video production house, Zoom Productions and a campus radio station, CHUO, where actor/comedian Tom Green and model/MTV VJ Quddus both have hosted late-night shows at different times, on the station for several years. The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Undergraduate English Student's Association publishes the arts and literary journal Ottawa Arts Review.

The university is fully bilingual, having a particular importance to the Franco-Ontarian community.

In May 2007, the university surpassed their fund raising goal of $200 million dollars and one year ahead of schedule. Former 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. The gift by Telfer was also the biggest donation in history made to a Canadian business school [6].

[edit] Bilingualism at the University of Ottawa

In 1848, the institution — then called Bytown College — brought together Francophone and Anglophone students. These students were taught in both French and English – typically morning lectures were given in one language while afternoon lectures were given in the other language. 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. Today, students have the choice to study in English, French, or both.

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. This sparked debate on the widely-held perception that students must speak French to study at the University of Ottawa. In fact about 70 per cent of University of Ottawa students are anglophones.

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. [4]

[edit] Facts and trivia

  • Most of the filming for the motion picture Decoys, starring Nicole Eggert took place on campus. Tabaret Hall, a prominent feature of the university, was used as the backdrop for the movie. [7]
  • The university has its own power plant, capable of powering campus during city blackouts in winter storms, to ensure that exams go forward. [8]
  • U of O was the first university in Canada to lease operation of its bookstore to an American company, Brennan's College Bookstores Inc., of Springfield, Mass., in 1983. This lease was later rejected by the Federal Investment Review Agency causing the creation of Ottawa-Brennan Inc. a company in which the university owned 51%, Brennan 49%, and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the FIRA.[5]
  • Since 2005, U of O has been the location of the Ontario Youth Choir (OYC).
  • The University has been given access to the Perepiteia device to determine if the claim of perpetual motion is viable.

[edit] Notable alumni and faculty

[edit] Senior Officers of the University of Ottawa

[edit] List of Chancellors

(1889–1965) University of Ottawa

(1965–Present) University of Ottawa (reorganised)

[edit] List of Presidents

(1848-1861) Le Collège de Bytown / The College of Bytown

(1861-1889) Collège d'Ottawa / College of Ottawa

(1889-1965) Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa

(1965-Present) Université d'Ottawa (nouvelle structure) / University of Ottawa (reorganised)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Resources & Services | Media Room
  2. ^ From uOttawa Style Guide: Official Colours:
  3. ^ http://www.researchinfosource.com/media/2007-top50-article.pdf
  4. ^ AUFC
  5. ^ French, William. "Bookstore row of national import", The Globe and Mail, 1984-03-13, pp. M.7. (English) 

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 45°25′20″N 75°40′57″W / 45.4222, -75.6824

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