University of Ottawa

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Université d'Ottawa - University of Ottawa
Crest of the University of Ottawa
Latin: Universitas Ottaviensis
Motto: Deus Scientiarum Dominus Est
"God is the Lord of Knowledge"
Established: 1848
Type: Public
Endowment: $128.4 Million[1]
Chancellor: Huguette Labelle
President: Gilles G. Patry (end of term: June, 2008)
Staff: 4,057 [2]
Undergraduates: 30,882 [3]
Postgraduates: 4,666 [4]
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Campus: Urban, 105 acres[5]
Sports: Gee-Gees
Colours: Garnet and Grey          [6]
Affiliations: AUCC, IAU, AUFC,COU, ACU, CIS, CUSID
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 [7], 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. 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 Ottawa.

The University of Ottawa is ranked 5th in research-intensity, and 9th in total-research funding in Canada[8]. It is a member of the Group of Thirteen, a league of the most research-intensive universities in the country. It was ranked 10th in Canada in the 1997 Gourman Report university ranking guide.[9] 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] History

Tabaret Hall with the Desmarais Building in the background
Tabaret Hall with the Desmarais Building in the background

The University of Ottawa was founded in 1848 as the College of Bytown by Monseigneur Joseph-Bruno Guiges, OMI. 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.[10]

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.[11] The college moved to its current location in Sandy Hill in 1856 when land was donated by notary Louis T. Besserer.[12]

In 1861, the College of Bytown became the College of Ottawa.[13] In 1866 the college received a Royal charter from London, England to become the University of Ottawa.[14] In 1889, the University of Ottawa was granted a pontifical charter by Pope Leo XIII.[15] The pontifical charter would later be transferred to Saint Paul University during a reorganization in 1965.[16]

The Main Academic Building was constructed in various stages between 1865 and 1885 and was destroyed by fire in 1903[17]. Academic Hall was completed in 1901[18] and still stands to this day as one of the oldest buildings still in use by the university.[19] 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.[20] The building was renamed in 1971 to Tabaret Hall in honour of Father Joseph-Henri Tabaret, OMI.[21]

Women began attending classes on campus in 1919.[22]

In 1939 the Canadian Officers' Training Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force began using some of the university's facilities.[23] 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.[24]

The Ontario legislature passed the University of Ottawa Act in 1965, making the university a provincially funded institution.[25] Saint Paul University was founded at this time and the university's theology programs were transferred.[26]

[edit] Academics

Fauteux Hall, the Faculty of Law
Fauteux Hall, the Faculty of Law

The university has 30,882 undergraduate and 4,666 graduate students, with an enrollment of 8,700 undergraduate and 1,600 graduate students as of the Fall 2007. The average entering grade as of the Fall 2006 was 81.5%, of which 33.4% of students had an average of 85% or higher.[27]

The largest faculties by number of students are Social Sciences (22.2%) and Arts (19.6%). The remaining students are mostly enrolled in the faculties of Health Sciences (12.3%), Science (10.6%) and Management (10.3%). The faculties of Engineering, Medicine, Education, Law and Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies make up the remaining 25% of students.[28]

The university launched Canada's first program in biopharmaceutical sciences.[29]

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.[30]

The university is partnered with The Ottawa Hospital as well as the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario as teaching hospitals.[31] Students also get exposure to Montfort Hospital in Ottawa and the Centre Hospitalier des Vallées de l'Outaouais hospitals in the Gatineau/Hull area.[32]

Of the total student population, 69.7% of students use English and 30.3% use French as their primary language of communication with the university.[33] 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.[34] A Second Language Certificate can also be obtained in English.[35] 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.[36]

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.[37]

[edit] Research

The university is a member of the Group of Thirteen[38], a group that describes itself as the leading research-intensive universities in Canada[39]. For the 2006-2007 period, total research revenues were $229 million.[40] According to RE$EARCH InfoSource, the university's 2007 ranking among Canadian universities was 9th in total research funding, based on 2005-2006 information.[41]

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.[42]

The university houses over twenty research centres and institutes[43] and is affiliated with several research institutes in the Ottawa area[44]. 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.[45]

The university is a member of the High Performance Computing Consortium (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[46]. Researchers are provided with the computational power needed to solve increasingly complex problems[47].

[edit] Finances

The University of Ottawa's endowment as of April 2007 is $128.4 million.[48]

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, approximately 61% of the university's sources of funding were from operating grants 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.[49]

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%.[50]

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.[51] The gift by Telfer was also the biggest donation in history made to a Canadian business school.[52]

[edit] Reputation

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[53].

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[54].

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 and 2007 The University of Ottawa was unsuccessful in defending this title in subsequent tournaments.

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[55]. 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[56].

[edit] Student life

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 university is situated in the heart of downtown Ottawa. It is within 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 the OC Transpo 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.[57]

There are two weekly newspapers published by students, the Fulcrum in English[58] and La Rotonde in French[59]. There also exists a bilingual video production house called Zoom Productions[60] and a campus radio station, CHUO[61], where actor/comedian Tom Green[62] and model/MTV VJ Quddus[63] both hosted late-night shows at different times for several years.

Ottawa Gee-Gees
Ottawa Gee-Gees

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.

On April 9, 2008, the university presented a draft version of a Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct.[64] 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.[65] Bruce Feldthusen, Vice-President of University Relations, has responded by indicating that the code is still up for review and that they are inviting feedback.[66]

[edit] Bilingualism at the University of Ottawa

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 [67]. 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[68]. 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. [69]

[edit] Facts and trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • 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. [1]
  • The university has its own power plant that provides heating and cooling in addition to electricity on campus via a network of tunnels[70].
  • 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.[71]
  • 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 people and alumni

Main article: List of University of Ottawa alumni
See also: List of University of Ottawa senior officers

The University of Ottawa currently reports 153,086 alumni.[72]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  2. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  3. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  4. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  5. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  6. ^ Official Colours. University of Ottawa Style Guide. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  7. ^ Regulation on Bilingualism. University of Ottawa Administration and Governance. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  8. ^ Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2007 Analysis. RE$EARCH Infosource Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
  9. ^ http://www.studywonder.com/canada_uni.htm
  10. ^ Prévost, Michel. Childhood Friends. Tabaret Magazine. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  11. ^ Campus Footprint 1848-1856. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  12. ^ Prévost, Michel. Childhood Friends. Tabaret Magazine. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  13. ^ Timeline - Major Milestones - 1861. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  14. ^ About the History of the University of Ottawa. University of Ottawa Archives. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  15. ^ Timeline - Major Milestones - 1889. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  16. ^ About the History of the University of Ottawa. University of Ottawa Archives. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  17. ^ Campus Footprint 1856-1903. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  18. ^ Campus Footprint 1856-1903. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  19. ^ Campus Footprint 1856-1903. 133-135 Séraphin Marion - Maps. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  20. ^ 550 Cumberland - Maps. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  21. ^ 550 Cumberland - Maps. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  22. ^ Timeline - Major Milestones - 1919. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  23. ^ Timeline - Major Milestones - 1939. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  24. ^ Prévost, Michel. A University at War. Tabaret Magazine. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  25. ^ Timeline - Major Milestones - 1965. Since 1848.... University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  26. ^ About the History of the University of Ottawa. University of Ottawa Archives. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  27. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  28. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  29. ^ Notes for an address by Gilles G. Patry, University of Ottawa rector and vice-chancellor during the presentation of the new bioscience complex, Ottawa. Office of the President - Speeches and Messages. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  30. ^ National Program. Faculty of Law - Civil Law Section. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  31. ^ Teaching Hospitals. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  32. ^ CHVO - Hull. Practical Information about Ottawa-Gatineau Area Hospitals & Roger Guindon Hall. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  33. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  34. ^ Improve your french. French immersion studies. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  35. ^ Immersion courses in English. Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  36. ^ The students. Regulation on Bilingualism at University of Ottawa 1974. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  37. ^ Saint Paul University - Faculties. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  38. ^ G13 Universities. Links. Queen's University Office of Institutional Research & Planning. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  39. ^ U of C Joins Group of Canada's Most Research-Intensive Universities. University of Calgary. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
  40. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  41. ^ Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2007 Analysis. RE$EARCH Infosource Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  42. ^ Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  43. ^ uOttawa Research Centres and Institutes. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  44. ^ Affiliated Research Institutes. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  45. ^ Affiliated Research Institutes. University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  46. ^ Ontario announces $25.4 M investment in two Queen's-led projects. Queen's News Centre. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  47. ^ Innovation Performance—Central Eastern Ontario. Government of Canada. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  48. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  49. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  50. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  51. ^ $25 million gift brings uOttawa campaign total to more than $226 million. uOttawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  52. ^ Mining tycoon Telfer digs deep with U of O donation. globeandmail.com.
  53. ^ University of Toronto Tops Rankings of Canadian Research Universities. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  54. ^ Top 500 World Universities (203-300). Academic Ranking of World Universities 2007. Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  55. ^ 11 schools boycott Maclean's university ranking. CTV.ca News. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  56. ^ University of Ottawa and Maclean's rankings. Office of the President, University of Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  57. ^ Graydon, Shari. A Platform for Peace. Tabaret Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  58. ^ The Fulcrum - The University of Ottawa's independent English-language student newspaper. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  59. ^ La Rotonde - Blogue. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  60. ^ Zoom Productions - About Us. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  61. ^ About CHUO. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  62. ^ Tom Green Biography (1971-). film reference. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  63. ^ Bio. QuddusOnline.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  64. ^ The University of Ottawa consults its community on the student code of conduct. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  65. ^ UofO students clash with university. Macleans.ca OnCampus. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  66. ^ UofO students clash with university. Macleans.ca OnCampus. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  67. ^ policy on bilingualism policy
  68. ^ "U of O edict sparks uproar", Metro Ottawa. Retrieved on 2008-04-29. 
  69. ^ AUFC
  70. ^ 720 King Edward. University of Ottawa Maps. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  71. ^ French, William. "Bookstore row of national import", The Globe and Mail, 1984-03-13, pp. M.7. (English) 
  72. ^ Quick Facts. University of Ottawa Media Room. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.

[edit] External links

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

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