University of Windsor

The University of Windsor (U of W or UWindsor) is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students. The University of Windsor has graduated more than 100,000 alumni since its founding.

The University of Windsor has nine faculties, including the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Engineering, Odette School of Business, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Faculty of Human Kinetics, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Nursing, and the Faculty of Science. Through its various faculties and independent schools, Windsor's primary research interests focus on automotive, environmental, and social justice research, yet it has increasingly began focusing on health, natural science, and entrepreneurship research.

Recently, the University of Windsor has established a School of Medicine in partnership with the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry from the University of Western Ontario. Currently, the University of Windsor constructed a $112-million Centre for Engineering Innovation, which will house the Faculty of Engineering and its research centre.

History


The University dates back to the founding of Assumption College Roman Catholic in Windsor, Ontario in 1857. Assumption College, a primarily theological institution, was founded by the Basilian Fathers of the priestly teaching Congregation of St. Basil, in 1857. The college grew steadily, expanding its curriculum and affiliating with numerous other colleges over the years.

In 1919, Assumption College in Windsor affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. Originally, Assumption was one of the largest colleges associated with the University of Western Ontario.

Escalating costs forced Assumption University (a denominational university) to become a public institution in order to qualify for public support.

It was granted university status in 1953.

The War Memorial Hall (more generally known as Memorial Hall) is a landmark building on the campus of the University of Windsor used as classrooms, labs, and offices. Memorial Hall honours alumni who had enlisted and died in the First World War, and in the Second World War. A bronze tablet remembers the alumni of Assumption College who died in the Second World War.

In 1950, Assumption College welcomed its first women students. In 1953, through an Act of the Ontario Legislature, Assumption College received its own university powers, and ended its affiliation with the University of Western Ontario. In 1956, the institution’s name was changed to Assumption University of Windsor, by an Act of the Ontario Legislature, with Reverend Eugene Carlisle LeBel, C.S.B. named as its first President. The recently created non-denominational Essex College, led by Frank A. DeMarco, became an affiliate, with responsibility for the Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, as well as the Schools of Business Administration and Nursing. ( Essex College's Arms and Badge were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on March 15, 2007.)

In December 1963, Assumption University of Windsor made affiliation agreements with Holy Redeemer College (now Académie Sainte-Cécile), Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario) and the new Iona College (Windsor, Ontario) (affiliated with the United Church of Canada). Canterbury College became the first Anglican college in the world to affiliate with a Roman Catholic University.

In the early 1960s, the City of Windsor’s growth and demands for higher education led to a further restructuring. A petition was made to the Province of Ontario, for the creation of a non-denominational University of Windsor, by the board of governors and regents of Assumption University, and the board of directors of Essex College. The University of Windsor came into existence through its incorporation under an Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on December 19, 1962. The transition from an historic Roman Catholic university to a non-denominational provincial university was a development that was unprecedented.

On July 1, 1963, the entire campus with all of its facilities and faculty became known as the University of Windsor. As a 'federated member', Assumption University remained as an integrated institution, granting degrees only in its Faculty of Theology. Father Eugene Carlisle LeBel from Assumption became the inaugural president of the University of Windsor, and Frank A. DeMarco, who had been holding both positions of Principal, as well as Dean of Applied Science at Essex College, became the inaugural Vice President. The University's coats of arms were designed by Alan Beddoe.

In 1964, when E.C. LeBel retired, Dr. John Francis Leddy was appointed President of the University of Windsor, and presided over a period of significant growth. From 1967 to 1977, Windsor grew from approximately 1,500 to 8,000 full-time students. In the 1980s and early 1990s, this growth continued. Among the new buildings erected were the Odette Business Building and the CAW Student Centre.

Enrollment at the University reached record heights in Fall 2003 with the elimination of Grade 13 (Ontario Academic Credit) in Ontario. The university has developed a number of partnerships with local businesses and industry, such as the University of Windsor/Chrysler Canada Ltd. Automotive Research and Development Centre, the only one of its kind in North America.

University of Windsor's Arms were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on March 15, 2007.

The University of Windsor has entered into a strategic partnership with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Together, the two will create new student internships, pursue research opportunities and establish promotions with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC and the Toronto Marlies hockey club. The agreement is the first partnership of its kind for both organizations.

Academics
Windsor offers more than 120 majors and minors and 55 master's and doctoral degree programs across nine faculties:
 * Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Science s
 * Anthropology; Communication, Media and Film; Criminology; Dramatic Art; English; French; History; Language, Literature and Cultures; Labour Studies; Music; Philosophy; Political Science; Psychology; Social Work; Sociology; Visual Arts; Women's Studies


 * Faculty of Education
 * Faculty of Engineering
 * Civil Engineering; Electrical and Computing Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Industrial and Manufacturing and Systems Engineering; and Mechanical, Automotive, Aerospace and Materials Engineering.


 * Odette School of Business
 * Accounting, Marketing, Management, Human Resources, Finance and Strategy


 * Faculty of Graduate Studies
 * Faculty of Human Kinetics
 * Sport Studies, Movement Science and Sport Management


 * Faculty of Law
 * Faculty of Nursing
 * Faculty of Science
 * Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Economics, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, General Science.

University of Windsor also provide Inter-Faculty Programs offering cross-departmental majors like Forensics, Environmental studies and Arts & Science concentration. There are nine cooperative education programs for 1,100 students. The Faculty of Law is one of six in Ontario, and has a major teaching and research focus on Social Justice issues. It publishes two law journals the Faculty led Access to Justice and the student run, peer-reviewed Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues.

Law students may study Human Rights Law, Poverty Law, Aboriginal rights law and legal issues affecting women, minorities and children. The faculty, in conjunction with Legal Aid Ontario, runs a downtown Windsor community legal clinic called Legal Assistance Windsor, that is staffed with supervising lawyers, law students, and social workers; it is aimed at meeting the legal needs of persons traditionally denied access to justice. This clinic operates in the area of landlord tenant law as well as social benefits.

The University of Windsor runs a second legal clinic, Community Legal Aid, located at the corner of Sunset and University. This clinic is a Student Legal Aid Services Society (SLASS) clinic, which is staffed primarily by volunteer law students and overseen by supervising lawyers, called review counsel. This clinic operates primarily in the areas of criminal law, landlord tenant law, and small claims court. The clinic offers free legal services to those who qualify financially and all students of the University of Windsor.

The faculty also has a joint, American Bar Association ABA-Approved LL.B-J.D.degree program with the University of Detroit Mercy. The program is completed in three years with students taking courses at both the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy. Upon completion students earn both Canadian and American legal accreditation and can pursue licensing in any Province in Canada (aside from civil law in Quebec) and any State in the United States of America.

As of 2008, the University of Windsor is also home to a satellite campus of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry of the University of Western Ontario. There are currently 92 medical students studying full-time at the Windsor campus.

Campus
Located in Canada's traditional "automotive capital" across the border from Detroit, the campus is situated near the United States and its busy port of entry to and from the United States. It is framed by the Ambassador Bridge to the west and the Detroit River to the north.

The campus covers 51 ha (contiguous) and is surrounded by a residential neighborhood. The campus features a small arboretum, which represents most of the species from the Carolinian forest. Campus is approximately a 10 minute drive from downtown Windsor. The CAW Student Centre has a view of the Ambassador Bridge, and houses retail stores, a food court and "The Basement", the student-operated pub.

The St. Denis Centre, located at the south end of campus on College Avenue, is the major athletic and recreational facility for students; a weight room, exercise facilities and a swimming pool. The new South Campus Stadium built for the 2005 Pan-American Junior Games is beside the St. Denis Centre - which also has dressing rooms for Lancer teams - and borders Huron Church Road, the major avenue to and from the border crossing. The athletics department has become well known for Track & Field, and Men and Women's Basketball. The majority of the Lancer teams made the playoffs this year (2010) and the program continues to grow in championship titles.

Library and collections
The Leddy Library is the main campus library for the University of Windsor. The library’s collection consists of over 3 million items including electronic resources holdings of over 17,000 electronic titles and several hundred thousand data sets.

The Leddy Library is named in honour of John Francis Leddy, former president of the University of Windsor. Dr. Leddy was born in Ottawa, Ontario on April 16, 1911, but grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Student life


International students make up approximately 10% of the student population; about 1500 students from more than 70 countries.

Despite the large number of international students, the majority of students are domestic and come from the southwestern Ontario counties of Essex, Chatham-Kent and Lambton.

Greek Life on campus is smaller at the University, but includes 3 International Fraternities: Delta Chi, Pi Lambda Phi and Sigma Chi; 2 International Sororities: Phi Sigma Sigma and Delta Zeta. There is also one local sorority, Delta Alpha Theta.

Many students take advantage of their proximity to Michigan for cultural, recreational and educational opportunities. All full-time undergraduate students are members of the University of Windsor Students' Alliance and possess a health and dental plan coverage as well as access to "The Thirsty Scholar", a newspaper and a radio station.

In addition to the newspaper The Lance—which is partially funded by the UWSA and provides stories written by student volunteers—the University of Windsor is host to several independent publications. The Student Movement is a grassroots, independent, student run paper providing a critical discourse towards administration and the UWSA. The Issue is a student run electronic publication covering international social justice issues.

Leddy Library is the main campus library. The Paul Martin Law Library serves the Faculty of Law. The Canadian Auto Workers Union helped to build the CAW Student Centre which is a central meeting place for students. The University has a unique agreement with the Ambassador Duty-Free Store, at Canada's busiest border crossing, which provides student jobs, 400 parking spaces, and an annual cash annuity to the school.

Residence life
The University houses male and female students in six different residence halls across campus.

Alumni Hall is the only building on campus that houses Beyond First Year and first year students in the same building but not in the same rooms. It is a suite-style residence where rooms have two bedrooms that share a kitchenette, and 3-piece bathroom. Because of demand, entrance to Alumni Hall is based on grade-point average for first year undergraduate students.

Cartier, Laurier and Macdonald Halls are home to first-year undergraduate students; Laurier Hall hosts alternating single-gender floors while Cartier and Macdonald Halls are entirely co-ed floors.

Clark Residence, another Beyond First Year residence (returning, undergraduates, graduate, transfer and exchange students, is a collection of townhouse style apartments which include full kitchen facilities in each unit. Clark is available only to Beyond First students.

Electa Hall is a co-ed building which houses Beyond First Year students (returning, undergraduates, graduate, transfer and exchange students) and students in professional programs such as education and law. Electa Hall hosts the Law residence community and many other communities.

Athletics
The University is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Windsor Lancers. The Lancers play within the Ontario University Athletics conference. The University of Windsor Stadium plays host to a variety of intercollegiate sports including football, men and women's,soccer and outdoor track and field. Windsor Lancers Ice Hockey team plays at the Windsor Arena, previous home to the Windsor Spitfires OHL hockey team.

Scholarships
The University joined Project Hero, a scholarship program cofounded by General (Ret'd) Rick Hillier, for the families of fallen Canadian Forces members.

The University established Rosa Schreiber Award with the assistance of former University of Windsor Professor Economics, Alan A. Brown. From the University's Senate Committee on Student Awards: The competition award is open to Arts or Social Science students in Year 2 or beyond. Applicants must submit a 1,500-2,000 word essay on some aspect of moral courage. Submission must be made to the Office of Student Awards. This competition will be held in alternate years. It was established in 1995 to honour Rosa Schreiber, an Austrian Freedom Fighter who risked her life to help others during World War II.

Administration
The University's current President is Dr. Alan Wildeman, formerly VP Research at the University of Guelph. He took office on July 1, 2008, as the University’s sixth President and Vice-Chancellor, succeeding Dr. Ross H. Paul.

Memberships
It is a member of the National Conference of Canadian Universities and Colleges, the University Articulation Board of Ontario, the International Association of Universities, and the Association of the British Commonwealth. The Lance (Student Newspaper) is a member of CUP.

Presidents

 * 1) Eugene Carlisle LeBel, 1963–1964
 * 2) John Francis Leddy, 1964–1978
 * 3) Mervyn Franklin, 1978–1984
 * 4) Ronald W. Ianni, 1984–1997
 * 5) Ross H. Paul, 1998–2008
 * 6) Alan Wildeman, 2008–present

Alumni

 * Lorne Abony, businessman
 * Navdeep Bains, former Member of Parliament
 * James Bondy, entertainer, co-star of Ribert and Robert's Wonderworld
 * Joe Bowen, sportscaster, "The Voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs"
 * Patrick Brown, Member of Parliament
 * Joe Comuzzi, former Member of Parliament and cabinet minister
 * Nicole Corriero, all-time collegiate hockey record holder for most goals in a season (59 goals, tied with Mike Donnelly)
 * Warren Christie, actor
 * Antoni Cimolino, general director of the Stratford Festival
 * Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament
 * Dwight Duncan, former Member of Provincial Parliament and former Minister of Finance
 * Colm Feore, actor
 * Eddie Francis, mayor of Windsor, Ontario
 * Arjei Franklin, receiver, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, CFL
 * Roger Gallaway, former Member of Parliament
 * Mark Hominick, UFC fighter
 * Marie Howe, poet
 * Dario Hunter, the first Muslim-born person to be ordained a rabbi.
 * Thomas LaSorda, CEO of Chrysler Group
 * Franklin Lyons, lawyer
 * Frank Mahovlich, NHL Hall-of-Famer and Canadian Senator
 * Stephen Mandel, Alberta Minister of Health and former mayor of Edmonton, Alberta
 * Sergio Marchionne, Chair and CEO of Chrysler and CEO of Fiat Group
 * Brian Masse, Member of Parliament
 * Thomas Moore, author
 * Hodan Nalayeh, media executive and entrepreneur
 * Rick Nicholls, Member of Provincial Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Essex, Ontario
 * Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence of Canada
 * Richard Peddie, former president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
 * Joel Quenneville, coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL
 * John Redmond C.S.B., Basilian priest, teacher, principal, athletic director and coach at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School.
 * Amy Rivard, actor
 * Lynsay Sands, author
 * Amanda Tapping, actor
 * Anna Maria Tremonti, CBC Radio and CBC Television reporter
 * Daniel Victor, musician and founder of Neverending White Lights
 * Tessa Virtue, ice dancer
 * Bob Weeks, TSN golf analyst
 * Nigel Shawn Williams, actor
 * Alexander Zonjic, professional flutist
 * Stanley E. Zin, William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business, New York University, and Frisch Medal winner

Faculty

 * Iain Baxter&, Professor Emeritus School of Visual Arts, award-winning Canadian photographer, painter, sculptor, installation artist, and conceptual artist
 * Di Brandt, former Professor, and Poet
 * Alan A. Brown, Professor of Economics, founder of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE), international honor society in Economics
 * John N. Deck, former Professor, Plotinus Scholar
 * Craig Fleisher, Professor of Management and Windsor Research Leadership Chair, Odette School of Business, author of several key books on business and competitive intelligence
 * Alistair MacLeod, Author, Arts Faculty Professor, and award-winning Canadian author
 * Marshall McLuhan, former Professor, Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar
 * Eugene McNamara, Professor Emeritus of English, writer, and poet, initiated the Creative Writing Program which has graduated a number of award winning authors, former editor of the Windsor Review
 * Lakshman Marasinghe, Professor Emeritus of Law, Chairman of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka
 * Joyce Carol Oates, former visiting English Department Faculty member from 1968 to 1978 now at Princeton University, American Author
 * Howard Pawley (retired), former NDP Premier of Manitoba (1981–1988)
 * Ralph Simmonds, judge on the Supreme Court of Western Australia, once a professor of law at University of Windsor
 * Vern Stenlund, Professor of Education, Coach men's hockey, former NHL player and co-author of hockey books with Bobby Orr

Federated or Affiliated Colleges

 * Assumption University, a graduate college that offers a degree in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education
 * Canterbury College, a liberal arts college within the U of W with a Christian background
 * Iona College, a small theological college