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Calgary
The University of Calgary is a comprehensive research university,
ranked one of Canada s top seven research universities, combining the best of
long-established university traditions with the city of Calgary s vibrant
energy and diversity.
The U of C campus occupies a beautiful, park-like
setting covering more than 200 hectares, an area larger than Calgary s entire
downtown. The university is home to scholars in 17 faculties (offering more than
100 academic programs) and more than 30 research institutes and centres.
More than 27,600 students are currently enrolled in undergraduate,
graduate and professional degree programs. The U of C has graduated 135,000
alumni over its 43-year history, including the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen
Harper.
The university s four academic priorities are prevalent in all
the university s work. The four pillars include leading innovation in energy
and the environment; understanding human behaviour, institutions and cultures;
advancing health and wellness and creating technologies and managing information
for the knowledge society.
The U of C is pursuing the biggest single
capital expansion in its history. Fuelled by Alberta s nation-leading economic
growth, the university has embarked upon a plan to add capacity for more
students and a host of new teaching and research activities. These major
developments, including the Taylor Family Library (TFL), a downtown campus and
the new Energy, Environment and Experiential Learning building, are fulfilling
distinct academic strategies and creating progressive learning environments.
The main campus features over 20 academic buildings many of which are
interconnected by enclosed walkways. The MacEwan Student Centre is a hub of
activity at the university, with a food court, wellness centre and large concert
hall. There is also a museum and art gallery, four performance theatres, two
childcare centres and residences for single students and students with families.
The U of C has 2,761 academic staff actively engaged in research,
scholarship and teaching in Canada and around the world, and more than 3,000
staff, making it one of the four largest employers in Calgary. The university
produces an economic impact of $1 billion in the Calgary area alone.
Academics
The University of Calgary has a full complement of
academic programs ranging from pure science to social science in areas such as
psychology and economics, to several options in the field of health sciences.
With access to several professional schools, including the Haskayne School of
Business, the Schulich School of Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine, the
Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
students keep their options open, and discover their own personal passion. The U
of C also encourages multi-disciplinary programs, meaning students can combine
their interest areas and create an education that suits them.
The
University of Calgary has 17 faculties with more than 60 departments and more
than 30 research institutes and centres. The 17 faculties are: Law; Nursing
(Calgary); Nursing (Qatar); Social Work; Communication and Culture; Education;
Environmental Design; Fine Arts; Haskayne School of Business; Humanities;
Kinesiology; Medicine; Schulich School of Engineering; Science; Social Sciences;
Veterinary Medicine; Graduate Studies; and Continuing Education.
The
university recently opened a campus in Doha, Qatar, offering internationally
accredited nursing degrees to students in the Middle East. University of
Calgary-Qatar will work with the Hamad Medical Corporation to offer world-class
clinical nursing education to educate nurses for clinical specialties and to
develop a sustainable nursing workforce. Graduates from the Qatar program will
meet the same Canadian and international standards for nursing as students from
the Calgary campus.
Canada's fifth veterinary school and the first newly
created program in more than 20 years-the University of Calgary's Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine-opened its doors to students in September 2008. This
innovative four-year doctor of veterinary medicine program leverages the
principles of integration, collaboration and technology to offer a
multi-species/multidisciplinary core as well as four areas emphasis: Production
Animal Health, Investigative Medicine, Equine Health and Ecosystem & Public
Health.
The Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
are located on the south campus adjacent to the Foothills Hospital. The
Kananaskis Field Station, located a short drive from the city on the eastern
slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory,
located in the foothills south of the city, represent satellite institutes of
the university.
Education
The university offers quality
undergraduate education characterized by the synthesis of research, teaching and
learning. We enhance the undergraduate learners experience by using a
student-centred focus that maximizes opportunities to provide a distinctive
learning experience that fully integrates the features of a research university.
The university is broadening opportunities for students to take inquiry based
courses that lead to greater critical thinking skills, increased exposure to
research methods and greater access to leading edge scholars. Students also
participate in opportunities for experiential learning, including international
study, co-op programs, internships, undergraduate research and community service
learning.
Starting this fall, the U of C was the first university in
Canada to offer a four-year graduation guarantee to students embarking upon
four-year degree programs in the faculties of Communication and Culture, Social
Sciences, Science and Humanities. Through a mutual commitment on behalf of
students and the university, the Graduation Guarantee program offers incoming
students an agreement that ensures they will be able to graduate within four
years, or the U of C will pay the tuition for any extra courses needed to
finish.
Student involvement beyond the classroom will be recognized as
part of a new initiative called the co-curricular record. The record, which will
officially launch January 2009, is a first for Western Canadian universities.
Funded through Quality Money, a unique partnership between the university and
Students Union that puts money directly into the hands of students to invest
in areas they deem priority, the co-curricular record will be maintained by the
student.
Research
As one of Canada s top seven research
universities, innovation, discovery and learning are at the heart of all that we
do. Our relentless pursuit of quality in our teaching and research programs is
guided by our mission to contribute to the well-being of the people of Alberta,
Canada and the world. U of C research funding has risen to $262 million.
Research brings significant benefits provincially, nationally and
internationally, and is the foundation of Alberta s economic and social
vitality. Multidisciplinary research is core to the university s teaching and
research mandate.
A research partnership between the university and the
City of Calgary formed in 2007 called Urban Alliance creates an environment for
researchers to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. The alliance
aligns more research projects at the U of C with priority areas identified by
the City. Through the Urban Alliance, both organizations pursue common interests
in research, development and education, with the goal of finding solutions to
the complex issues facing Calgary.
This year Samuel Weiss, PhD 83,
director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary s
Faculty of Medicine, earned one of the world s most prestigious medical science
awards, a Gairdner International Award. Weiss is the first medical scientist to
receive the award for work done at the University of Calgary. His explorations
into the brain have changed the fields of developmental neurobiology and neural
regeneration.
Seventy-four U of C researchers are part of a national
strategy to make Canada one of the world s top countries for research and
development this year. The Canada Research Chairs improve Canadians depth of
knowledge and quality of life, strengthen the country s international
competitiveness and help train the next generation of highly skilled people.
Capital Expansion
Hard hats and work crews are a common site at
the U of C recently as construction on several projects continue. The projects
are part of the university s capital plan, a major endeavour that encompasses
$1 billion in construction and planning activity currently underway.
The
University of Calgary s Child Development Centre is Alberta s first and
Canada s second largest building designed and constructed to LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, the North American benchmark for
environmentally high-performance buildings. The facility, which houses the
university s second child-care facility and a full continuum of researchers,
clinicians and frontline workers, is dedicated to child health. The building
officially opened in October, 2007.
Construction on the Dr. Fok Ying
Tung International House continues and is scheduled for completion by early
2009. The hotel-style building will create new meeting and living space for
business leaders, scholars, students and international visitors.
Work on
schematic designs for the new Energy, Environment and Experiential Learning
building began in January, 2008. The new facility, which will house elements of
the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environments and Economy and
state-of-the-art science laboratories, will support experiential learning
opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
Plans are moving
forward for the university s first High Density Library, a project being
developed in tandem with the Taylor Family Library. Construction of both
facilities began in the spring of 2008. The Taylor Family Library will create a
learning hub on campus, offering students access to expanded academic support
services in addition to access to library and cultural resources.
The
West Campus Master Plan is a mixed-use concept aimed at transforming the U of C
into the campus of the future meeting more of the daily needs of university
stakeholders. The next steps in the project include extensive research and
detailed assessment of the implementation plan.
The Government of
Alberta has given provisional approval for a downtown campus of about 100,000
square feet, subject to successful negotiation of a lease, creating new learning
opportunities for thousands of post-secondary students. One in five University
of Calgary students will have an opportunity to study downtown over the course
of their degree.
The University currently expects programs offered
downtown to include business and continuing education, as well as continued
support for the existing pilot projects. The downtown campus will also
facilitate the expansion of experiential education opportunities, particularly
community-service learning. The U of C expects to complete the location review
and have a recommendation by year-end.
U of C s newest top priority
capital project is the National Biomedical Engineering Centre. The centre, to be
housed on our main campus, will be a world-class, multidisciplinary research and
education facility. It will be a Canadian-first by bringing together university,
government and private sector researchers and commercialization experts to
accelerate the development and commercialization of biomedical engineering
medical devices. |
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