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Our Mission
The University of Windsor is Canada s most personal
comprehensive university. It combines a strong and focussed emphasis on the
learning experience of every student with a very broad range of graduate,
undergraduate, and professional programs. Uniquely accountable in specifying
learning outcomes for each academic program, the University has an exciting
commitment to research in a richly diverse community. A special focus on
automotive, environmental and social justice interdisciplinary research reflects
the priorities of the surrounding region.
Our History
Timeline of
the Development of the University
The year 2003 marked the University of
Windsor's 40th anniversary as a public institution but the story of our
university actually began with its founding in September of 1857, when the first
students arrived to study at its predecessor, Assumption College.
In the
143 years that have since past, the small, liberal arts college has grown into
today's non-denominational, comprehensive, teaching and learning university.
More than 16,000 students attend the University of Windsor today and its alumni
family is 75,000 strong.
Here are some highlights that have marked out
century and a half of academic achievement and excellence.
In September
of 1857 Assumption College welcomes its first students
By 1919,
Assumption becomes one of the largest colleges associated with the University of
Western Ontario.
In 1950, Assumption College welcomes its first women
students.
On July 1, 1953, Assumption College ended its affiliation with
the University of Western Ontario and obtained its own university powers through
an Act of the Ontario Legislature.
In 1954 it was admitted to full
membership in the National Conference of Canadian Universities and Colleges, to
the University Articulation Board of Ontario, and to the Association of the
British Commonwealth.
In 1956, the College changed its name to Assumption
University by an Act of the Ontario Legislature and accepted as an affiliate the
non-denominational Essex College, incorporated in 1954, which assumed
responsibility for the Faculty of Applied Science, the Schools of Business
Administration and Nursing, and the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Geology
and Geography, Mathematics, and Physics. Holy Redeemer College, the national
seminary of the Redemptorist Fathers, located three miles off campus, also
affiliated.
In 1957, Canterbury College, offering courses in Philosophy,
Religious Knowledge and Mediaeval History, became the first Anglican college in
the world to affiliate with a Roman Catholic University.
On December 19,
1962, the University of Windsor was incorporated by the Ontario Legislature,
accepting Assumption University in Federation.
During 1963 and 1964,
affiliation agreements were made with Holy Redeemer College, Canterbury College
and the new Iona College (United Church of Canada).
On July 1, 1963, the
University of Windsor assumed control of the campus creating southwestern
Ontario's first autonomous degree granting institution. The university became a
member of the International Association of Universities in June, 1964.
In
1964 Dr. J. Francis Leddy became President of the University of Windsor, and
presided over a period of explosive growth of the university. From 1967-77,
Windsor grew from approximately 1,500 to 8,000 full-time students.
The
1980s and early 1990s continued this growth, particularly under the leadership
of President Ron Ianni - among new buildings erected were the Odette Business
Building and the CAW Student Centre.
Enrolment reached record heights in
fall 2003 with the elimination of OAC, meaning both OAC and Grade 12 students
converged on Ontario campuses in a double cohort. In response, then-President
Ross Paul, who joined the university in 1998, invested more than $50 million in
the new Alumni Hall student residence, the Anthony P. Toldo Health Education
Centre, the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre, and in classroom and lab
upgrades.
Among the first official duties of current President Alan
Wildeman, who took office in July 2009, was the formal opening of the Medical
Education Building. An inaugural class of medical students occupied the
state-of-the-art facility in fall 2009.
Today, the campus covers 51
hectares (125 acres), boasts more than 140 undergraduate and graduate programs
across nine faculties for 16,000 full- and part-time students. It offers nine
cooperative education programs for 1,100 students. More than 80,000 individuals
around the world are proud to call the University of Windsor their alma mater. |
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