University of Winnipeg

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Coordinates: 49°53′24.44″N 97°9′12.12″W / 49.8901222°N 97.1533667°W / 49.8901222; -97.1533667

University of Winnipeg
Motto	Lux et Veritas Floreant (Let Light and Truth Flourish)
Established	1871 Manitoba College. Subsequent names, Wesley College (1881), United College (1938), and now, The University of Winnipeg (1967-present)
Type	Public
President	Lloyd Axworthy
Staff	approx. 300
Undergraduates	9,219 [1]
Postgraduates	Small Number of
Location	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Campus	Urban
Sports team	Winnipeg Wesmen
Mascot	Wesley Coyote
Affiliations	AUCC, IAU, ATS, CIS, CWUAA, UArctic, Campus Manitoba, CUP, Gallery 1C03
Website	www.uwinnipeg.ca

The University of Winnipeg (U of W) is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that focuses primarily on undergraduate education. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged to form United College in 1938. The University of Winnipeg was established in 1967 when United College received its charter.

The University of Winnipeg also contains a high school called the University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

In 2008, Maclean's magazine ranked the university in the top ten of all Canadian universities whose primary focus is undergraduate education.^[2]

History

The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged to form United College in 1938. ^[3] The University of Winnipeg was established in 1967 when United College received its charter. ^[4] United College was formed in 1938 from the union of Manitoba College, founded in 1871, Yellow College in 1875 and Wesley College, founded in 1888. Originally affiliated with the University of Manitoba, United College received its charter in 1967 and became the University of Winnipeg. ^[5]

Campus

As a university in the downtown of a large urban centre, the University of Winnipeg is playing a role in the downtown renewal. Recent initiatives, for example, include a newly renovated theatre, recreation complex, and student-run cafe.

The University of Winnipeg is also expanding its student housing. Currently, university housing exists in several houses within minutes of the campus, several floors of dormitory style accommodations in a seniors complex near the university, and bachelor and one bedroom apartments.

In 2008, the university announced that Raymond L. McFeetors, Chairman of The Great West Life Assurance Company, had donated $2.67 Million for a dormitory to built on newly acquired property west of the campus.^[6] The money came from his personal resources and from Great West Life. The dormitory will be called McFeetors Hall: Great-West Life Student Residence.Image:McFeetorsHallWinnipegMb.jpg

Wesley Hall, a stone-clad brick structure built in 1894-95, is on the Registry of Historic Places of Canada ^[7]

Organization

University of Winnipeg

The University of Winnipeg is a provincially and privately funded post-secondary institution with undergraduate and selected graduate programs, as well as a Division of Continuing Education and a high school division.

It has had six presidents since 1967.

• Dr. Wilfred Lockhart (1967-1971)
• Henry Duckworth (1971-1981)
• Robin Farquhar (1981-1989)
• Marsha Hanen (1989-1999}
• Constance Rooke (1999-2003)
• Lloyd Axworthy (2004 to present)

Academic

Students and faculty

Students at the University are represented by the University of Winnipeg Students' Association.^[8] CKUW is the student radio station based out of the University of Winnipeg. The Uniter is the campus newspaper.^[9]

Faculties

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Business & Economics
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Graduate Studies

Colleges

• Global College
• Menno Simons College
• Richardson College for the Environment

Centres and Institutes

• Centre for Academic Writing (CAW)
• Centre for Distributed / Distance Learning (CDDL)
• Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR)
• Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL)
• Centre for Research in Young People's Texts and Cultures (CRYTC)
• Centre for Rupert's Land Studies
• Centre for Sustainable Transportation
• Institute of Urban Studies
• Institute for Women's and Gender Studies

Athletics

The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Winnipeg Wesmen.

The Great Rock Climb

The brainchild of President Emeritus Dr. Henry E. Duckworth, a 25-ton granite boulder was placed on the front lawn of The University of Winnipeg on October 7, 1971. The Rock of Remembrance commemorates the 100th anniversary of Manitoba College, a founding college of what is now The University of Winnipeg.

The University of Winnipeg’s Great Rock Climb celebrates endurance and ingenuity. Teams of three students, faculty, staff, or alumni raced down the 50.3 metres from the steps of Wesley Hall to the top of the Great Rock in a test of physical stamina and defiance of earthly gravity.

The all-time record was set in 1979 by the Collegiate team when the trio reached the top in 9.8 seconds. Renovations during the summer of 2007 have significantly slowed the event, with a new record set in 2007 by The Caravaners, consisting of members Ian Scott, Drew Hawranik, and Alex Edye. 2008 and 2009 were repeat performances by The Caravaners, who become the only trio to win the competition in three consecutive years. They recorded a time of 15.19 seconds which becomes the current record for the event with a renovated front lawn. All eyes are on 2010 with The Wesmen hoping they can reclaim their title.

Aboriginal Students

The University of Winnipeg offers several programs and services to Aboriginal people. The University of Winnipeg offers a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Governance with a Master’s Degree in Aboriginal Governance. The University of Winnipeg provides special first-year bridging programs for Aboriginal students. Academic councillors, tutors, and Aboriginal Elders are present on campus to provide academic and social supports. Through its Wii Chiiwaaknak Learning Centre, Eco-Kids Program and Eco-U Summer Camp services, the University of Winnipeg conducts outreach to Aboriginal communities to talk to potential students. To assist with the transition after university to a career, the University of Winnipeg participates in an Aboriginal Lynx Career and Employment Project led by University of Calgary. ^[10]

Noted alumni

• Lloyd Axworthy - politician and current UW President
• Tom Axworthy - Canadian Civil Servant
• David Bergen - Award Winning Author (B.Ed 1985)
• Bill Blaikie - NDP politician
• Margaret Bloodworth - National Security Advisor (BA 1970)
• Ruby Dhalla - Brampton Liberal MP
• Chantal Kreviazuk - singer/songwriter
• Margaret Laurence - Canadian novelist and short story writer.
• Guy Maddin - film director
• Don Newman - Award-Winning Journalist
• John Paskievich - film director and photographer
• Howard Pawley - former Premier of Manitoba
• Fred Penner - children's entertainer
• Lyall Powers - Professor of English, University of Winnipeg
• Susan Thompson - former mayor of Winnipeg
• Brad Roberts - pop singer, Crash Test Dummies
• Donald John Roberts - Economist, Stanford Academic (BA Hons 1967)
• Bill Richardson - CBC radio host
• Erfan Nasajpour, professional basketball player

University History

• Allen G. Bedford 'The University of Winnipeg: A History of the Founding Colleges' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976)
• Friesen, Gerald. "Principal J. H. Riddell: The Sane and Safe Leader of Wesley College." In Prairie Spirit: Perspectives on the Heritage of the United Church of Canada in the West, edited by Dennis L. Butcher, et al. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1985.

References

See also

Christianity portal

• List of universities in the Canadian Prairies
• Higher education in Manitoba
• Canadian Interuniversity Sport
• Canadian government scientific research organizations
• Canadian university scientific research organizations
• Canadian industrial research and development organizations
• Education in Canada
• List of evangelical seminaries and theological colleges

External links

• Official website
• The University of Winnipeg Students' Association
• University of Winnipeg

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