| University of Alberta | |
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| Motto: | Quaecumque Vera |
| Motto in English: | Whatsoever things are true |
| Established: | 1908 |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | $751M |
| Chancellor: | Linda Hughes |
| President: | Indira Samarasekera |
| Provost: | Carl G. Amrhein |
| Faculty: | 3,506 |
| Staff: | 10,640 |
| Undergraduates: | 28,477 full-time, 2,102 part-time |
| Postgraduates: | 4,937 full-time, 1,446 part-time |
| Location: | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Colours: | Green and Gold |
| Nickname: | The Golden Bears (men), The Pandas (women) |
| Mascot: | GUBA (men), Patches (women) |
| Affiliations: | AUCC, CIS, CWUAA,AUFC, UArctic, ACU, CUSID, AUFSC, CBIE, CUP. |
| Website: | http://www.ualberta.ca/ |
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The University of Alberta (U of A) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the top universities in Canada. The university's current enrolment is over 36,000, placing it among the five largest universities in the country. The main campus covers 50 city blocks with over 90 buildings directly across the North Saskatchewan River from downtown Edmonton.
The continued economic boom in Alberta, driven mainly by high energy prices, has resulted in multi-billion dollar government fiscal surpluses. This has led to the introduction of Bill 1 by the provincial government, which promises to create a $4.5 billion endowment for Alberta's post-secondary institutions. Given the rosy economic conditions in Alberta, it has been suggested that as the University of Alberta enters its second century it should aim to be one of the top twenty universities in the world by the year 2020.
History and Overview
Early history
The University of Alberta, a single, public provincial university, was chartered in 1906 in Edmonton, Alberta with a new University Act. University of Alberta was modelled on the American state university, with an emphasis on extension work and applied research.
University of Alberta is a non-denominational university which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. With the hiring of Henry Marshall Tory in 1907, the University of Alberta started operation in 1908 using temporary facilities, while the first building on campus was under construction.
In a letter from Henry Marshall Tory to Alexander Cameron Rutherford in early 1906, while he is in the process of setting up McGill University College in Vancouver, Tory writes "If you take any steps in the direction of a working University and wish to avoid the mistakes of the past, mistakes which have fearfully handicapped other institutions, you should start on a teaching basis." The University of Alberta was established by the University of Alberta: University Act, 1910 in the first session of the new Legislative Assembly, with Premier Alexander C. Rutherford as its sponsor.
The governance was modelled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the 2 bodies and to perform institutional leadership.
It awarded its first degrees in 1912. In 1912 the university established its Department of Extension. In the early part of 20th century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced. In 1929, the university established a School of Education. In 1932, the University Department of Extension established the Banff School of Finer Arts.
The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s responded to population pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society. In 1966, the University of Alberta introduced a masters program in community development.
The single-university policy in the West was changed as existing colleges of the provincial universities gained autonomy as universities - the University of Calgary was established in 1966. The University of Alberta first offered programs of study at Calgary in 1945 and continued until 1966 when the University of Calgary was established as an autonomous institution.
Location
The location of the university was to be decided along the same lines as that of Saskatchewan. (The province of Saskatchewan shares the same founding date as Alberta, 1905.) Saskatchewan had to please two competing cities when deciding the location of its capital city and provincial university. Thus, Regina was designated the provincial capital and Saskatoon received the provincial university, the University of Saskatchewan. The same heated wrangling over the location of the provincial capital also took place in Alberta between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. It was stated that the capital would be north of the North Saskatchewan River and that the university would be in a city south of it. In the end the city of Edmonton became capital and the city just south of the river, Strathcona was granted the university, much to the chagrin of Calgary, for many years to come.
Meanwhile, in 1912 the two cities of Edmonton and Strathcona were amalgamated under the name of the former; Edmonton had thus became both the political and academic capital, at the expense of Calgary. This was just one act in a larger rivalry between the two cities, often called the Battle of Alberta.
Faculties
In 1913, a medical school established at the University of Alberta in Edmonton was opened. By 1920, the university had six faculties (Arts and Sciences, Applied Science, Agriculture, Medicine, Dentistry, and Law) and two schools (Pharmacy and Accountancy). It awarded a range of degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA), Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Bachelor of Pharmacy (PhmB), Bachelor of Divinity (BD), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), and Doctor of Laws (LLD). There were 851 male students and 251 female students, and 171 academic staff, including 14 women.
Newspapers
The university has two main newspapers, Folio and The Gateway . Folio is the official newspaper published by the "Office of Public Affairs" every two weeks from September to June. The Gateway is the official student newspaper. Fully autonomous, it publishes "most Tuesdays and Thursdays".
The university also has the independent newspaper The Gold Standard and a monthly student newspaper, the Dagligtale, published at Augustana Campus in Camrose, Alberta .
Radio
In 1927, the university established the CKUA Educational radio station.
Book publishing
The University of Alberta Press, which was founded in 1969, concentrates on western Canadian history, general science and ecology. [16] The University of Alberta Press publishes an average of between 20 and 30 books per year, often accepting submissions from across Canada for over 50% of the publications. Their current active title listing has more than 150 books,[17] as of 2007.
Academics
Profile
The U of A has approximately 36,000 students, including 6,000 graduate students and 2,000 international students representing 110 countries. The university has 3,506 academic staff along with about 10,640 support and trust staff. University professors have won more 3M Teaching Fellowships (Canada's top award for undergraduate teaching excellence) than any other Canadian university, 28 awards since 1986. The university offers post-secondary education in about 200 undergraduate and 170 graduate programs. Tuition and fees for both fall and winter semesters are slightly more than $5,000 for a typical undergraduate student, although they vary widely by program. The University of Alberta switched from a 9-point grading scale to the more common 4-point grading scale in September 2003.
Faculties and colleges
The university has eighteen faculties and two affiliated colleges.
- Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences focuses on natural, biological, and human resources. The University of Alberta Faculty of Forestry is part of the AUFSC and has accredited baccalaureate of science programs.
- Bachelor of Science in Agriculture - Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program; Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Major in Agricultural and Resource Economics; Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Major in Animal Science; Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Major in Crop Science; Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Major in Range and Pasture Management; Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Major in Sustainable Agricultural Systems
- Master of Agriculture in Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science; Master of Agriculture in Agroforestry; Master of Agriculture in Forest Economics; Master of Agriculture in Rural Sociology; Master of Agriculture in Soil Science; Master of Agriculture in Water and Land Resources; Master of Business Administration / Master of Agriculture
- Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry & Home Economics: Dept. of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science has an accredited dietetic program. The university is accredited by a professional organization such as the Dietitians of Canada and the university's graduates may subsequently become registered dietitians. List of universities with accredited dietetic programs
- Faculty of Arts is home to the spectrum of Arts programs and departments, from Anthropology to Women's Studies.
- Augustana Faculty is located in a satellite campus in Camrose, Alberta. It comprises the departments of Fine Arts, Humanities, Physical Education, Science, and Social Sciences.
- School of Business offers MBA, BCom, PhD, ExecEd, and Exec MBA degrees.
- Faculty of Education offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Elementary, Secondary Education, or combined.
- Faculty of Engineering offers undergraduate degrees in four engineering departments. Students can choose to specialize in the following disciplines: Physics Materials Engineering, Mining Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.[23]
- Faculty of Extension is focusing on the life-long Continuing Education and Professional Development.
- Campus Saint-Jean is a Francophone faculty with programs in Sciences, Fine Arts and Languages, Social Sciences, and Education.
- Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research maintains graduate studies.
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
- Faculty of Native Studies
- Faculty of Nursing
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation
- School of Public Health
- Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
- Faculty of Science
- St. Joseph's College
- St. Stephen's College
Library system
The University of Alberta library system, received a tremendous boost with the opening of the Rutherford Library in May 1951, and now has one of the largest research libraries systems in Canada. As of 2004, according to the Association of Research Libraries, the library system is the second-largest, by the number of volumes held, among all Canadian universities, after the University of Toronto Library. In 2006, the university library was rated 20th in North America by the Association of Research Libraries (up from only 28th a year earlier). With over 5.7 million printed volumes combined with online access to more than 400,000 full-text electronic journals and more than 600 electronic databases the library system ranks first in Canada in terms of the number of volumes per student.
Specialty libraries
The library system comprises the following libraries:
- Augustana Faculty Library
- Bibliothèque Saint-Jean
- Book and Record Depository (BARD)
- Cameron Library (Science & Technology)
- Knowledge Common
- H.T. Coutts Library (Education & Physical Education)
- J.A. Weir Memorial Law Library
- J.W. Scott Health Sciences Library
- Dr. Josephine M. Mitchell Mathematics Library
- Rutherford Library (Humanities & Social Sciences)
- Bruce Peel Special Collections Library
- Data Library
- Music Listening and Reserve
- St. Joseph's College Library
- Winspear Business Reference Library
School of Library and Information Studies
The university is also home to a School of Library and Information Studies. Notably the school offers a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree, accredited by the American Library Association, and is hosted in Rutherford South, the original four story brick, marble, and oak main campus library, opened in 1951.
Research overview
Housing over 400 distinct research laboratories, the University of Alberta is one of the leading research universities in Canada. The university is a member of the G13 universities, which are the leading research universities in Canada. In the period from 1988 to 2006, the University of Alberta received about $3.4B for research from external sources, with $404M in 2005-2006 alone. The University of Alberta is consistently ranked among the top research universities in Canada.
Notably the University of Alberta is also the national scientific and administrative headquarters for:
- Sustainable Forest Management
- Network of Centres of Excellence
- Prairie Centres of Excellence
Medical research
Medical researchers are developing the Edmonton Protocol, which is a new treatment for type one diabetes that enables diabetics to break their insulin dependence. The project was originally developed by Drs. James Shapiro, Jonathan Lakey, and Edmond Ryan. The first patient was treated in 1999. As of 2006, the project is developed through the Clinical Islet Transplant Program.
Population research
- Population Research Laboratory
Biomedical research
Biomedical researchers, headed up by Michael Ellison have initiated a project to model Eukaryotic cells in detail, called Project Cybercell.
Nanotechnology research
In June 2006, a new 120 million dollar building for the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) was opened on campus. The NINT complex is one of the world’s most technologically advanced research facilities, housing the quietest, and cleanest, laboratory space in Canada.NINT occupies five floors of the new building with the top two floors being reserved by the university for nanotechnology-related research. Recently some staff members have been jointly recruited by the NRC and the University of Alberta.
Other
- The university participated in the initial development of the Mizar system
- The asteroid 99906 Uofalberta is named in the university's honour, in part because the initials of its motto Quaecumque Vera ("Whatsoever things are true") appeared in the object's provisional designation 2002 QV
Aboriginal
The University of Alberta provides services to Aboriginal people in more remote communities. University of Alberta provides special first-year bridging programs for Aboriginal students. The University of Alberta’s Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Blue Quills First Nations College was developed in partnership with specific Aboriginal communities to meet specific needs within Aboriginal communities. The Faculty of Native Studies at University of Alberta was designed to meet the knowledge needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The University of Alberta reaches into Aboriginal communities to talk to potential students at a much younger age through its Summer Science Camps for Aboriginal high school students.
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