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The University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada with more than 60,000 students across three campuses. Founded 1827 School type Public President Frank Iacobucci (Interim) Location Toronto, Ontario Enrollment 63,109 (48,863 at St. George Campus, 6,834 at UTSC, 7,412 at UTM) Campus surroundings Urban Campus size 160 acres (0.6 km²) St. George Campus, 224 acres (0.9 km²) UTM, 300 acres (1.2 km²) UTSC Sports teams Varsity Blues Mascot True Blue History The University was established on March 15, 1827, when King's College at York (Toronto) was granted its Royal Charter. King's College became the University of Toronto in 1849. Several other universities joined the University of Toronto, becoming "federated" with it. The federated universities are St. Michael's, Victoria, and Trinity. University College is the name of the original portion of the University of Toronto from before federation. The other colleges were created later, to accommodate the school's growing size.
Academics The University comprises three campuses, four constituent colleges, four federated colleges, and three federated universities. (Federated colleges and universities were incorporated into the University; constituent colleges were created by the University.) U of T's four federated colleges are seminaries which are associated with the Toronto School of Theology. Every arts and science student at U of T is a member of one of its seven "colleges" (the federated universities and constituent colleges), which acts, ideally, as a smaller-scale intellectual and social community for its members. In practice, however, they are simply residential in nature and, while U of T's colleges are based on the college system in use at Oxford and Cambridge, they do not have tutors as such. Some first-year seminars and academic programs are offered by some colleges. The University of Toronto is widely acknowledged to be one of Canada's top schools. It attracts many of the best students from Ontario and the rest of Canada, and has a growing number of international students. The U of T has more funds than any other Canadian university, having a two billion dollar endowment. U of T has also ranked first in the Maclean's rankings of Canadian medical-doctoral universities ten years in a row (as of 2004). Its student selectivity is generally thought to be between medium to high (though not exclusive, except in certain programs like law, medicine and dentistry). Selectivity varies from year to year and usually depends on the particular program and number of spaces available. But generally, the sheer size of the Swarovski university means it has the capacity to enroll a huge number of students, thereby providing opportunities for many Ontario and Canadian students to pursue higher education.
Students Despite these achievements in the academic arena, U of T has a reputation for housing a large proportion of unhappy students. This is in part due to the size of its classes (exacerbated by the "double cohort" initiative of the Ontario government in 2002-2004). The large enrolment is thought to be the main reason for the university being perceived as impersonal and alienating, leading to comments like "U of T, where you are less than just a number." This has become so pronounced in the past decade that a fairly appreciable segment of the alumni do not feel predisposed to make any contribution to the alma mater funds due to their experience at the U of T; therefore the bulk of U of T's alumni contributions come in large amounts from a select groups within the alumni. Other reasons for student unhappiness are related to the large number of commuter students, the difficulty of finding on-campus accommodation, and the competitive nature of certain programs, particularly in science, management, and engineering. On the other hand, the size of the U of T means that its alumni is well-spread across society and the chances that a Canadian public figure or corporate leader being a U of T alumnus/alumna are fairly high. The U of T has had its fair share of illustrious alumni that have made notable advancements in Canadian society and the world at large.
Campuses The St. George (downtown) campus has a rich architectural history, making it a popular attraction for visitors to the city, as well as a common location for shooting movies. It is bounded by Spadina Avenue to the west, Bloor Street to the north, Queen's Park Crescent to the east, and College Street to the south. Some U of T buildings, namely Victoria College and St. Michael's College, are located east of Queen's Park Crescent. The campus is well-served by public transportation (TTC), namely by the Spadina, St. George, and Queen's Park subway stations. Thirty kilometres (18 miles) west of the St. George campus is the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) in suburban Mississauga. Set on the banks of the Credit River, UTM's 224 acre (0.9 km²) campus is decidedly modern. It is off Mississauga Road between Dundas Street and Burnhamthorpe Road in the Erindale area. A shuttle bus connects the UTM and St. George campuses. At the other end of the Greater Toronto Area is the University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC), approximately 30 kilometres east of the downtown campus. The 300 acre (1.2 km²) campus is on Highland Creek in the Scarborough area of eastern Toronto. Little precious presents may be best stored in places like collectors cases, collectors cabinets or display cabinets.
Federated Universities University of Trinity College (est. 1851, federated 1904); University of St. Michael's College (est. 1852, affiliated with U of T 1881, full federation 1910) Victoria University (est. 1836, federated 1892)
Constituent Colleges University College (est. 1853) New College (est. 1962) Innis College (est. 1964) Woodsworth College (est. 1974)
Professional and Graduate Faculties Massey College Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design Faculty of Dentistry School of Graduate Studies University of Toronto Faculty of Law Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Music Faculty of Physical Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Nursing Rotman School of Management University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) Faculty of Information Studies
Colleges and Faculties Comprising the Toronto School of Theology Emmanuel College, (United Church of Canada) Wycliffe College, (Low Anglican) Regis College, (Jesuit) Knox College, (Presbyterian) St. Michael's College Faculty of Theology, (Basilian) Trinity College Faculty of Divinity, (High Anglican)
Other Academic Units Robarts Library University of Toronto Schools Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies Toronto School of Theology
List of Presidents Bishop John Strachan 1827-1848 John McCaul 1848-1853 Sir Daniel Wilson 1889-1892 James Loudon 1892-1906 Sir Robert Falconer 1907-1932 Henry John Cody 1932-1945 Sidney Smith 1945-1957 Claude Bissell 1958-1971 John Evans 1972-1978 James Ham 1978-1983 David Strangway 1983-1984 George Connell 1984-1990 Robert Prichard 1990-2000 Robert Birgeneau 2000-2004 Frank Iacobucci (Interim) 2004
Noted Graduates and Faculty Margaret Atwood, author Frederick Banting, developed insulin Charles Best, developed insulin Allan Bloom, Plato scholar Christian Bök, poet Roberta Bondar, first Canadian female astronaut Ed Broadbent, NDP leader Gerald Bull, artillery expert assassinated by Mossad Morley Callaghan, author Adrienne Clarkson, Governor-General of Canada Stephen Cook, computer scientist Robertson Davies, author Wilbur R. Franks, developed the "anti-black-out-suit" Northrop Frye, scholar John Kenneth Galbraith, economist Frank Gehry, architect Gordon Graydon, interim leader of Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1943 to 1945 Geoffrey Hinton, computer scientist Michael Ignatieff, author Norman Jewison, director William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister Mark Kingwell, philosopher Jack Layton, Toronto city councillor and NDP leader Stephen Leacock, humour writer Daniel Libeskind, architect John McCrae, doctor and poet John James Richard Macleod, nobel laureate Marshall McLuhan, communications theorist Steve Mann, computer engineer and cyborg Paul Martin Jr., Prime Minister of Canada (2003 - present) Vincent Massey, First Canadian born Governor General Arthur Meighen, Prime Minister Rohinton Mistry, author Michael Ondaatje, author Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada (1963-1968) John Polanyi, developed the chemical laser, nobel laureate Bob Rae, NDP premier of Ontario Frank Shuster, comedian Jeffrey Simpson, journalist and author Donald Sutherland, actor Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia Johnny Wayne, comedian
External links University of Toronto (http://www.utoronto.ca/) Map of St. George Campus (http://oracle.osm.utoronto.ca/map/) Ontario Universities Brock | Carleton | Guelph | Lakehead | Laurentian | Laurier | McMaster | Nipissing | NOMS | OCAD | Ottawa | Queen's | RMC | Ryerson | Toronto | Trent | UOIT | Waterloo | Western | Windsor | York
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