The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada. The university was founded on 7 March 1878 by Bishop

Isaac Hellmuth Isaac Hellmuth (December 14, 1819 – 28 May 1901), second Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Huron, was the founder of Huron University College and the University of Western Ontario, one of Canada's leading universities. He was also founder of Hel ...

of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as the Western University of London, Ontario. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine. The university became

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

in 1908. Beginning in 1919, the university had affiliated with several denominational colleges. The university grew substantially in the

post-World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

era, and a number of faculties and schools were added. Western is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

university, with more than 24,000 students, and over 306,000 living alumni worldwide. Notable alumni include government officials, academics, business leaders,

Nobel Laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, and distinguished fellows. Western's varsity teams, known as the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and white. ...

, compete in the

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

conference of

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

History

The university was founded on 7 March 1878 by Bishop

of the Anglican

Diocese of Huron The Diocese of Huron is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises just over 31,000 square kilometres in southwestern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Its See ...

as The Western University of London, Ontario, and its first chancellor was Chief Justice

Richard Martin Meredith Richard Martin Meredith (27 March 1847 – 20 May 1934) was a co-founder and the first Chancellor of The University of Western Ontario; vice-chancellor of Ontario; President of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Ontario and Chief Justice ...

. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine (London Medical College). There were originally only 15 students when classes began in 1881. Although the university was incorporated in 1878, it was not until 20 June 1881 that it received the right to confer degrees in arts, divinity and medicine. In 1882, the name of the university was revised to The Western University and College of London, Ontario. The first convocation of graduates was held on 27 April 1883. Initially affiliated with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, the university became

in 1908. In 1916, the university's current site was purchased from the Kingsmill family. There are two World War I memorial plaques in University College. The first lists the 19 students and graduates of the University of Western Ontario who died; the second honours the men from Middlesex County who died. A third plaque lists those who served with the No. 10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO. In 1923, the university was renamed as The University of Western Ontario. The first two buildings constructed by architect John Moore and Co. at the new site were the Arts Building (now University College) and the Natural Science Building (now the Physics and Astronomy Building). Classes on the university's present site began in 1924. The University College tower, one of the university's most distinctive features, was named the Middlesex Memorial Tower in honour of the men from Middlesex County who fought in World War I. In the early 20th century, a number of institution became

affiliated college An affiliated school (also affiliated college, federated school, federated college or federated university) is an educational institution that operates independently, but also has a formal collaborative agreement with another, usually larger institu ...

s of Western. In 1919, Brescia College was established as a Roman Catholic affiliate of Western, while Assumption College entered an affiliation agreement with the university. Other institutions that became affiliated colleges of Western includes the Waterloo College of Arts in 1925, St. Peter's College in 1939, and King's College in 1945. Waterloo College of Arts remained affiliated with Western until 1960, when the institution was reorganized into

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

; while Assumption College remained affiliated with Western until 1964, when it was reorganized into the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

. Brescia, Huron, and King's remain affiliated with Western. Two World War II memorial honour rolls are hung on the Physics and Astronomy Building: the first lists the UWO students and graduates who served in the Second World War, and the second lists those who served with the No. 10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO. Although enrolment was relatively small for many years, the university began to grow after World War II. It added a number of faculties in the post-war period, such as the Faculty of

Graduate Studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

in 1947, the School of Business Administration (now the

Ivey Business School Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...

) in 1949, the Faculty of Engineering Science (now the Faculty of Engineering) in 1957, the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

in 1959, Althouse College (now the Faculty of Education) in 1963, and the Faculty of Music in 1968. WesternLawBldg

In 2012, the university rebranded itself as "Western University" to give the school less of a regional or even national identity. "We want to be international," president Dr. Amit Chakma told ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. The university's legal name, however, remains "The University of Western Ontario" and is used on transcripts and diplomas.

Campus

The University of Western Ontario is in the city of London, Ontario, in the southwestern end of the

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (french: link=no, Corridor Québec-Windsor) is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the region extends between Quebec City in the northeast and Windsor, ...

. Most of the campus is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, with the

bisecting the campus' eastern portion. Western Road is the university's major transportation artery, travelling north to south. The central campus, which includes most of the university's student residences and teaching facilities is approximately . UWO Physics and Astronomy building

Student residences make up the largest part of Western's building area, with approximately 31 percent of all building space allocated for residential use. Teaching and research facilities take up the second largest portion of building space, with approximately 28 percent of all building space allocated for that use. Most of these facilities are used for research, with 48 percent of all teaching and research facilities allocated for that purpose. Approximately 27 percent of all teaching and research facilities is made up of classrooms, with the remaining 24 percent made up of instructional laboratories. The development of Western's present campus began in the 1920s. Many of the university's earliest buildings used

Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

designs, a characteristic confirmed in Western's master building plan in 1934. As the campus expanded in the late 1960s, the university abandoned earlier commitments to Collegiate Gothic designs in favour of

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

and

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

architectural designs. In 2000, planning for Western's central campus was re-conceptualized, with the core devoted for only academic buildings. The plan saw University College Hill as the focal point, linking the lower portion of the campus with the South Valley The 2006 campus master plan called for the protection and renewed emphasis on Western's Collegiate Gothic buildings. The university's boiler room/power plant is the oldest building on the university's central campus, opening in 1922. The oldest academic buildings within the central campus is

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

and the Physics and Astronomy Building. Groundbreaking for both buildings began in 1922, and were both completed in 1924. The Amit Chakma Engineering Building is the newest academic building on campus, opening in September 2018. The Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, or WIRB, is the newest building on campus and houses state-of-the art research facilities for the study of

cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental proces ...

as well as the Brain and Mind Institute, BrainsCAN, and the Rotman Institute for Philosophy.

Library and museums

D B Weldon Library University of Western Ontario 1

The university's library system,

Western Libraries Western Libraries is the library system of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 1898, the university Senate appointed James Waddell Tupper as the University of Western Ontario's first University Librarian. In 1918, John Davis ...

, operates six libraries that house more than 2.45 million books , as well as electronic resources including e-books, serial titles, and databases. Libraries a part of the system include the

Allyn and Betty Taylor Library Western Libraries is the library system of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 1898, the university Senate appointed James Waddell Tupper as the University of Western Ontario's first University Librarian. In 1918, John Davis ...

, C. B. Johnston Library, the

D. B. Weldon Library Western Libraries is the library system of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 1898, the university Senate appointed James Waddell Tupper as the University of Western Ontario's first University Librarian. In 1918, John Davis ...

, the Education Library, the John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library, and the Music Library. Allyn and Betty Taylor Library primarily services the faculties of

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, Health Sciences, Science, and the

Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, one of 17 medical schools in Canada and one of six in Ontario. History The medical school at the University of ...

, while the C. B. Johnston Library primarily serves the

. The D. B. Weldon Library primarily services the faculties of Arts & Humanities, Information & Media Studies, and

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

. The D. B. Weldon Library also houses the university's Archives and Research Collections Centre. Western Libraries also maintains the Shared Library Catalogue, which provides common access to the collections of Western Libraries, as well as the collections from the libraries of university colleges affiliated with the Western, including

Brescia University College Brescia University College is a Catholic liberal arts women's college located in London, Ontario, Canada. Affiliated with the University of Western Ontario, Brescia is the only university-level women's college in Canada. It has approximately 1 ...

Huron University College Huron University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Huron was incorporated on 5 May 1863 and the founding institution of the University of Western Ontario. It was est ...

, King's University College, and St. Peter's Seminary. Access to the Shared University Catalogue is provided to students and faculty of Western, and the affiliated university colleges. McIntosh Gallery UWO

Western also operates two art galleries, the Artlab Gallery, and the McIntosh Gallery. Located in the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre, the Artlab Gallery showcases approximately 14 projects per year, exploring conceptual and experimental production through a wide range of media. The Artlab Gallery also aims to assist in the research and practices of students and faculty members. The McIntosh Gallery is a university-based, public art gallery, opened since 1942. The gallery is a presentation and dissemination centre for the university, as well as the London community, showcasing advanced practices and research in art history and contemporary visual art. The gallery is the oldest university art gallery in the province of Ontario, initially opened as an exhibition of paintings by war artists from the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

. 683 works of the Gallery's collection were put on display throughout the university's main campus through the Gallery's ArtShare program in 2014. Western also maintains academic and administrative links with the

Museum of Ontario Archaeology The Museum of Ontario Archaeology (formerly the Museum of Indian Archaeology and Pioneer Life, the Museum of Indian Archaeology (London) and the London Museum of Archaeology) is a museum located in northwest London, Ontario, Canada. It is dedicate ...

. The Museum originally grew out of a collection of artifacts housed in various buildings throughout London, including Western's University College, and Middlesex College. Formally opened on 28 February 1978, its creation was facilitated by the university president and Western's Faculty of Social Science. Although the museum was incorporated as an independent charitable organization, without the ability to share capital, its directors continued to be appointed by the university's Board of Governors.

Housing and student facilities

The main campus of The University of Western Ontario offers student housing, with nine student residences housing either first-year students or upper-year students. In September 2015, 23.49 percent of the undergraduate population lived on campus, including 78.69 percent of all first-year students. Each residence operates their own Residences' Council, governed by their own constitutions. Student residence building are split between traditional-styled residences, suite-styled residences, and hybrid-style residences that incorporate elements of traditional and suite-styled residences. Traditional-styled residences include Delaware Hall, Medway-Sydenham Hall, and Saugeen-Maitland Hall. Suite-styled residences include Alumni House, Elgin Hall, Essex Hall, and London Hall. Hybrid-styled residences include Perth Hall and Ontario Hall. Alumni House and London Hall are reserved strictly for upper-year students. The largest residential building at the university is Saugeen–Maitland Hall, which houses 1,252 first-year students. The smallest residential building is Alumni House, which houses 224 upper-year students. The university also operates three apartments on campus strictly for upper-year and graduate students. The university's apartments consist of Bayfield Hall, made up of 299 1-bedroom units, Beaver & Ausable Halls, made up of 99 2-bedroom units, and Lambton Hall, made up of 150 2-bedroom units. Starting September 2021, Lambton Hall was converted into a first-year residence; while Bayfield Hall will become a partial first-year residence in the following year. Saugeen-Maitland Hall

The support system in Residences at Western is made up of over 500 upper-year students who take on various roles and positions, with the goal being to assist first-year students and act as a resource for them. These positions include Residence Staff, Academic and Leadership Programmers, Community Leaders, Residence and Faculty Sophs, Residents' Council, Residence Tour Guides, and Connect-IT Staff Members. Residence Staff and Sophs live alongside first-year students across Western's various residences, and assist in building an atmosphere to allow first-year students to grow and adjust to university life. The University Community Centre acts as Western's student activity centre, and is the university's centre of student governance and student directed social, cultural, entertainment and recreational activities. The University Community Centre contains the offices of a number of student organizations, including the undergraduate

student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

, the University Students' Council, as well as the graduate student union, the Society of Graduate Students. In addition, the University Community Centre also provides a number of retail and food services, as well as a variety of club space and study rooms.

Off-campus facilities

In addition to The University of Western Ontario's central campus, the university owns several other properties throughout Southwestern Ontario. Excluding Western's central campus, as well as the campuses of Western's affiliated university colleges, Western owns approximately of land. Included among these properties is a number of research facilities. Managed under Western Research Parks, the facilities are clustered into three

research parks The following is a list of science park, technology parks and biomedical parks of the world, organized by continent. Asia ASEAN Economic Community Report listing all the Economic Zones in the ASEAN Economic Community froUNIDO Viet Nam China ...

. The three parks serve as a research link between academics and corporations. President's House UWO

The oldest research park operated by Western is Discovery Park, adjacent to the university's main campus. The research park was established in 1989, with tenants ranging from national government laboratories, to large-multi-industrial research centres. Discovery Park also includes a 48-room hotel and conference centre, Windermere Manor. The Advanced Manufacturing Park is another research park established through a partnership between Western,

Fanshawe College Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...

and the City of London. Advanced Manufacturing Park is a research park, built in an area zoned for full-scale manufacturing and large-scale research. The WindEEE Dome is among the facilities built in the Advanced Manufacturing Park. The WindEEE Dome is the world's first hexagonal

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

, allowing for scientists to address certain challenges related to wind. The structure is able to accommodate replicas of buildings, and bridges to test for structural integrity in a variety of wind conditions. The facility is able to physically simulate high intensity wind systems, including

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

s, and

downbursts In meteorology, a downburst is a strong downward and outward gushing wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface level. Capable of pro ...

hard to replicate in other wind tunnels. In 2003, Western opened another research park known as the Sarnia-Lambton Research park, in a joint initiative with

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

, and

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

. The research park is adjacent to

Lambton College Lambton College is a publicly funded college in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. It has approximately 3,500 full-time students, 6,500 part-time students and 3,500 international students worldwide. Lambton College also has campuses in Mississauga and Toron ...

and is home to Canada's largest

clean technology Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...

business incubator Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture ca ...

. The university also manages several residences outside the central campus. The official residence of the university president,

Gibbons Lodge The Gibbons Lodge, also known as the President's House or the Helen Gibbons House, is a residence for the University of Western Ontario's president located in the neighbourhood of Uplands in London, Ontario, Canada. The residence is located on a p ...

, is off-campus. Completed in 1932, the Tudor Revival-styled house is north of Western's central campus. It was acquired by the university in 1960. In addition to Gibbons Lodge, the university also maintains Platt's Lane Estates, a complex of townhouses and apartments south of the university's campus. The complex was designed to accommodate upper-year, graduate, and students with families.

Sustainability

Campus sustainability at Western is managed by the President's Advisory Committee on Environment & Sustainability. The committee's mandate includes incorporating sustainability into the academic programming, engaging in research across the disciplines into issues of environmental sustainability, using ecological landscaping methods and preserving green space and building and renovating facilities in accordance with energy efficiency and sustainability principles Along with the other members of the

Council of Ontario Universities The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) provides a forum for Ontario’s universities to collaborate and advocate in support of their shared mission to the benefit and prosperity of students, communities and the province of Ontario. A membershi ...

, Western had signed a pledge in 2009 known as ''Ontario Universities Committed to a Greener World'', with the objective of transforming its campus into a model of environmental responsibility. Western is also a signatory of the

Talloires Declaration {{Short description, Declaration for sustainability The Talloires Declaration is a declaration for sustainability, created for and by presidents of institutions of higher learning. Jean Mayer, Tufts University president, convened a conference of 22 ...

, a sustainability declaration created for presidents of higher education. The university campus received a B− grade from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card for 2011.

Administration

The university's governance is conducted through the Board of Governors and the Senate. The Senate was the university's first governing body, created in the university's founding document, An Act to Incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1878. The Board of Governors was later established in An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1892. The Board is responsible for the university's management, including financial matters. Ex officio governors of the Board include the university's chancellor, president, the

mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

, the warden of Middlesex County and the secretary of the Board of Governors. The Board also consists of 26 other governors either appointed or elected by the members of the university's community and the surrounding community, including elected representatives from the student body. The Senate is responsible for the university's academic policies. The Senate consists of 20 ''ex officio'' positions in the Senate granted to the chancellor, the president, the university's vice-presidents, the senior dean of each faculty, the university librarian and the secretary of the senate. The secretary of the senate is a non-voting ''ex officio'' member. The Senate also consists of 46 elected members from the university's faculty, 18 members from the student population, and 9 members from the Western's affiliated colleges, including their principals. The Senate also consists of 9 other members from around the university community. In all, there are 103 members of the Senate, 102 of which may vote and 10–13 official observers of the Senate. The president and vice-chancellor acts as the university's chief executive officer, accountable to the Board of Governors and the Senate, by supervising and directing the university's academic and administrative work and its teaching and non-teaching staff.

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...

is the tenth president of the university, who began his tenure as president on 1 July 2019. The chancellor of the university acts as the honorary and symbolic head of the university. The position of chancellor is a four-year, non-renewable term. The university's current chancellor is Linda Hasenfratz, who was appointed to the position on 1 July 2019.

Affiliated institutions

The University of Western Ontario is affiliated to three university colleges. Brescia University College is an all-women's Catholic-based university college, the only remaining

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

in Canada. Founded by the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

in 1919, an affiliation agreement with Western was arranged shortly after its founding, with Brescia campus moving adjacent to Western's central campus in 1925. Huron University College was founded in 1863, originally established as Huron College, and renamed Huron University College in 2000. Huron's affiliation with Western was authorized in Western's first provincial charter, in 1878. Both Huron and Western share the same progenitor in Bishop Issac Hellmuth. Huron moved to its present location, adjacent to Western's central campus, in 1951. King's University College was founded in 1954, as a Catholic-based liberal arts college. Founded as Christ the King's College, it changed its name to King's College in 1966, and King's University College in 2004. Regardless of the university college's religious affiliation, enrolment in the those institutions is not restricted based on the student's religious beliefs.

In addition to the three university colleges, Western also maintains an affiliation with St. Peter's Seminary through its affiliation with King's University College. Founded in 1912, St. Peters was opened as the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for the Roman Catholic Diocese of London. The campuses of King's University College and St. Peter's Seminary are east of

Richmond Street Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and the university's central campus. Students registered with an affiliated university colleges has access to all of Western's facilities, the university's sports and recreation services, and its club system. Graduates of the affiliated university colleges also receive their degrees from Western. The resources of Western Libraries, the three libraries of the affiliated university colleges, and the library of St. Peter's Seminary is shared among the students of Western, and its affiliated institutions through the Shared Library Catalogue. The affiliated institutions maintain their own campuses, residences, as well as academic faculties. However, enrolment in courses offered by Western, or an affiliated institutions remains open to all students registered with either the university, or one of its affiliated institutions.

Academics

Western is a publicly funded research university, and a member of the

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Universities Canada (french: Universités Canada) is an organization that represents Canada's universities. It is a non-profit national organization that coordinates university policies, guidance and direction. Formed in 1911, as the Association ...

. The full-time undergraduate programs comprise the majority of the school's enrolment, made up of 30,665 full-time, part-time undergraduate students and concurrent education students. The graduate student population is 5,297, including full-time students, part-time students and post-graduate medical residents. The university conferred 4,504 bachelor's degrees, 207 doctoral degrees, 1,427 master's degrees, and 1,180 second entry professional degrees in 2008–2009. Students may apply for financial aid such as the

Ontario Student Assistance Program The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) ''( French: Régime d'aide financière aux étudiantes et étudiants de l'Ontario (RAFEO))'' is a provincial financial aid program that offers grants and loans to help Ontario students pay for their ...

and Canada Student Loans and Grants through the federal and provincial governments. The financial aid may come in loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief, and work programs. The university is divided into 11 faculties and schools including the Don Wright Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Faculty of Education,

Faculty of Engineering Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Information & Media Studies,

, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Science,

Ivey School of Business Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...

, and the

. In September 2016, most undergraduates at Western was enrolled in the Faculty of Social Sciences, with 7,114 full-time and part-time undergraduate students in enrolled in one of their programs. In the same year, the Faculty of Health Science held the highest enrolment among graduate students at Western, with 821 full-time and part-time graduate students enrolled in the faculty. The School Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is the university's central administrative unit of graduate education. However, it is not considered its own faculty or academic school. Admission requirements at Western differ depending upon the education system where the applicant originates from, due to the lack of uniformity in marking schemes. In September 2012 secondary school average for full-time first-year students at Western was 89.3 percent. For admission in the fall of 2013, there were 45,000 applications for 4,900 spaces. The university also offers students the opportunity to earn credits while studying abroad, through student exchange programs, and internship, faculty-led international excursions, and clinical placements.

Reputation

In the 2022

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

rankings, the university ranked 201–300 in the world and 9–12 in Canada. The 2023

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

ranked the university 172nd in the world and eighth in Canada. The 2023

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

ranked Western 201–250 in the world, and 8–10 in Canada. In '' U.S. News & World Report'' 2022–23 global university rankings, the university placed 300th in the world, and tenth in Canada. In ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' 2023 rankings, Western placed 11th in their Medical-Doctoral university category, tied with

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

. The university also ranked 13th in ''Maclean'' reputation category. The university has also placed in a number of rankings that evaluated the employment prospects of its graduates. In QS's 2022 graduate employability ranking, the university ranked 43rd in the world, and third in Canada.

Research

Western has four primary fields of research: life sciences and the human condition, culture analysis and values, the human and physical environments, and social trends, public policy, and economic activity. In Research Infosource's 2018 ranking of Canadian research universities, Western was ranked 10th; with a sponsored research income (external funding) of $249.669 million in 2017. In 2017, members of Western's faculty averaged a sponsored research income of $166,100, while graduate students averaged a sponsored research income $41,600. The federal government is the largest source of funding providing 46 percent of Western's research budget, primarily through grants. Private corporations contribute 10 per cent of Western's research budget. Western's research performance has been noted several

bibliometric Bibliometrics is the use of statistical methods to analyse books, articles and other publications, especially in regard with scientific contents. Bibliometric methods are frequently used in the field of library and information science. Biblio ...

university rankings, which uses

citation analysis Citation analysis is the examination of the frequency, patterns, and graphs of citations in documents. It uses the directed graph of citations — links from one document to another document — to reveal properties of the documents. A t ...

to evaluates the

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

a university has on academic publications. In 2019, the

Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities The Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities or NTU Ranking is a ranking system of world universities by scientific paper volume, impact, and performance output. The ranking was originally published from 2007 to 2011 by the ...

ranked Western 197th in the world, and ninth in Canada, whereas the

University Ranking by Academic Performance The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) is a university ranking developed by the Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. Since 2010, it has been publishing annual national and global college and university rankin ...

2018–19 rankings placed the university 187th in the world, and ninth in Canada. Research regarding the

human brain The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of the ...

has also become a major focus at the university. The Brain and Mind Institute focuses on research in

at Western. In 2011, the Institute discovered the blind may perform echolocation by using the

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and ...

of the brain. Another 2011 study at Western suggested people who are deaf from birth may be able to reassign the area of their brain used for hearing to boost their sight. Western also is home to the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, the first dedicated space institute providing a planetary science degree in Canada. The institute plays a key role in cutting edge multidisciplinary research on planetary bodies including real time mission operations for spacecraft and telescopes orbiting solar system bodies. In 2014, the university unveiled plans for a 4,200-square-foot facility for research in medicine, science and technology, in the study of HIV and other complex human pathogens.

's Department of Microbiology and Immunology is globally recognized, in large part due to the groundbreaking discoveries of Dr. Chil-Yong Kang, a Western researcher clinically testing a preventive HIV/AIDS vaccine. SAV001-H is the first and only preventive

HIV vaccine An HIV vaccine is a potential vaccine that could be either a preventive vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine, which means it would either protect individuals from being infected with HIV or treat HIV-infected individuals. It is thought that an HIV v ...

based on a genetically modified killed whole

HIV-1 The subtypes of HIV include two major types, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to viruses found in the sooty mangabey, ...

virus. The United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) Phase I clinical trial was completed in August 2013 and reported no serious adverse effects while boosting antibodies in the volunteers. The vaccine SAV001-H holds tremendous promise, having already proven to stimulate strong immune responses in preliminary toxicology tests. It is the only HIV vaccine under development in Canada, and one of only a few in the world.

Student life

The two main student unions on administrative and policy issues is the University Students' Council for all undergraduate students and the Society of Graduate Students for graduate students. The University Students' Council recognizes more than 180 student organizations and clubs, in which more than 19,500 people are a member. These clubs and organizations cover a wide range of interests such as academics, culture, religion, social issues, and recreation. The University Students' Council also provides additional services such as the campus movie theatre (Western Film), pub/restaurant (The Spoke & Rim Tavern), clothing store (The Purple Store) and print shop. These facilities can all be found in the University Community Centre. O-Week 2

There are a number of

fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...

existing throughout the student community. There are five international sororities at Western,

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arch ...

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...

. There are also ten fraternities existing at Western,

Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college fraternity founded at New York University in 1913 by Charles C. Moskowitz and ten other men. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United Kingdo ...

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

, and

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

Athletics

Athletics at Western is managed by Sports & Recreation Services, a division of the Faculty of Health Sciences. The university's varsity teams compete in the

conference of

. The varsity teams are known as the

. As is mandatory for all members of U Sports, Western does not provide full-ride athletic scholarships. Western's varsity teams have been highly successful. In particular, the football team has won 32 provincial championships, appeared in 16 national championship finals and won 7

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

championships as well as 3 earlier Churchill Bowl championships as national champions. Basketball has won 24 provincial championships and rowing has won 23 provincial championships. The squash team has won two NCAA championship titles. The university has a number of athletic facilities open to their varsity teams and their students. The Western Student Recreation Centre, opened in January 2009, is home to Western's group fitness, drop in recreation, registered massage therapy, sport psychology, drop in recreation, intramural sports and clubs. Better known as the WSRC or the Rec Centre, this facility has an 8-lane, 50-metre pool facility. Overlooking the pool is a 3-tiered concrete viewing area. A 1-metre diving board is also available. There is over 19,000 square feet of weight, cardio, and stretching space within the WSRC. There are three gyms on the first floor, and two more on the upper level. Outside the lower gyms is the 1st floor games and activity lounge for table tennis, while outside of the upper gym spaces is cardio space as well as the destination for spin bike programming. Also on the 4th floor are two large studio spaces where the drop in fitness, clubs and dance courses take place. WesternFootballInPlay

Western Alumni Stadium Western Alumni Stadium (formerly TD Stadium) is an 8,000-seat Canadian football stadium located on the campus of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. It is home to the Western Mustangs football team and is one of the largest stad ...

(Formerly TD Stadium) has been the university's main stadium since it opened in 2000, with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of over 8,000 spectators. The stadium is home to the university's varsity football team, and has hosted a number of events including the

World Lacrosse Championships The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as a ...

and the

Canada Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

. The Thompson Recreation & Athletic Centre which houses a number of athletic venues, including an ice rink, tennis facilities and a track, is home to the varsity ice hockey teams and the varsity track and field teams. Another athletic facility at the university is Alumni Hall, which is a multipurpose venue for sports such as basketball, volleyball and other indoor events. Many Western students take part in intramural sport leagues and tournaments. Opportunities are offered at multiple skill levels and across a variety of sports. Sports offered include traditional sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as less traditional events like dodgeball and inner tube water polo. Western also hosts secondary school football games at TD Stadium. Western has several fight songs and school songs that may be heard at varsity games, including the official school song, "

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

". Written in 1930, it is most notably played at football games and other athletic events by the

Western Mustang Band The Western Mustang Band (WMB) is the marching band for the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. The band performs at every home football game for the Western Mustangs at TD Stadium in the fall term as well as other athletic ...

Performances

The Don Wright Faculty of Music offers almost 400 performances, masterclasses and recitals each year, most of which are open to the public. The Western University Symphony Orchestra and the Western University Chamber Orchestra perform regularly under conductor Alain Trudel. UWOpera, under the direction of Theodore Baerg, performs a wide variety of repertoire ranging from operetta to full operatic works in the Paul Davenport Theatre (refurbished and renamed in 2009 from Talbot Theatre). Theatre Western produces a season that includes an annual musical revue of modern and classic Broadway, Purple Shorts (Western's

One-Act Play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

Festival,) and a major musical production each spring. The Huron Underground Dramatic Society (HUDS) is a student run drama group that puts on several shows per year.

Media

The university's student population operates a number of media outlets throughout the campus environment. The University Students' Council owns and operates the

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

station

CHRW-FM CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The stati ...

(94.9 FM). The first campus radio to operate at Western was in 1971, although the present day station CHRW-FM, was not established until 1979, one year after the closure of the Western's first campus radio station. The University Students' Council previously operated a closed-circuit television station known as tvWestern.ca. The station began broadcasting in 1994, and was discontinued by the student union in 2010 after being cut from the University Students' Council's operating budget.

Newspaper

''The Gazette'', sometimes called the ''Western Gazette'', is a

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

which has been in publication since 1906. The ''Gazette'' publishes online daily and in print on Tuesdays during the academic year. ''The Gazette'' has its roots as a hand-written literature newspaper called ''In Cap And Gown'', which began in 1902. The ''In Cap And Gown'' was first produced in newsprint in November 1906, but changed its name to ''The Gazette'' in 1908. The ''Gazette'' ceased publishing in the spring of 1916 due to

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but was revived in its old form in 1919. In 1930, 7 years after Western University changed its name to the University of Western Ontario, the paper changed its name to the ''University of Western Ontario Gazette''. It is now known simply as ''The Gazette'', its affiliation with Western variously recognized in its print edition as "Western University's official student newspaper." ''The Gazette'' started as monthly but in its early years appeared weekly and twice weekly. It started publishing four times a week in 1991 and returned to the twice-weekly format in 2015. The change in print publication schedule was accompanied by a major digital transformation. The newspaper has moved towards a digital-first philosophy and focuses on multimedia and online-only content on a daily basis. In 2017, the ''Gazette'' began printing only once a week. The Western Gazette absorbed the assets of Western TV in 2016. Western TV was formally the Big Purple Couch and TV Western. ''The Gazette'' has spawned several other publications in its history. One was ''Occidentalia'', which had its roots in special convocation issues of the ''Gazette'' which included pictures of the graduating class. "Oxy" as it was known became the university's year book and it provided "an interesting record of the year's activities in all Faculties and Schools." The paper is owned and published by the University Students' Council (USC). The paper has editorial autonomy from the USC. The publications committee consists of mainly professional journalists who advise the full-time staff on editorial decisions and financial management of the paper, as well as offer an intermediary between the sometimes contentious relationship between the student politicians who are reported on by the ''Gazette''. The paper is one of the founding members of the National University Wire. The Gazette has a long history of producing some of Canada's most well-known journalists. Gazette alumni have worked at many successful media networks including The Globe and Mail,

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

, MacLean's, CBC, CTV,

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

and The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. Some notable alumni include: Stephen Brunt, Susan Delacourt, Kevin Donovan,

Scott Feschuk Scott Feschuk is a Canadian speechwriter, humorist and former newspaper journalist. His journalism career began at ''The Globe and Mail''. After five years as a TV and political columnist for the ''National Post'', he left the newspaper in 2004 to ...

Elliotte Friedman Elliotte Friedman (born September 27, 1970) is a Canadian sports journalist. He currently serves as a hockey reporter for Sportsnet and as an insider for the NHL Network. He is a regular panelist on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Early life ...

, Kevin Newman,

Carol Off Carol Off (born 1954/1955) is a Canadian journalist, commentator, and author associated with CBC Television and CBC Radio. Early life Off was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1954 or 1955. She moved to Ottawa at ten years old and later move ...

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was be ...

Paul Wells Paul Wells is a Canadian journalist and pundit. He was briefly a national affairs columnist for the ''Toronto Star'' in 2016–2017. Before that, he was a columnist for ''Maclean's'' for thirteen years; his column originally appeared in the bac ...

and Aaron Wherry.

Student life programs

Leadership education

The Leadership Education Program is designed to teach students how to become effective leaders, both individually and in teams. The program is split into three tiers: individual leadership, group leadership, and community leadership. To successfully complete a tier an individual must complete at least five of its seven modules. Upon completion, students receive a Letter of Accomplishment signed by the dean of the university.

Student exchange

The University of Western Ontario offers a

student exchange program A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but doe ...

study abroad International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...

with several other partner institutions. Almost four hundred students come to Western each year as exchange students from all over the world, with even more students coming to Western as international undergraduate or exchange students. The Western International Exchange Program offers its students the opportunity to study at more than 85 different institutions in 25 countries.

Notable people

File:John Robarts, Premier of Ontario.jpg,

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

, 17th

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

File:Fredrick banting.jpg, Sir

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and J ...

, awarded the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for the first use of insulin on humans File:Margaret Chan - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011 crop.jpg,

Margaret Chan Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, (born 21 August 1947) is a Chinese-Canadian physician, who served as the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) delegating the People's Republic of China from 2006–2017. Chan previously served a ...

, 7th Director General of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

File:Carson Mark.gif,

J. Carson Mark Jordan Carson Mark (July 6, 1913 – March 2, 1997) was a Canadian-American mathematician best known for his work on developing nuclear weapons for the United States at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Mark joined the Manhattan Project in 1945 ...

, mathematician and member of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

File:Kevin O'Leary 2012.jpg,

Kevin O'Leary Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born 9 July 1954), also known as Mr. Wonderful, is a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows. These include the business n ...

, president of

The Learning Company The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity ...

and television personality File:Willard Gordon Galen Weston at the CFC Gala 2013.jpg,

Galen Weston Willard Gordon Galen Weston (October 29, 1940April 12, 2021) was a British-Canadian billionaire businessman and Chairman Emeritus of George Weston Limited, a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Weston and his family, with an esti ...

, chairman of

George Weston Limited George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of Weston Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary, and Loblaw Companie ...

File:Roberta Bondar NASA.jpg,

Roberta Bondar Roberta Lynn Bondar (; born December 4, 1945) is a Canadian astronaut, neurologist and consultant. She is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. After more than a decade as head of an international space medicine ...

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

astronaut and the first Canadian female in space File:Jagmeet Singh at the 2nd National Bike Summit - Ottawa - 2018 (42481105871) (cropped v2).jpg,

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019.New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, the University of Western Ontario has over 220,000 alumni residing in over 100 countries. Throughout Western's history, faculty, alumni, and former students have played prominent roles in many different fields and have won the Nobel Prize,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

and other awards such as the Rhodes Scholarship. Former faculty member

received the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

for his discovery of insulin.

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...

, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013, studied in the university's English department for two years under a scholarship and returned to Western in 1974–75, when she held the post of writer-in-residence. She was later awarded an honorary degree. Two graduates from Western have also travelled in space, namely

Bjarni Tryggvason Bjarni Valdimar Tryggvason (September 21, 1945 – April 5, 2022) was an Icelandic-born Canadian engineer and a NRC/CSA astronaut. He served as a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle mission STS-85 in 1997, a 12-day mission to study changes in ...

and

. Many former students have gained local and national prominence for serving in government, such as

James Bartleman James Karl Bartleman (born 24 December 1939) is a former Canadian diplomat and author who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. Bartleman grew up in the Muskoka town of Port Carling, and he is a member of the ...

, who served as

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

from 2002 to 2007, and

Sheila Copps Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, ...

who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. Western's alumni also include a number of provincial premiers, including former

premiers of Ontario Below is a list of the premiers of the province of Ontario, Canada, since Confederation in 1867. Ontario uses a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in ...

and

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...

, and the former

premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The ...

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...

. A number of graduates have also served prominent positions on the international level. Examples include

Glenn Stevens Glenn Robert Stevens (born 23 January 1958) is an Australian economist who was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 2006 to 2016. Early life and education Stevens was born in Sydney in 1958. He graduated from the University of ...

, the Governor of the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

and

, the Director-General of the

. A significant number of prominent leaders in business and economics have also studied at Western. Examples include: Stephen Poloz, Governor, Bank of Canada,

Thomas H. Bailey Thomas H. Bailey (born 1936/37) is an American financier, noted for founding Denver, Colorado-based Janus Capital Group, one of the largest mutual fund institutions in the United States. In 2015, Bailey had an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. ...

, founder and former chairman of

Janus Capital Group Janus Capital Group, Inc. was an American publicly owned investment firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company's asset-management disciplines included growth, core, international, value, mathematical, alternative and fixed-income. These ...

, Geoff Beattie, president of

The Woodbridge Company The Woodbridge Company Limited is a Canadian private holding company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the primary investment vehicle for members of the family of the late Roy Thomson, the first Baron Thomson of Fleet. David Binet has been the ...

and chairman of

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

, George Cope, president and CEO of Bell Canada Enterprise, Joseph Muncaster, president of

Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

Edward Rogers III Edward Samuel Rogers III (born June 22, 1969) is a Canadian businessman who serves as the chairman of Rogers Communications. He is also the chairman of the Rogers Control Trust, which controls the majority of the voting shares of Rogers Commun ...

, deputy chairman of

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...

, and former president of

Rogers Cable Rogers Cable Inc. is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, primarily in Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ro ...

, Arkadi Kuhlmann, chairman of

ING Direct The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale bankin ...

Rob McEwen Rob McEwen, CM (born April 15, 1950) is a Canadian businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of McEwen Mining and was the founder and former chairman and chief executive officer of Goldcorp. In January 2019, Goldcorp merged w ...

, founder, chairman and former CEO of Goldcorp Inc., John Thompson, former chairman of

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquarte ...

and chancellor of Western,

Prem Watsa Prem Watsa (born 5 August 1950) is an Indian-Canadian billionaire businessman who is the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, based in Toronto. He has been called the "Canadian Warren Buffett." He was awarded th ...

, chairman, CEO of

Fairfax Financial Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a Canadian financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, which is engaged in property, casualty, insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operate ...

, Lee Seng Wee, former chairman of

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited (), often known as OCBC Bank (), is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in OCBC Centre, Singapore. OCBC Bank was born out of the Great Depression t ...

, chairman and president of

, Howard Lindzon, author and founder of StockTwits, businesswoman Margaret Heng, CEO of Shatec, a Singapore-based hospitality training institution, and

, television personality, venture capitalist, and former president of

Coat of arms

Notes

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Ontario, University Of Educational institutions established in 1878 1878 establishments in Ontario Universities in Ontario

Western Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...