University of Ontario Institute of Technology

University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Motto	Cogitando et Agendo, Ducemus
Motto in English	"By thinking and doing we shall lead."[1]
Established	2002
Type	Public
Chancellor	Perrin Beatty
President	Tim McTiernan
Undergraduates	7,977
Postgraduates	446
Location	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada 43°56′41.45″N 78°53′30.13″W / 43.9448472°N 78.8917028°W / 43.9448472; -78.8917028Coordinates: 43°56′41.45″N 78°53′30.13″W / 43.9448472°N 78.8917028°W / 43.9448472; -78.8917028
Campus	Urban/Suburban
Sport Teams	University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks
Colours	blue      & lighter blue      [2]
Mascot	Hunter the Ridgeback
Affiliations	AUCC, IAU, COU, CIS, OUA, Fields Institute, Ontario Network of Women in engineering, CBIE, CARL‎,
Website	http://www.uoit.ca/

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university shares its campus with Durham College. The university was founded in 2002 and accepted its first students in 2003, making it one of Canada's newest universities. The enabling legislation is the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002. ^[3] All undergraduate programs require students to lease a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop PC from the university as a condition of enrollment, making it Ontario's only laptop-based university. Faculty members also encourage students to use their laptops to complete assignments, perform laboratory research and interact with faculty during lectures. UOIT offers a range of undergraduate programs, and graduate programs in Science, Engineering, Health and Information Technology. The UOIT campus is approximately 400 acres (160 ha) in the northern part of Oshawa.

History

UOIT was founded in 2002 by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002 passage by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario of Bill 109 on June 27, 2002. It is a public, career-focused university emphasizing science and technology, and a part of the Ontario government’s initiative to create more spaces in postsecondary institutions for the double cohort. UOIT's new slogan, "Challenge, Innovate, Connect" was unveiled in June 2006.

UOIT offered graduate and postgraduate programs and research opportunities ^[4] to the first 947 students in September 2003^[5] and total enrolment was over 5,000 in the 2007–2008 school year, making it the fastest growing university in Ontario. The student population for 2009 was 6285 and 7018 in 2010.^[6]

UOIT Library.

Construction on the university's first buildings began in 2002. The facilities currently include a library shared with Durham College, the Science Building, and the Business and IT Building as well as a state of the art virtual hospital for nursing students. The Ontario Power Generation Engineering Building opened in September 2006. The residences for UOIT are Simcoe Village and South Village. The Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) is connected to the Ontario Power Generation Engineering Building (opened in 2011). ACE is a multi-level testing and research centre that will allow for full climatic, durability and lifecycle testing. It has a full range of testing facilities including a five story high climatic wind tunnel.

Plans have been announced for the Centre for Cybercrime Research which will be a separate, permanent location on campus and will be dedicated to leading-edge research and the training of graduate and undergraduate students in various aspects of cybercrime.^[7] In addition, an expansion to the athletic facilities, funded largely by students, was completed in September 2007.^[8][9]

The University has established a downtown campus. It purchased and renovated the Regent Theater to be used as a lecture theatre during the week and as a community stage on the weekends. The university also renovated the former Alger Press building which opened in January 2011. UOIT has also initiated plans to renovate Victoria St. (Between King St. and Bond St.) into a pedestrian, social and lounge area. Currently the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Faculty of Education are located downtown. The university just completed a comprehensive master plan for the downtown campus location entitled "Into the Future: A Framework & Action Plan for Growing UOIT & Downtown Oshawa. It will guide university growth over the next years and decades. The study anticipates the relocation of the Faculty of Business and Information Technology from the north campus location to the downtown campus location by 2015.

Programs

UOIT has seven faculties, each offering several programs.^[10]

Faculty of Business and Information Technology	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) - BCom (Hons) Accounting Finance Marketing Human Resources Management Concentration BIT (Hons) Game Development & Entrepreneurship Networking and IT Security Master of Business Administration (MBA) Finance Marketing International Business Logistics and Supply Chain Management Master of Information Technology Security (MITS)	BA (Hons) in Criminology and Justice Comprehensive Program Criminal Justice specialization Gender, Sexualities and Justice specialization Race, Ethnicity and Justice specialization Youth, Crime and Justice specialization Bridge Program BA (Hons) in Legal Studies Comprehensive Program Alternative Dispute Resolution specialization Human Rights Law specialization Information Law specialization Legal studies minors Bridge Program BA (Hons) in Legal Studies — Concurrent programs Concurrent with Legal Administration diploma (Durham College) Concurrent with Court and Tribunal Agent diploma (Durham College) BA (Hons) in Public Policy Comprehensive program Master of Arts (MA) in Criminology Thesis option Non-Thesis option BA (Hons) in Communication Comprehensive program Commerce and Marketing specialization Digital Media specialization Health Sciences Communication specialization Science and Technology specialization
Faculty of Education	Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science
BEd, 1-year Consecutive program, Intermediate/Senior BEd, 1-year Consecutive program, Primary/Junior BEd/BSc (Honours) (Intermediate/Senior), 5-year concurrent Biology Chemistry Computer Studies Mathematics Physics Other teachable combinations:[1] Master of Education (MEd) Graduate Diploma in Education and Digital Technologies	BASc (Hons) in Nuclear Power BEng (Hons) in Energy Systems Engineering BSc (Hons) in Health Physics and Radiation Science BEng (Hons) in Nuclear Engineering BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Nuclear Engineering and Management Master of Applied Science (MASc) Master of Engineering (MEng) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Diploma in Nuclear Technology Fuel, Materials and Chemistry Reactor Systems Operation and Maintenance Safety, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Health Physics Radiological Applications
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science	Faculty of Health Sciences
BEng (Hons) in Automotive Engineering BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering BEng (Hons) in Manufacturing Engineering BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering Comprehensive Program Energy Engineering option Mechatronics option BEng (Hons) in Software Engineering BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Automotive Engineering and Management BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Electrical Engineering and Management BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Manufacturing Engineering and Management BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and Management Comprehensive Mechanical Engineering program Energy Engineering option Mechatronics Engineering option BEng and Mgt (Hons) in Software Engineering and Management Automotive Engineering Master of Applied Science (MASc) Master of Engineering (MEng) Electrical and Computer Engineering Master of Applied Science (MASc) Master of Engineering (MEng) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Mechanical Engineering Master of Applied Science (MASc) Master of Engineering (MEng) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	Bachelor of Allied Health Sciences (Honours) - BAHSc (Hons) Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) - BHSc (Hons) Comprehensive program Health Information Management specialization Kinesiology specialization Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) in Medical Laboratory Science — BHSc (Hons) Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Honours) - BScN (Hons) Collaborative RPN to BScN (full-time program) RPN to BScN (part-time program) Master of Health Sciences (MHSc)
Faculty of Science
BSc (Hons) in Applied and Industrial Mathematics BSc (Hons) in Biological Science Complementary Studies Environmental Toxicology specialization Life Sciences specialization Pharmaceutical Biotechnology specialization BSc (Hons) in Chemistry Chemistry Comprehensive program Biological Chemistry specialization Pharmaceutical Chemistry specialization BSc (Hons) in Computing Science Computing Science Comprehensive program Digital Forensics specialization Digital Media specialization BSc (Hons) in Forensic Science BSc (Hons) in Physical Science BSc (Hons) in Physics Physics Comprehensive program Energy and the Environment specialization Forensics Physics specialization Medical Physics specialization BSc and Mgt (Hons) in Biological Science and Management Complementary Studies Environmental Toxicology specialization Life Sciences specialization Pharmaceutical Biotechnology specialization BSc and Mgt (Hons) in Physical Science and Management BSc (Hons)/BEd (Concurrent) (Intermediate/Senior) Applied Bioscience Master of Science (MSc) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Computer Science Master of Science (MSc) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Materials Science Master of Science (MSc) Modelling and Computational Science Master of Science (MSc)

Research

Faculty members are involved in research in a variety of areas. These include:

• Multimedia Based Digital Authentication Schemes
• Statistical and Array Processing
• Wireless Communications and Signal Processing
• Satellite Communications
• Pervasive Computing
• Sensor and Information Networks
• Computer Forensics and Network Security
• Web Modelling and Optimization
• Computer Networking
• Networked and Distributed Control Systems
• Haptics and Virtual Reality (Laboratory for Advanced User Interfaces and Virtual Reality)
• Medical and Mobile Robotics
• Automatic/Intelligent Sensing and Control
• Power Engineering
• Vehicle dynamics
• Fuel cells and hydrogen
• Automotive aerodynamics
• Noise, vibrations and harshness
• Automotive materials and manufacturing
• Chassis design
• Automotive software and system modeling
• Alternative fuels
• Hybrid vehicles
• Automotive systems
• Dynamics, vibration and noise
• Engineering design
• Energy, thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics
• Manufacturing and materials
• Mechanics of solids and structures
• Robotics, automation and controls
• Semiconductor physics and nanotechnology
• Solar cells

Student housing controversy

In the last week of September 2007, the Durham Regional Police Service entered the homes of university and college students living off campus in search of leasing agreements. The city of Oshawa obtained 17 warrants to search these homes, police and bylaw officers picking the locks and arriving unannounced. This all took place under the suspicion that the residences were illegal boarding houses.^[11][12]

As well the City of Oshawa introduced a new bylaw on February 18, 2008 limiting the number of bedrooms in a rental home to four and forcing landlords to pay a $1,000 fee, driving up the cost of affordable housing for students. The bylaw did not take into account landlords who live on the property, and only pertained to the areas directly surrounding the school. As well families renting to students were exempt from the bylaw.^[13]

These actions have been seen by the student community as outright discrimination. In an open letter to the Toronto Star, Barbara Hall, chief of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, stated "I urge Oshawa City Council members to look closely at what has been proposed, to apply a sound city-wide planning rationale, and to consider the human rights impact of its decision." Many students have seen this as encouragement to file human rights complaints against the city for age discrimination.^[14]

Some local residents however, are still unhappy with the growing student population and have also begun protesting of a planned student housing apartment. Accusing the new construction of cramming too many students in too small an area.^[15][16]

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology has built a new on-campus residence that houses an additional 350 students.^[17]

Student Life

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is home to a number of fraternities and sororities, both local and international. There is no "Greek row" on campus, nor are the fraternities and sororities formally acknowledged by the University. However, the Greek Council of which nearly all fraternities and sororities are members of are recognized as a student organization by the UOIT and Durham College Student Association. The University has a fast growing Greek Life considering that it was founded only nine years ago. There are currently two fraternities and two sororities on the campus. Of the approximately 8000 undergraduates, about 170 are currently involved in a Greek Organization. The Greek system at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology has a system of self-government. While there is an executive council, most of the day to day operations of the Greek community are governed by the organizations themselves with a representative from each organization who resides on the Greek Council. Many of the fraternity and sorority houses on campus are located within walking distance of campus. The following organizations can be found below along with their date of founding on campus.

Fraternity:

• Tau Kappa Epsilon (2004)
• Zeta Psi (2005)

Sorority:

• Alpha Sigma Chi (2008)
• Alpha Gamma Delta (2009)

Name controversy

Much debate has been made over the name choice of the school as renaming the university has been in review for more than a year. "It's quite confusing to the public because it contains the words 'university' and 'institute' and the public doesn't really understand why it's necessary to have both these words and what the differences are between those two words," says Ron Bordessa, president of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.^[18] The name also has been part of a legal dispute. Oshawa city counselor Robert Lutczyk "registered a copyright" for the "University of Ontario Institute of Technology" in 2005, and recently tried to forbid several publications from printing the name under threat of legal action.^[19] A key election platform of Councillor Lutczyk's bid for mayor in 1991 was the establishment of a university in Oshawa which, at the time, was the largest city in Ontario without its own university.

Campus facilities

• Campus Library 2004
• Business and Information Technology 2005
• Gordon Wiley Building
• Science Building 2004
• Simcoe Building
• Ontario Power Generation Engineering building 2006
• University Pavilion (UP Building)
• Campus Tennis Centre 2003
• Campus Ice Centre 2005
• Campus Athletic Centre
• Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre 2007
• Polonsky Commons
• General Motors Automotive Centre of Excellence (2011)
• Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (2011)

Board Members

• Lyn McLeod 2002-2008
• Perrin Beatty 2008–present

Presidents/Vice-Chancellor

• Dr Gary Polonsky 2002-2006
• Dr Ronald Bordessa 2006–2011
• Dr Tim McTiernan 2011-Present

See also

• University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks
• List of Ontario Universities
• Ontario Student Assistance Program
• Higher education in Ontario
• Canadian Interuniversity Sport
• Canadian government scientific research organizations
• Canadian university scientific research organizations
• Canadian industrial research and development organizations

References

1. ^ "UReg11_Sep10-03.pdf". http://www.uoit.ca/assets/Section~specific/About~UOIT/Governance/Board~of~Governors/Meeting~Agendas~and~Minutes/PDFs/Minutes/2003-04/UReg11_Sep10-03.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
2. ^ Logo colours | Logo
3. ^ University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002
4. ^ Pound, Richard W. (2005). 'Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. 
5. ^ "History". About UOIT. University of Ontario Institute of Technology. http://www.uoit.ca/EN/main2/about/232138/history.html. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
6. ^ Durham's university achieves new enrolment figures
7. ^ UOIT unveils plans for Centre for Cybercrime Research
8. ^ Campus Athletic Centre expansion well underway
9. ^ UOIT celebrates grand opening of Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre expansion | 2007
10. ^ Connect@UOIT - UOIT - List by faculty
11. ^ Police raid student houses in Oshawa : Macleans OnCampus
12. ^ Police raid student houses in Oshawa
13. ^ Vyhnak, Carola (2007-10-13). "Student housing bylaw sparks fury". The Star (Toronto). Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080526075219/http%3A//www.thestar.com/News/article/266482. Retrieved 2010-05-27. 
14. ^ Oshawa students encouraged to file human rights complaints against city : Macleans OnCampus
15. ^ Student housing battle: part II
16. ^ The Oshawa housing battle continues : Macleans OnCampus
17. ^ New apartment style student residences planned at UOIT
18. ^ Rushowy, Kristin (2007-08-08). "OCAD, UOIT search for new name". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/244181. Retrieved 2010-05-27. ^{[dead link]}
19. ^ TheStar.com | GTA | Oshawa school grapples with its identity crisis

External links

• University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002
• Clubs @ UOIT
• Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada profile
• UOIT's EcoCAR Engineering Competition Team Website
• UOIT's Formula SAE Team Website
• Durham Strategic Energy Alliance (DSEA)
• UOIT's Athletic Website