Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University ( SFU ) is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby , and operates satellite campuses in downtown Vancouver and Surrey . The main campus on Burnaby Mountain , located from downtown Vancouver , was established in 1965 and comprises of more than 30 , 000 students and approximately 950 faculty members . The university is adjacent to an urban village ; UniverCity . The university was named after Simon Fraser , a North West Company fur trader and explorer . Undergraduate and graduate programs operate on a year - round tri - semester schedule . It is the only non - American university in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . In 2007 , Simon Fraser University was the first and remains the only university to be awarded the Prix du XXe siècle from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada recognizing the " enduring excellence of nationally significant architecture " . SFU was ranked first among Canada ' s comprehensive universities in 2009 , 2010 , 2011 and 2012 by " Maclean ' s " . History . Founding . Simon Fraser University was founded upon the recommendation of a 1962 report entitled " Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future " , by Dr . J . B . Macdonald , who recommended the creation of a new university in the Lower Mainland . The British Columbia Legislature gave formal assent on March 1 , 1963 for the establishment of the university in Burnaby . In May of the same year , Dr . Gordon M . Shrum was appointed as the university ' s first Chancellor . From a variety of sites which were offered , Shrum recommended to the provincial government that the summit of Burnaby Mountain , 365 meters above sea level , be chosen for the new university . Architects Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey won a competition to design the university , and construction began in the spring of 1964 . The campus faces northwest over Burrard Inlet . Eighteen months later , on September 9 , 1965 , the university began its first semester with 2 , 500 students . Early activism . The campus was noted in the 1960s and early 1970s as a hotbed of political activism , culminating in a crisis in the Department of Political Science , Sociology , and Anthropology in a dispute involving ideological differences among faculty . The resolution to the crisis included the dismantling of the department into today ' s separate departments . Coat of Arms . The school ' s original coat of arms was used from the university ' s inception until 2006 , at which point the Board of Governors voted to adapt the old coat of arms and thereby register a second coat of arms . The adaptation replaced two crosslets with books after some in the university asserted the crosses had misled prospective foreign students into believing SFU was a private , religious institution rather than a public , secular one . In 2007 , the university decided to register both the old coat of arms and the revised coat of arms featuring the books . In 2007 , a new marketing logo was unveiled , consisting of white letters on block red . The University today . SFU ' s president is Andrew Petter , whose term began on September 1 , 2010 . Petter succeeds Dr . Michael Stevenson . who held a decade long post as President from 2000 to 2010 . In 2009 , SFU became the first Canadian university to be accepted into the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . Starting in the 2011 - 2012 season , SFU will be competing in the NCAA ' s Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference ( GNAC ) . Once completed , the transition will move all 19 Simon Fraser Clan teams into the NCAA . SFU ' s research efforts have led it to obtain the highest publication impact among Canadian comprehensive universities , and the highest success rates per faculty member in competitions for Federal research council funding from NSERC and SSHRC . In 2007 , the University began offering dual and double degrees by partnering with international universities . The first partnership involved Zhejiang University and a dual Computing - Science degree . One year later , the University partnered with Australia ' s Monash University , to offer a double Bachelor of Arts degree . Academics . SFU has been rated as Canada ' s best comprehensive university ( in 1993 , 1996 , 1997 , 1998 , 2000 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , and 2012 ) in the annual rankings of Canadian universities in " Maclean ' s " magazine since 1991 . The Higher Education Strategy Associates ranked Simon Fraser University 6th nationally in Science and Engineering and 10th nationally in Social Sciences and Humanities . Research Infosource , Canada ' s leading provider of research intelligence evaluation , named SFU the top comprehensive university in Canada for " publication effectiveness " in 2006 . Similar to most Canadian universities , SFU is a public university , with more than half of funding coming from taxpayers and the remaining from tuition fees . Undergraduate . In academic year 2010 - 11 , SFU is home to 29 , 697 undergraduates , with 14 , 911 of them being full - time and 14 , 786 part - time . The university has grown in recent years recently achieving an alumni population of over 100 , 000 . It has 946 faculty members and 3 , 403 staff . In fall semester 2011 , 4 , 182 International students enrolled , making up 17 % of the undergraduate student body , one of the highest among Canadian universities . The majority of these international students ( 60 % ) come from Mainland China , followed by South Korea ( 6 % ) and Hong Kong ( 6 % ) . SFU ' s student union is known as the Simon Fraser Student Society ( SFSS ) , which includes undergraduates who study at SFU . Graduate . The university enrolls over 5 , 000 graduate students in a wide range of full - time and part - time academic programs . International students comprise 20 % of the graduate student population as a whole and 30 – 40 % in science and technology areas . A Graduate Student Society supports and advocates for graduate students at the university . Staff unions . Teaching Assistants , Tutor Markers , Sessional Instructors , and Language Instructors at SFU are unionized . The union , The Teaching Support Staff Union ( TSSU ) , is independent . Faculty and lecturers are members of the Faculty Association . Staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees ( CUPE ) , the Administrative and Professional Staff Association ( APSA ) , or Polyparty . A few positions at the university such as some in Human Resources and senior administrative positions fall outside of the five associations or unions above . Research and affiliations . SFU also works with other universities and agencies to operate joint research facilities . These include Bamfield Marine Station , a major centre for teaching and research in marine biology ; TRIUMF , a powerful cyclotron used in subatomic physics and chemistry research . SFU is also a partner institution in Great Northern Way Campus Ltd in Vancouver . In March 2006 , SFU approved an affiliation agreement with a private college for international students to be housed adjacent to its Burnaby campus . This new college named Fraser International College is now open in the Multi Tenant Facility located in Discovery Parks Trust SFU site . Faculties . There are eight faculties at Simon Fraser University : Main Campus . Campus distributions . Simon Fraser University has three campuses , each located in different parts of Greater Vancouver . SFU ' s main campus is located in Burnaby , atop Burnaby Mountain . Two satellite campuses are located in Vancouver ' s Downtown at Harbour Centre , and in Surrey . The downtown campus has expanded to include several other buildings in recent years , including the Segal Graduate School of Business , now known officially as SFU Vancouver . In September 2010 , SFU Contemporary Arts moved into the Woodward ' s redevelopment , known as the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts . SFU ' s three campuses are all accessible by public transit . The Vancouver campus is a block away from the Waterfront SkyTrain station while the Surrey campus is adjacent to the Surrey Central SkyTrain station . The Burnaby campus is linked to the Production Way - University and Sperling - Burnaby Lake SkyTrain stations by frequent shuttle bus service . Burnaby Mountain Campus . The main campus is located atop Burnaby Mountain , at an elevation of 365 metres , overlooking the Burrard inlet to the north . All major departments in the university are housed at the Burnaby campus . The library on the main campus is called the W . A . C . Bennett Library , named after the Social Credit Premier of B . C . who established it . The campus also has two gym - complexes , named the Lorne - Davies Complex and Chancellor ' s Gym . An international - sized swimming pool is located within the Lorne - Davies Complex . Since the relocation of the School of Contemporary Arts to the Woodward ' s location , the Burnaby campus production theatre has been vacant . Located within the heart of the campus is the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and three art galleries . The campus has been awarded numerous architectural awards over the years , including the Gold Medal for Lieutenant - Governor 2009 Awards in Architecture and the 2007 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada ' s Prix du XXe siècle . The Burnaby campus is composed of a vast complex of interconnected buildings spanning across 1 . 7 km of land across Burnaby Mountain , from the eastern end of the campus to the western side , where the UniverCity urban village is located . The campus consists of the following buildings : Libraries , museums and galleries . The SFU Burnaby Campus has a single library called the W . A . C . Bennett Library which holds over 2 million published books , and 6000 print subscriptions . Along with the UniverCity development agreement , residents of UniverCity are also allowed to borrow books from the library . An additional art gallery is located inside the library . SFU also has a Museum of Archeology and Ethnology , which holds many exhibits on lease from the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria . The exhibits are created by students as part of the museum studies courses offered in the Department of Archaeology . Archaeological collections arising from excavations and other research by faculty , staff and students are also housed in the museum . Also located at the SFU Library is the Electronic Document Centre , which provides internet access to digitized documents from a number of archival collections , such as Harrison Brown ' s Xi ' an Incident collection , and the history of British Columbia and Western Canada in general , including documents from the Doukhobor migration from the Russian Empire to Saskatchewan and then to British Columbia assembled for donation to the university by John Keenlyside Residences . The SFU Burnaby Campus provides residence to 1766 SFU and FIC students in 6 different areas , all located on the western - side of the campus . UniverCity . UniverCity is an urban community located on top of Burnaby Mountain , adjacent to Simon Fraser University . It has won several awards for sustainable planning and development . Envisioned in 1963 by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey , the area adjacent to the University was not officially rezoned for development until 30 years later . Development of the community began in early 2000 , when Simon Fraser University commenced construction on a new residential and commercial area occupying approximately adjacent to the campus . As of September 2011 , approximately 3000 people live in UniverCity . The main commercial district on University High Street now houses restaurants , stores , and a 20 , 000 square foot Nester ' s Market . A new elementary school , University Highlands Elementary , opened on September 1 , 2010 . Several new residential developments are currently in progress , including the construction of a 12 - storey highrise in the heart of UniverCity . Satellite campuses . SFU Surrey Campus . The SFU Surrey campus is the most recent satellite campus . It is located in downtown Surrey , B . C . , a quickly growing suburb of Vancouver . The campus is part of Central City , an architectural complex adjacent to the Surrey Central SkyTrain station . It was established in 2002 to absorb the students and programs of the former Technical University of British Columbia which was closed by the provincial government . It has since expanded to house the Surrey operations of other SFU programs . The Central City complex that houses the campus was designed by architect Bing Thom and opened in 2006 . SFU Vancouver . SFU Vancouver was launched in the 1980s with a store - front classroom . It was the first urban university classroom in British Columbia . A significant portion of funding for the building of the campus came from the private sector . The Vancouver campus has four buildings spread across the downtown core : SFU Harbour Centre , the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue , the Segal Graduate School of Business and SFU Contemporary Arts at the restored Woodward ' s Building . The original campus building at Harbour Centre , a rebuilt heritage department store , officially opened on May 5 , 1989 . Today , the entire campus serves more than 70 , 000 people annually . Approximately 10 , 000 are graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in courses and degree programs based downtown . In September 2010 , SFU Contemporary Arts relocated to the historic Woodward ' s district in downtown Vancouver known as the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts . The SFU facility is part of the Woodward ' s revitalization project . The new facility accommodates the increasing enrollment of students in the programme and new cultural facilities , including the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental theatre , screening rooms , sound studios , and art galleries . Student life and athletics . Student Life . The student newspaper " The Peak " was established shortly after the university opened and is circulated throughout the University . CJSF - FM radio is the school ' s radio station , broadcasting from 90 . 1 FM to Burnaby and surrounding communities , online at www . cjsf . ca or on cable at 93 . 9 FM . The Simon Fraser Student Society provides funding for over 100 campus clubs . Various campus events include the annual Terry Fox Run , Gung Haggis Fat Choy , Clubs Week , and other multi - cultural events . The Tau chapter of Phrateres , a non - exclusive , non - profit social - service club , was installed here in 1966 . Between 1924 and 1967 , 23 chapters of Phrateres were installed in universities across North America , including the Theta chapter nearby at the University of British Columbia . Greek organizations . SFU is home to three Greek organizations : Athletics . The university ' s varsity sports teams are called the Simon Fraser Clan , and the mascot is a Scottish Terrier named McFogg the Dog . In sports and other competitions , there tends to be a strong rivalry between SFU and The University of British Columbia . The Clan competes in Canadian Interuniversity Sport ( CIS ) and the U . S . National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the Men ' s Collegiate Lacrosse Association ( MCLA ) . In total , SFU has 15 varsity sport teams and 300 athletes . Football , men ' s and women ' s basketball , women ' s volleyball and women ' s wrestling compete for CIS championships only . Men ' s and women ' s soccer , women ' s softball , men ' s and women ' s swimming , men ' s and women ' s cross - country and men ' s and women ' s track and field compete for NAIA championships only . Men ' s wrestling competes for championships of both organizations . The lacrosse team plays in the MCLA , and has reached the final four of the national tournament five times . The team is the only collegiate lacrosse team in Canada to compete for a national title . SFU has won the NAIA NACDA Director ' s Cup five times , among others . On Friday , July 10 , 2009 , the NCAA announced that it has accepted SFU as a Division II member that will begin after a two year transition period . SFU will compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference . It is the first Canadian university to be accepted as a member of the NCAA at any level . Many former Clan athletes later represented Canada during the Olympic Games , including gold medalists Carole Huynh and Daniel Igali , and Olympic medalists Sue Holloway and Hugh Fisher . Other Clan alumni include : Jay Triano , Jeff Thue , Bob Molle , Chris Rinke , Carolyn Murray , Garry MacDonald , and Bruce Robertson . There are also teams at Simon Fraser University that compete against other university teams at the varsity level . These sports include rowing , lacrosse ( in the MCLA ) , hockey and cheerleading . Governance and administration . Convocation . The Convocation is composed of all faculty members , senators , and graduates ( degree holders , including honorary alumni ) of the university . Its main function is to elect the Chancellor ( who acts as Chair of Convocation ) and four Convocation Senators . Convocation ceremonies are held twice annually to confer degrees ( including honorary degrees ) as well as award diplomas and certificates . Board of Governors The Board is composed of the Chancellor , the President , two student members , two faculty members , one staff member , and eight individuals appointed by the British Columbia government . Traditionally , the Board is chaired by one of the government appointees . The Board is responsible for the general management and governance of the university . The Senate is composed of the Chancellor , the President , Vice - President , Academic , Vice - President , Research , Deans of Faculties , Dean of Graduate Studies , Dean of Continuing Studies , Associate Vice - President , Academic , University Librarian , Registrar ( as Senate secretary ) , 14 student members , 28 faculty members , and 4 convocation members ( who are not faculty members ) . The Senate is chaired by the President . The academic governance of the university is vested in the Senate . The Chancellor is elected by and from Convocation for a three - year term , which can be renewed once . The main responsibilities of the Chancellor are to confer degrees and represent the university in formal functions . The President and Vice - Chancellor is appointed by the Board of Governors based on a selection process jointly established by the Board of Governors and the Senate of the university . As Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Senate , the President is responsible for the day - to - day administration of the university . Alumni . Terry Fox . One of the most highly regarded SFU alumni and one of Canada ' s most treasured sons is the late Terry Fox . Diagnosed with bone cancer which resulted in the amputation of his leg , the 18 - year - old kinesiology major set out to cross Canada on a grueling run called the Marathon of Hope to raise funding and awareness about cancer . As a result of Terry Fox ' s legacy , running for charitable causes is now integrated within communities worldwide . He also inspired friend Rick Hansen ' s Man in Motion world tour by wheelchair . In 2001 , SFU awarded an honorary degree to Betty Fox , mother of Terry Fox and Honorary Chair of the Terry Fox Foundation . Honorary alumni . In 1967 , SFU awarded an honorary LL . D . ( doctor of laws ) to Marshall McLuhan , the first honorary degree awarded by the university . On April 20 , 2004 , SFU conferred honorary degrees upon three Nobel Peace Prize recipients : the 14th Dalai Lama , Bishop Desmond Tutu , and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi . At each convocation , SFU awards honorary degrees to various people from around the world for their activities and pursuits . Other honorary alumni award - winning filmmaker include Costa - Gavras , skier Nancy Greene Raine , Milton Wong , Doris Shadbolt , dancer and choreographer Judith Marcuse , economist Jeffrey Sachs , Peter Gzowski , Douglas Coupland , Romeo Dallaire , Canadian businessman Stephen Jarislowsky , Iain Baxter , American agriculturalist Cary Fowler , Martha Piper , Sarah McLachlan , and Rick Hansen . Scholars . Rhodes Scholars Appearances in popular culture . Due to the contemporary Brutalist architecture of the Burnaby Mountain campus , many buildings , including the WAC Bennet Library and Academic Quadrangle have been used for location shots in a variety of films and television programmes over the years . In film . Its first use as a film set was for the 1972 science fiction film " The Groundstar Conspiracy " , in which the entire campus complex was used . It was then followed by " The Fly 2 " , which has scenes shot inside and outside the Burnaby campus . The campus also appeared in the 1989 movie " American Boyfriends " , set in 1965 , with the buildings dressed to look like they were still under construction . The campus served as a high - tech corporate setting in the film " Antitrust " . Recently , in addition to other Vancouver - area landmarks , many parts of the Burnaby campus were used for the filming of the movie " The 6th Day " as well as " Agent Cody Banks " . The 2007 film " Personal Effects " , was filmed in the newly - constructed Blusson Hall at the Burnaby Campus . In early 2008 , the Burnaby campus was again used for filming , this time for " The Day the Earth Stood Still " ( 2008 Remake ) . Filming of the 2012 movie " " starring Kate Beckinsale , began in early 2011 with parts of the AQ modified as part of the set . The SFU Surrey Campus has also been featured in blockbuster movies such as " I , Robot " , " Fantastic Four " , and " Catwoman " . SFU was also the film location for HALO ' s " " and the Corbulo Academy of Military Science . In Stargate SG - 1 , SFU was the homeworld for the technologically advanced Tollan , as seen in the Tollan - centric episodes " Pretense " ( Season 3 Ep . 15 ) and " Between Two Fires " ( Season 5 Ep . 9 ) . In television . The Burnaby campus has been prominently featured in science fiction television series such as " Stargate SG - 1 " , " Battlestar Galactica " , and " Andromeda " . The Academic Quadrangle has also served as a backdrop for shots of " FBI headquarters " in the television series " The X - Files " . Exterior shots of the Academic Quadrangle have also been used in the Vancouver - based TV series " JPod " ( based on the book ) . The SFU Surrey campus has been featured in several episodes of " Smallville " and " Caprica " , with the entire mezzanine and registration area being transformed into the Caprica Inter - colonial Space Port . It has also been featured in the Smallville TV series . Recently , filming of the TV show " Hellcats " commenced in the West Gym of the Chancellor ' s Gymnasium in November 2010 .