Ontario Tech University
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, corporately branded as Ontario Tech University or Ontario Tech, is a public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Ontario Tech's main campus is located on approximately of land in the northern part of Oshawa. It operates a secondary campus in the downtown area of Oshawa. The school was founded in 2002 via the "University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002", passed by the Government of Ontario. History. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) was founded in 2002 by the passage of Bill 109, the "University  of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002", by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on June 27, 2002. It is a public university emphasizing science and technology, and was a part of the Ontario government's initiative to create more spaces in post-secondary institutions for the flood of post-secondary students in 2003. Ontario Tech is located in the Durham Region of Ontario. Ontario Tech offers graduate and post-graduate programs and research opportunities. At first there was 947 students in September 2003 and total enrolment was over 5,000 in the 2007–2008 school year. The student population today is over  10,000 students. Construction on the university's first buildings, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, began in 2002, and included a geothermal heating and cooling system extending 190m under the main campus quadrangle. These first buildings, three in total, were completed by the end of 2004. The Ontario Power Generation (OPG) building (funded by OPG) and the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC) were built in 2007. The university purchased the historic Regent Theatre in downtown Oshawa in 2009 and renovated it for use as a lecture theatre in 2010. The Clean Energy Research Laboratory (CERL) opened in 2010. In  2011, the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) and the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (ERC) opened. In 2014, the UOIT-Baagwating Indigenous Student Centre (UBISC) opened. In 2017, the Software and Informatics Research Centre (SIRC) was built. In March 2019, the school was rebranded as Ontario Tech University. Campus. North campus. The North campus is located at 2000 Simcoe St North and is considered the 'main' campus. The Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT), the Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science (FESNS), the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS), the Faculty of Science (FS), the  Faculty of Health Science (FHS), and the Faculty of Graduate Studies are located on the North Campus. Facilities on the North campus include: the award-winning Campus Library, the Science Building, the Business and Information Technology Building, the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (ERC), the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) building, the one-of-a-kind Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), the Software and Informatics Research Centre (SIRC), the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC), the University Pavilion (UP), the Student Life building, and student housing. The North campus is co-located with Durham College's campus and both  institutions share various facilities including the Campus Library, the CRWC, and the bookstore and various services including parking, security, and IT services. The university has plans in conjunction with Durham College to expand further north in Oshawa over the next few years, on land that they have already purchased. Part of this plan includes the Centre for Cybercrime Research, a university-owned building focusing on research and education in various aspects of cybercrime. Automotive Centre of Excellence. The Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) is a multi-level testing and research centre including a five-storey high wind tunnel that allows  for climatic, durability, and life cycle testing. It was built by the university in partnership with General Motors (GM) Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada and the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE). The total cost of the facility was approximately $100 million. It is used by the university for research and education and is also used by GM Canada and its other sponsors for various purposes, including testing new car prototypes. It is divided into two sections: a core research facility (CRF) and an integrated research and training facility (IRTF), with a  total area of approximately 16,300 square metres. The IRTF is the main portion of the building, spanning five floors with space for research and education. This portion of the ACE building is open to university students and is used as a place to study. The CRF, usually referred to as 'the wind tunnel', has full-size chambers for full climatic, structural durability and life cycle testing including a climatic wind tunnel. In this test chamber, wind speeds can exceed 240 kilometres per hour, temperatures range from -40 to +60 °C and relative humidity ranges from 5 to 95 per  cent. The climatic wind tunnel has a variable nozzle that can optimize the airflow from 7 to 13 square metres (and larger) as well as a large flexible chassis dynamometer integrated into a 11.5-metre turntable; these allow for vehicles in a wide range of sizes to be tested at various angles of windflow, including crosswind. The chamber also includes a solar array that can replicate the effects of the sun. Energy Research Centre. The Energy Research Centre (ERC) is a 9,290-square-metre, four-storey facility focusing on clean energy technologies that houses Ontario Tech's nuclear engineering undergraduate  program, the only program of its kind in Canada. This building is used for research in geothermal, hydraulic, hydrogen, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind energy technologies. The ERC is the result of a joint $45.4-million investment from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario as part of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program. The ERC contains a 72-seat lecture theatre, three 50-seat classrooms, two 30-seat tutorial rooms with flexible seating, 11 student-study (breakout) rooms, 12 labs, dedicated working stations for graduate students, and administrative space and offices for staff and faculty. One of  the more notable labs is an extensive nuclear power plant computer simulation, the most extensive of its kind. The second, third, and fourth floors of the ERC have indoor connections to the adjacent Business and Information Technology building. The ERC features a glass-covered atrium with a large hanging metal-wire sculpture of Northern Dancer, the famous, award-winning Canadian horse from Windfields Farm. Ontario Tech and Durham College purchased the core area of Windfield Farms in 2013, including the site where Northern Dancer was buried; the sculpture is a tribute. Downtown campus. The Downtown campus is located in the  downtown region of Oshawa, approximately ten minutes away from the North campus. Most of Ontario Tech's buildings in the downtown campus have not yet been named and are instead referred to by the address at which they are located. The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) and the Faculty of Education (FE) are located at the downtown campus. Facilities at the Downtown campus include: Bordessa Hall, 61 Charles Street, Regent Theatre, 2 Simcoe Street South, 11 Simcoe Street North, and the UOIT-Baagwating Indigenous Student Centre (UBISC). Regent Theatre. The Regent Theatre is a 609-seat lecture theatre  used by the university that, despite being a historic location, is fully outfitted with electric sockets and fold-down side-desks for students' computers. When not in use by the university, the theatre is also rented out for events in the evenings and on weekends, including regular use by the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra, who hold most of their concerts in the Regent Theatre. Student housing. The residences for Ontario Tech are shared by Ontario Tech and Durham College students, as well as Trent University students studying at Trent's Oshawa campus. There are two separate residences on campus: Simcoe Village  and South Village. Both of these residences are managed by Campus Living Centres. Sustainability. Ontario Tech has many 'green energy' features on campus, including solar panels on the roof of the Promenade, geothermal heating sourced from deep under the Polonsky Commons, and green roofs to reduce heating and cooling costs. Academics. Teaching and research have long been considered the two pillars of the university's endeavour. Ontario Tech has seven faculties: the Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT), the Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science (FESNS), the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS), the Faculty of Science  (FS), the Faculty of Health Science (FHS), the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), the Faculty of Education (FE), and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Ontario Tech is the only university in Canada to offer an accredited undergraduate nuclear engineering program. Ontario Tech has membership in the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering and has a close relationship with industry partners including Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Bruce Power, Cameco Corporation; Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ontario Power Generation, and SNC–Lavalin. The enabling legislation of Ontario Tech includes the implementation of a "Technology-Enriched Learning Environment" (TELE), which  emphasizes the usage of computing resources through the student experience. Faculty members encourage students to use laptops or other computing devices to complete assignments, perform laboratory research and interact with faculty during lectures. Previously, all undergraduate programs required students to lease a laptop PC from the university as a condition of enrolment, although in recent years, many faculties have adopted a "bring your own device" (BYOD) approach, accommodating flexibility among users while continuing to provide necessary software and support. Reputation. In "Maclean's" 2022 ranking of Canadian universities, Ontario Tech University placed ninth in their primarily undergraduate university category (tied  with St. Francis Xavier University), and 35th in their reputational survey. Ontario Tech University has ranked in several international post-secondary school rankings. In the 2021 "Academic Ranking of World Universities" rankings, the university was placed 801–900 in the world. In the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings" for 2022, the university was ranked 601–800. In "U.S. News & World Report" 2022 global university rankings, the university placed 1063rd. Student life. Athletics. The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks are members of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), and compete in sports including rowing, curling, golf, badminton, and men's and  women's hockey, basketball and soccer. Student Union. The students of Ontario Tech are represented by the Ontario Tech Student Union (OTSU). This organization provides advocacy and student services for students at all of Ontario Tech's campuses. Before the 2017/2018 academic year, the students of Ontario Tech were represented by the UOIT-DC Student Association (SA) which served students from both Ontario Tech and Durham College; various issues and conflicts eventually resulted in a court-mandated separation in early 2017. The SA was known for the annual CampusFest it hosted, especially the CampusFest concert. Past concert performers include Loud  Luxury, Anders, 3LAU, Avicii, 20 Amp Soundchild, Monster Truck, Tommy Trash, The Chainsmokers, and Wolfgang Gartner. The OTSU currently hosts an O-Week every year including a concert. Fraternities and Sororities. Ontario Tech, as a rule, does not grant recognition to any fraternities or sororities and states that they are entirely independent of the university and not sanctioned. Despite this, there are several fraternities and sororities located around campus. These organizations, some of which are residential and some of which are not, host events for students and do philanthropy work for the surrounding community: "Tau Kappa Epsilon" has an annual  charity event known as "Teke in a box" that raises money for the campus food centre and "Zeta Psi" has an annual charity event known as "Zete car push". Listed by date of founding, the fraternities and sororities located around Ontario Tech include these chapters. Active groups are noted in bold, inactive groups are noted in "italics:" Active Fraternities: Inactive Fraternities: Active Sororities: Inactive Sororities: Insignias and other representations. The Latin name of the university is "Universitas Ontario Instituto Technologiae" and its motto is "Cogitando et Agendo Ducemus", meaning "By thinking and doing we shall lead". Ontario Tech's slogan  is "Challenge, Innovate, Connect". Rebranding. In September 2018, a proposal for a name change surfaced stating the abbreviation 'UOIT' to be hard to pronounce, thus making marketing difficult. The subject became a topic of discussion in the proceeding months, followed by feedback from both the stakeholders and the school. In March 2019, the university officially launched their new brand identity, "Ontario Tech University". Subsequently, a system wide revamp was observed in all promotional materials including banners, merchandise, and the website. The change was met with mixed reviews. The official name of the institution, however, is to remain ‘University of Ontario  Institute of Technology’ in formal documents, since it is included in the provincial legislation that created the university.