The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, branded as Ontario Tech University or Ontario Tech, is a public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is located on approximately of land in northern Oshawa, while its secondary satellite campus is situated in downtown Oshawa. The university is a co-educational institution that operates seven academic faculties.
The institution was founded in 2002 and adopted the brand name Ontario Tech University in 2018. The legal name of the university is unchanged.
In its nearly first decade of operation, the university developed its main campus with the construction of several new buildings. In 2011, the university opened its secondary campus in downtown Oshawa.
In 2021, there were approximately 10,100 undergraduates and 970 graduate students enrolled at the university. In 2022, there were over 25,500 alumni.
History The University of Ontario Institute of Technology 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 were 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.
On June 10, 2019, construction of Shawenjigewining (SHA) Hall began. The building officially opened November 4, 2021.
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 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 Research Centre (ERC)[formerly the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre], the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) building, the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), the Software and Informatics Research Centre (SIR), the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC), the University Pavilion (UP), Shawenjigewining Hall (SHA), 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 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, with a four-storey facility focusing on clean energy technologies that houses Ontario Tech's nuclear engineering undergraduate program, which is 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, student-study (breakout) rooms, teaching and research labs, and dedicated working stations for graduate students. The building features a glass-covered atrium containing two horse sculptures that pay tribute to the heritage of Windfields Farm: a hanging wire sculpture of the racehorse Northern Dancer, and True Power, a 4.1-metre stainless steel sculpture by Geordie Lishman representing potential energy.
Downtown campus The Downtown campus is located in the downtown region of Oshawa, approximately 6.6 km away from the North campus. The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) and the Frazer Faculty of Education (FE) are located at the downtown campus.
Facilities at the Downtown campus include: Bordessa Hall, Charles Hall, Regent Theatre, and the 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.
Administration Ontario Tech University is a publicly funded institution, and operates under a bicameral system with a board of governors and an academic council empowered by provincial legislation, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002.
Governance The university's board of governors is charged with the management of the university's affairs, including its assets, properties, and revenue. The board of governors is made up of 25 members, including the university's chancellor, its president and vice-chancellor, three members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council, 12 to 16 board-appointed members, and four members who must be students or employees of the universities.
The academic council is responsible for making recommendations to the board of governors concerning the institution's academic policies, as well as making recommendations for the conferment of honorary degrees. The council's ex-officio members include the university's chancellor, president, provost, university librarian, the registrar, its academic administrators, and the deans of the university's faculties. Elected members include members of the university's faculties, its student body, and its administrative staff.
Chief officers The university's chief executive officer is the president and vice-chancellor, supervising the administrative and academic direction of the university, its students, and its faculty and staff. The president is appointed by the board, with Steven A. Murphy being the fourth person appointed to the position on 1 March 2018.
The provost is the chief academic officer of the university and advises the president on all academic affairs. They act as the institutional planner and administrator for the university's teaching and research operations, with the deans of each faculty reporting to the provost's office. During a president's absence, they also serve as the acting president of the institution.
The titular head of the institution is the chancellor. However, the role is largely ceremonial, as they are primarily charged with only presiding over the university's convocations to confer degrees on behalf of the institution. The chancellor is appointed by the board on a three-year term, with Mitch Frazer named as the institution's fourth chancellor as of May 2020.
Academics The university aims to educate its students in a "technology-enriched environment", and offers IT services and leased laptop programs to help support this pedagogy. The university's academic year is organized into three semesters, Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer.
The university's academic programs are administered by six faculties, the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, the Frazer Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, the Faculty of Health Science, the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. Most faculties are further organized into smaller academic departments and schools. Graduate programs are coordinated by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The university also provides continuing education through its Continuous Learning department. In 2020, the university had a total of 318 instructional faculty members, 264 of whom held either a doctorate, professional degree, or another type of terminal degree.
In 2019, the university conferred 1,755 bachelor's degrees, 124 professional degrees, 227 graduate degrees, and 84 graduate diplomas. More than a third of all graduate degrees conferred by the university was from an engineering-related program.