|
|
|
|
The University of Toronto |
|
|
|
Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
 The University of Toronto (U of T) is a public research university in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest university in Canada in terms of student enrollment. The institution comprises sixteen academic faculties and a collegiate framework of eleven colleges within its principal campus St. George, which surrounds Queen's Park in the Downtown district. It is one of the most widely known and highly regarded universities in Canada and ranks highly in numerous world rankings. There are two other campuses along with the St. George campus in downtown Toronto—University of Toronto Scarborough and University of Toronto Mississauga.
The University was chartered in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the colony of Upper Canada. At first controlled by members of the Church of England and the colonial establishment, the university acquired its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution. Since the creation of University College in 1853 as the first of its constituent colleges, the university had also incorporated the ecclesiastical schools of Trinity College, Victoria University and St. Michael's College among others into its organization.
Research at the University of Toronto has been responsible for the world's first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, the first practical electron microscope, the first cloning of T-cells, and the extraction of insulin.
The university is consistently placed among the leading academic institutions of the world. Newsweek magazine places the university first in Canada, and 18th worldwide, 9th among public universities, and among the top 5 universities outside the United States. The University is also affiliated with 9 Nobel laureates (6 alumni), the most of any Canadian university.
Campus :
The main campus of the University of Toronto is situated about a mile north of the financial district in Downtown Toronto and immediately south of the affluent neighbourhoods Yorkville and The Annex. It encompasses 68 hectares (168 acres) in a block bounded by Bay Street, Bloor Street, Spadina Avenue and College Street. An enclave surrounded by university grounds, Queen's Park is the site of the Ontario Legislature and several historic monuments. Together, the park and the university comprise a distinct area of forested parkland and interlocking courtyards in the downtown region. Named for the university, University Avenue is a ceremonial boulevard and arterial thoroughfare that runs through downtown between Queen's Park and Front Street. The campus is served by TTC buses, streetcars. Subway stations located adjacent or in the campus are Spadina Station, St. George Station, Museum Station, and Queen's Park Station. The architecture is defined by a combination of Romanesque and Gothic Revival buildings spread across the eastern and central sections, most of them dated between 1858 and 1929. The traditional heart of the university lies in the grounds of King's College Circle, enclosing an oval lawn known as Front Campus. The centrepiece is the main building of University College, a National Historic Site, designed by Frederick William Cumberland in an eclectic blend of Romanesque and Norman architectural styles. Convocation Hall, built in 1907 with a gift from the alumni association, is recognizable for its domed roof and Ionic pillared rotunda. Although its foremost function is to host the annual graduation ceremonies, the building serves as a venue for academic and social events throughout the year. The sandstone buildings of Knox College epitomizes the North American collegiate Gothic style with the characteristic cloisters around a secluded courtyard.
The northeastern part of Front Campus leads into a green space anchored by Hart House, a multi-purpose student centre. Hart House is named for Hart Massey, whose Massey Foundation financed the construction of the Late Gothic complex between 1911 and 1919. Among its assorted common rooms, the Great Hall is the most architecturally renowned, featuring high timbered ceilings and stained glass windows. West of Hart House, Soldiers' Tower stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and is the most prominent structure in the vicinity. The stone arches at the tower's base are inscribed with the names of university members killed in the battlefields of the world wars. The tower features a 51-bell carillon that is played on special occasions such as Remembrance Day and convocation.
The oldest surviving building on campus is the Louis Beaufort Stewart Observatory building, now home to the students' union. Built in 1855, the magnetic observatory operated until the turn of the 20th century, when air pollution and urban electrification rendered it obsolete. In 1908, the building was moved to its present site near Hart House. Another scientific institution, the McLennan Laboratories, was housed in the Edwardian-style Sandford Fleming Building now occupied by the engineering faculty.
The grounds of Trinity College borders the Back Campus lawn north of University College. The Trinity main building was designed in the Jacobethan Tudor style, while its newer chapel, designed by English architect Giles Gilbert Scott, was based on a modified Gothic style. To the east, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law occupies two estates converted from heritage mansions: the smaller Falconer Hall contains the faculty offices, while Flavelle House contains a restored solarium and a modern expansion containing the law library. The Victoria College property is located across from Queen's Park, with its intricate main building built from red sandstone and grey limestone.
Developed after the Second World War, the western section of the campus between St. George Street and Spadina Avenue consist mainly of modernist and internationalist structures. Notable post-war buildings include the Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, Wetmore Hall and Wilson Hall of New College, and Sidney Smith Hall. The most significant example of Brutalist architecture is the Robarts Library complex, a large fourteen-storey concrete structure built in 1972. Newer buildings completed after 2001 include the Bahen Centre for Information Technology, the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Building designed by Norman Foster.
Apart from the main campus, the university also maintains institutions and facilities in other locations. The David Dunlap Observatory is located on a 77-hectare (190 acres) property in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The main observatory building possesses the largest optical telescope in Canada. The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies in northern Toronto is a specialized research facility and graduate school operated by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. The Koffler Scientific Reserve in King Township comprises 346 hectares (855 acres) of wetlands and forests in the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine. |
|
|
|
38°F 
-°F 
39°F