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Carleton University is an international, comprehensive public university located in the Canadian capital Ottawa, Ontario. Originally founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines, inter alia, public affairs, journalism, film studies, engineering, high technology, and international studies. More than 2 000 faculty members instruct some 23 000 students drawn from over 147 countries, studying for a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree.
The University is named after Carleton County, Ontario, which included the city of Ottawa at the time Carleton was founded. Carleton County, in turn, was named in honour of Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, an early Governor-General of British North America.
Past chancellors include two Nobel laureates; pioneering scientist Gerhard Herzberg and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, as well as six Order of Canada recipients. Astronaut Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to travel in space, is the current Chancellor of the University. The acting (pro tempore) President and Vice-Chancellor is Samy Mahmoud, the previous Vice-President (academic).[1]
<blockquote>I learned very early the life lesson that it is people, not buildings, that make up an institution. And if we put our hearts to it we can do something worthwhile. -- Henry Marshall Tory</blockquote> Carleton College was founded in 1942 at the height of the Second World War by the Ottawa Association for the Advancement of Learning. It was originally located in a rented building and only offered night courses in public administration and introductory university subjects. When the war ended in 1945, the College began expanding to meet the needs of veterans coming home. The Faculty of Arts and Science was established, which included courses in journalism and first-year engineering. In 1946 the college moved to The Glebe neighbourhood along First Avenue at the former Ottawa Ladies' College. Its first degrees were conferred in 1946 to graduates of its programs in Journalism and Public Administration. For nearly a decade the College operated on a shoestring budget, funds raised mainly through community initiatives and modest student fees. However, due to the war, student fees were kept low as Carleton gave special grants to veterans returning home who wished to continue their studies. The faculty was composed largely of part-time professors who worked full-time in the Public Service; some of whom were convinced to leave for full-time tenure positions. However, full-time teaching staff were still mostly young scholars at the beginning of their careers. This faculty composition set a dynamic culture for Carleton which continues to pervade the University to this day. The faculty was dedicated to making education accessible for all students, while maintaining high academic standards of achievement.
In 1952 the Carleton College Act was passed by the Ontario Legislature, changing the official corporate name to Carleton College and officially conferring the power to grant degrees. Carleton thus became the province's first private, non-sectarian college [2]. In the same year, the 62 hectare property nestled between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River on which the current campus is located was acquired. Some of the land was donated by a prominent Ottawa businessman Harry Stevenson Southam. Construction began on the new campus in 1953. In 1957 the ''Carleton University Act'', 1952 was ammended, officially granting Carleton status as a university and thus changing its name to Carleton University. Carleton's motto, "Ours the Task Eternal," is taken from Walt Whitman's poem, Pioneers! O Pioneers!. [3] In 1959 construction was completed on the new campus, and Carleton moved to it's current location. The original buildings included three that still stand today, the Maxwell MacOdrum Library, Norman Paterson Hall and the Henry Marshall Tory Building. Following this, Carleton rapidly expanded to meet the need for tertiary education in Canada. <blockquote> O you youths, Western youths, So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship, Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost, Pioneers! O pioneers!</blockquote> <blockquote> Have the elder races halted? Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas? We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson, Pioneers! O Pioneers! -- Excerpt from Pioneers! O Pioneers! by Walt Whitman</blockquote>
Carleton has become known for its unique range of programs that are often hard to find in Canada. Notable programs include undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism, aerospace engineering, interactive multimedia and design, European studies, network technology, international affairs, public policy and film studies. Carleton offers degree programs in a variety of fields. The University is divided into six teaching faculties: Faculty of Public Affairs, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sprott School of Business, Faculty Engineering and Design and the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Reasearch does not contain specific departments per se, but is rather responsible for co-ordinating reasearch among the other five faculties.
The University's Faculty of Public Affairs offers a number of specialized programs that are administered under its auspices. The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) offers Canada's only graduate programs in the field -- an MA, a joint MA and LLB in conjuction with the University of Ottawa Law School, and a PhD in International Affairs. NPSIA is ranked second by reputation for North American schools offering Masters degrees in International Relations, beating out Harvard and Columbia University, according to the publication Foreign Policy.[4] Carleton's Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs offers a Bachelor's degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management (Honours). The Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a BA (Honours) in Criminology and Criminal Justice. The Institute of European and Russian Studies has been active in the field for over forty years and offers the most comprehensive range of programs in the country. It offers a BA (Honours) in European and Russian Studies and an MA in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. In September 2006 Carleton was designated a European Union Centre of Excellence by the European Commission in Brussels. The Department of Law offers a BA (Honours) in Law; one of only three in Canada that takes an epistemic approach to legal studies. The Department of Political Science was ranked 1<sup>st</sup> in 2006 amongst Canadian comprehensive universities based on total publications and citations by Research Infosource Inc.[5]
Carleton's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a Combined BA (Honours) interdisciplinary degree in Human Rights. This degree leads to a Major in Human Rights, as well as second Major in another field, including (although not limited to) Law, Philosophy, Political Science or Sociology and Anthropology. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers degrees in all the standard areas, inter alia, Film Studies, Philosophy, Art History, Psychology and Sociology. Carleton's College of the Humanities offers the only four-year interdisciplinary great Western books program in Canada. King's College at Dalhousie University has a similar "Foundation Year" program in the great Western books,[6] but it does not lead to a degree. Carleton University's Institute of Cognitive Science is currently offering the first dedicated, fully structured BA and PhD program in Cognitive Science in the country.
Carleton's Sprott School of Business was the first in Canada to offer a Bachelor of International Business (BIB). This program includes a mandatory language component and third year abroad in a choice of location, inter alia: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru or Spain. In addition to the regular Canadian-taught MBA are two international MBA programs aimed primarily at international students. This special program is offered to students in Tehran, Iran and Shanghai, China in collaboration with a local university. Most courses are taught by Carleton professors who travel to Tehran and Shanghai. There is also a study abroad portion of the program, which is taught in Ottawa at the Sprott School of Business.
The Faculty of Engineering and Design is another strong point of the University. Carleton's Industrial Design program is the oldest in Canada -- having been founded in 1973 -- and is the only one leading to a university-level degree in the country. Carleton also offers one of only two fully dedicated Aerospace Engineering Bachelor's degree programs in Canada. The program avails itself of an extensive network of well-equipped laboratories encompassing the entire scope of mechanical and aerospace engineering sciences, including rapid prototyping facilities. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering possesses, inter alia, a state-of-the-art structures lab featuring a strong floor that measures 11m X 27m with a clear height of 11m, a High Performance Computing Laboratory and the Advanced Geotechnical Research Laboratory which is one of the most comprehensively equipped geotechnical research facilities in Canada. The Department of Electronics possesses, inter alia, an Anechoic Chamber, Photonics Research Laboratory, NeuroModeler Laboratory, Sun Unix Network and an Integrated Circuit Fabrication Laboratory housed in an ISO 5 cleanroom.
Carleton's Faculty of Science is well-equipped to conduct scientific investigations in a sophisticated environment. Students in the Department of Biology enjoy a broad-based curriculum which provides a strong foundation for a career in biological sciences, or for future study - be it in medicine, wildlife & forestry, marine biology, molecular biology, or any other branch of Biology. The Department of Biology is equipped to allow students to carry out contemporary procedures in experimental biology including all aspects of molecular genetics such as gene splicing, polymerase chain reaction, and DNA sequencing; ultracentrifugation; various types of electrophoresis, tissue culture; phase contrast, polarizing, interference and fluorescent light microscopy among others.
The Department of Earth Science possesses, inter alia, its own JEOL JSM-6400 digital scanning electron microscope, Camebax MBX electron microprobe, ThermoFinnigan Triton TI thermal ionization mass spectrometer and a Philips X-ray powder diffractometer. The Department of Physics is home to the KEG research computing system, which consists of a 100+ CPU Linux cluster complete with multiple storage arrays totalling more than 10 Terabytes. The Department of Physics was also ranked 1<sup>st</sup> in Canada in citations per paper (highest impact) from 2000-2004 by Science Watch newsletter, published by Thomson Scientific, which uses university science indicators to examine the research of 46 Canadian universities in 21 different scientific fields. The Herzberg Laboratories building has a roof-top observatory equipped with a 14 inch reflecting Celestron telescope.
The typical classroom at Carleton is a very modern affair. Facilities can be divided into three types depending on size: Lecture Halls, Classrooms and Seminar rooms. Lecture Halls and larger Classrooms are equipped with a high resolution LCD projector, a networked computer terminal with LCD screen and USB port (for uploading files), a DVD/CD player, stereo sound system, laptop video connection, and Wireless networking. Newer rooms have dedicated laptop power outlets throughout the room to allow students to plug-in their computers. Two projection screens are installed, allowing for simultaneous use of the LCD video projector and traditional overhead projector or other media device. Overhead lighting is switched in zones and/or dimmable to facilitate multimedia presentations. Individually variable digital temperature controls are available in every room. Seminar rooms are similar to classrooms, though usually somewhat smaller and with tables arrange around the periphery of the room, and may not have permanent media facilities installed. Satellite video conference and television feeds are available in 90 locations throughout campus. A dedicated video conference facility seating 47 is located on the sixth level of Southam Hall.
Carleton's campus was the subject of art exhibit conceived by local artist Adrian Gröllner. The MODERN U. project sought to highlight the late modernist architecture exemplified by many of Carleton's early buildings.
<blockquote>Carleton University is quintessentially modern. The symmetry, earth colours and deliberate non-monumentality of its early architecture betray the egalitarian sensibilities of its founders. Indeed, Carleton was to be a new sort of university, one not dogged by class and the trappings of old, but one built for the people, one built for the future. - Excerpt from the MODERN U. website.</blockquote>
The mean admission grade for 2006 undergraduate entry was 81.7% or an A- in high school studies. Carleton has been included in a number of Canadian and international college and university rankings. Such studies must necessarily make subjective judgements as to criteria and methodology. As such they should be read with a certain level of statistical literacy:
Carleton has always been well-known in Canada and abroad for its Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management programs, and has recently garnered a positive reputation for its generous awards and entrance scholarships (ranking n<sup>o</sup> 1 in several editions of Macleans' university rankings report for student awards), as well as for newer programs such as the aerospace engineering program, the Bachelor of Industrial Design, and the Bachelor of International Business. Carleton University has been garnering increasing attention for the quality of its language courses. Carleton is expanding its well-respected Faculty of Engineering and Design; as of Fall 2006, Carleton became one of only three Universities in Canada to offer both a Bachelor's (honours) and a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Carleton was known for admitting a high portion of undergraduate applicants; however, since the early 1990's the admissions focus has changed considerably. William Beckel, President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton from 1979 to 1989, had faith that many high school students with poor academic records, who often came from underprivilidged backgrounds, would blossom at university. Beckel believed that "Every student should have the right to fail."[10] Today, the mean undergraduate admissions average is just under 82%, or an A- in High School studies.[11]
Many undergraduates find it difficult to retain their scholarship, adding to their financial burden. Only 18 percent of Carleton students retain their scholarship which has prompted Carleton's administration to consider lowering the CGPA necessary to maintain an award from year to year.[12] At Carleton, a CGPA of 10 out of 12 points (equivalent to an A-), is necessary to maintain a scholarship.
Carleton has also turned around its financial situation, resulting in many improvements on campus. These include, inter alia, the $30 million construction of new athletics facilities and the $22 million, 9 011 m<sup>2</sup> (97 000 ft<sup>2</sup>) Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Institute Facility and the Centre for Advanced Studies in Visualization and Simulation (V-SIM). More well-known, perhaps, is the $17 million upgrade and expansion to the University Centre.
Carleton is home to a number of specialty libraries, in addition to the three-million volume MacOdrum Library.
Named in honour of former Carleton President and Vice-Chancellor Murdoch Maxwell MacOdrum, Carleton's premier collection includes more than three million books, journals, government documents, maps, newspapers, music scores, CDs, microforms, archives and rare materials. In addition, Carleton subscribes to numerous specialty electronic information sources, which are playing an ever increasing role in student scholarship at the University.
The Learning Commons provides students with access to all the research facilities and resource support of the main Library, along with contemporary technology. Services include Wireless networking (University intranet and high-speed internet), 160 networked computers, laser printers, photocopy machines and Laptop Loans; all set in a variety of custom designed ergonomic study spaces. Private desks with LCD monitor-equipped computers, group study rooms, and comfortable reading chairs are available to all students until 02h00 everyday.
The Government Documents Collection contains official publications from all levels of government and international organizations in print, microform and digital formats.
The Map Collection consists of topographic and thematic sheet maps, air photos, digital orthophotographs and geospatial data files for use with GIS and drawing software.
The Data Centre collects microdata and public opinion surveys, including those from Statistics Canada, Gallup, POLLARA and the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research.
The Special Collections & Archives is responsible for the Library’s Special Collections, the Carleton University Historical Collection and the Library’s own Archives.
Notable possessions include:
Located on the fourth level of St. Patrick's Building, this Centre serves the School for Studies in Art and Culture. This includes Art History, Film Studies, Music and Sonic Design.
The Centre houses a large collection of films (16mm, DVD, Laserdisc and VHS); a Slide and CD Collection Room; an Audiovisual Study Room and Computer Lab; course reserves, and staff that can provide students with specialized research assistance. There are also two photocopy machines available to students, along with some basic office supplies.
The EURUS Centre houses a large collection of European, Russian and Eurasian-centred material that support the work of the Department. It is located on the 13<sup>th</sup> level of Dunton Tower. Collections include:
Located on the first level of St. Patrick's Building and established in 1979, the Centre primarily serves the School of Journalism and Communication. In addition to providing study space and specialized resource assistance, it houses a range of department-specific materials, including course reserves, newspapers periodicals, media directories, reference texts, theses and master's research projects and honours research projects and essays
The school mascot is the Raven and the student newspaper is The Charlatan which celebrated its 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary in 2005.
The school also publishes a newspaper for residence students, The Resin. During the school year the School of Journalism publishes a community newspaper, Centretown News, and an online newspaper, Capital News Online, as well as producing Midweek, a 90-minute current affairs radio show which is broadcast to the city. There is also the student-run writers' zine, In/Words, which is sponsored by the Department of English Language and Literature, as well as The Iron Times, published by the Carleton Student Engineering Society. Carleton is home to a community radio station, CKCU-FM. While Carleton does not have a theatre department, its Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company[13] claims to be the oldest student-run theatre group in North America, having been founded in 1943.
Carleton has nine Houses of Residences are available. The Houses -- all named for counties in Eastern Ontario -- are Dundas, Glengarry, Grenville, Lanark, Leeds, Prescott, Renfrew, Russell, and Stormont. They are inter-connected, and linked to the rest of the University by the Carleton tunnel system. Carleton has a sizable residence community, the majority of whom are first year students. They are represented by Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA, usually pronounced 'raw').
The bulk of Carleton students, however, live off-campus. A popular off-campus housing estate is the four-building high-rise Prince of Wales Complex on nearby Prince of Wales Drive. The footpath running along the Rideau Canal can usually be seen crowded with students walking the 2km to Carleton. The nearest entrance to the University tunnel network from the Prince of Wales area is through Southam Hall.
Going east of the school gives students the option of renting a (usually) vintage house in The Glebe, one of the city's trendier neighbourhoods. From there it is usually only a short walk to campus. Students often also rent in Centretown and downtown neighbourhoods.
Carleton is connected to the rest of the city by multiple public transport links. In addition to regular bus service, there is a dedicated light rail station connecting the University to Ottawa's O-Train network. A permanent BlueLine taxi-cab stand is also available outside of the University Commons building.
The Carleton University Physical Recreation Centre (PRC) - the largest facility of its kind in Canada - is a multi-use complex that offers a wide variety of training programs and services to accommodate every athlete - from beginner to professional. Practitioners of yoga, pilates and contact dance regularly instruct others in their respective arts at the Physical Recreation Centre. Although powerlifting is strictly prohibited in the facility, PRC volunteers regularly assist and spot those wishing to lift heavy weights.
In addition, the PRC offers a private combat facility for students, alumni and non-students alike.
Carleton is home to Keith Harris Stadium where the Ottawa Fury Soccer team plays.
The University is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Carleton Ravens. The men's basketball team has won the CIS championships for five consecutive years. Carleton is second only to the University of Victoria for the most wins. The Vikes have seven consecutive wins in the 1980's.
Since Carleton's inception the student body has encouraged a crosstown rivalry with the University of Ottawa. The rivalry has gained ground recently as the Carleton Ravens basketball team was defeated for only the second time in three years during league play by the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on 17 January 2006.
When Carleton University had a football team, the annual Ravens-Gee Gees match was held in Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park. This was known as the "Panda Game."
One of the campus traditions is to climb all 22 flights of stairs to the top of the tallest building on campus. The Tower is also known as "Isengard" due to its size and the fact that many TAs have their offices situated in it.
Students often jump into the Alumni Park fountain in front of the administrative building, Robertson Hall, during convocation despite generally being warned that the water is dyed blue. The fountain is turned on during the summer months.
The entire University is connected by an elaborate five kilometre network of heated underground tunnels adorned with murals created by student groups. Students are encouraged, within reason, to create their own works of art. Each floor of the nine residence halls paint a tunnel mural near the end of each school year. It's not uncommon to see students wearing pajamas in class, having come directly from bed in residence. Sky-lit or windowed student lounges and high-end snack-shops can be found at various points along the tunnel system.
Oliver's, or "Ollie's" (named after former President Michael Oliver) is the more well known of the campus pubs. With a generally more party atmosphere than Mike's Place, Oliver's is the venue for many high profile entertainment events throughout the year, and hosts regular weekday and weekend night events. All Ages events are no longer common after Oliver's rebuilding operations in 2006, and nearly all events are 19+, making some first-year students feel frustrated that they cannot take part in the social life of their university. Oliver's has a menu of principally North American foods, including University mainstays like burgers, fries, chicken fingers, as well as other light meals.
Oliver's begins serving alcohol at 11:00 am, and it's common to see students studying alone or in small groups while having a pint or a meal between classes. During the day Oliver's is generally pretty quiet and relaxed, with only background music, and it's a favoured place of study for those capable of tuning out distractions.
Oliver's underwent an extensive renovation in the Summer of 2006 and was reopened with a new industrial look the first week of October. The bar now features two plasma screen televisions, one big screen rear-projection television and other mid-sized sets throughout the venue. The bar also has a brand new patio.
Oliver's was the centre of student protests over the reduction of student space on campus. On 21 April 2005 protesters occupied Oliver's patio to prevent it from being torn apart to make way for a new university bookstore. The Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) came to an agreement with the University and the protest ended. The agreement is colloquially known as "Oliver's clause".[14]
Long considered the exclusive domain of graduate students, Mike's Place (named after former Liberal Prime Minister and former Carleton Chancellor Lester "Mike" Pearson) has quickly evolved into the on-campus home of aspiring hip-hop and electronic music DJs in the Ottawa area. The pub continues to host spoken-word poetry events and encourages open political discussion and debate. Fitting to its name, the Young Liberals club of Carleton often congregate here.
Rooster's is a student-run café located on the fourth level of the University Centre. It claims to have the lowest food prices on campus, however this title is also claimed by Leonardo's Lounge. In addition to a variety of coffees and tea, it serves homemade baked goods and other light snacks. There is a comfortable seating area and a large, wide-screen television.
Leonardo's Lounge (named after Leonardo Da Vinci and known to most simply as "Leo's") is the social and cultural hub of the Carleton Engineering community. Located in room 3342 of the Mackenzie Engineering building, Leo's is operated as a service of the Carleton Student Engineering Society. Leo's is operated exclusively by volunteers and is the cheapest place to get a coffee or snack on campus. Common sights at Leo's include heated games of euchre, Axis and Allies and Settlers of Catan, as well as napping students.
The Garden Spot is a not-for-profit pay-what-you-can volunteer vegan soup kitchen designed to serve healthy, affordable meals to all members of the Carleton University community.
The Garden Spot was based on an organization hailing from Concordia University with the name of the Peoples Potato. It has inspired one other student run organization at The University of Ottawa using the name of the People Republic of Delicious or PRD.
Each summer, Canadian Forces use Carleton residence facilities - notably Russell and Grenville Houses and the Residence Commons cafeteria - to house and feed the Ceremonial Guard. The Guard performs daily parades on Parliament Hill, and mounts sentries at Rideau Hall. This agreement is beneficial both to the university and the military, allowing the military to use cost-effective facilities, while Carleton profits during the otherwise slower summer season.
The Guard marches and drills at Carleton between June and August, and it is possible to watch formations carrying rifles in full ceremonial uniform marching to parking lots 6 and 7 to prepare for their daily parade.
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