The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames River bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools.
The university was founded on March 7, 1878, by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London, Ontario. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine. The university became non-denominational in 1908. Beginning in 1919, the university affiliated with several denominational colleges. The university grew substantially in the post-World War II era, and a number of faculties and schools were added.
Western is a co-educational university, with more than 24,000 students, and over 306,000 living alumni worldwide. The university is a founding member of the U15, Canada's group of most distinguished research-intensive universities. Western's varsity teams, known as the Western Mustangs, compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports.
History The university was founded on March, 7 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London, Ontario, and its first chancellor was Chief Justice Richard Martin Meredith. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine (London Medical College). There were originally only 15 students when classes began in 1881.
Although the university was incorporated in 1878, it was not until June 20, 1881 that it received the right to confer degrees in arts, divinity and medicine. In 1882, the name of the university was revised to The Western University and College of London, Ontario. The first convocation of graduates was held on April 27, 1883. Initially affiliated with the Church of England, the university became non-denominational in 1908.
In 1916, the university's current site was purchased from the Kingsmill family. There are two World War I memorial plaques in University College. The first lists the 19 students and graduates of the University of Western Ontario who died; the second honours the men from Middlesex County who died. A third plaque lists those who served with the No. 10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO.
In 1923, the university was renamed as The University of Western Ontario. The first two buildings constructed by architect John Moore and Co. at the new site were the Arts Building (now University College) and the Natural Science Building (now the Physics and Astronomy Building). Classes on the university's present site began in 1924. The University College tower, one of the university's most distinctive features, was named the Middlesex Memorial Tower in honour of the men from Middlesex County who fought in World War I.
In the early 20th century, a number of institutions became affiliated colleges of Western. In 1919, Brescia College was established as a Roman Catholic affiliate of Western, while Assumption College entered an affiliation agreement with the university. Other institutions that became affiliated colleges of Western includes the Waterloo College of Arts in 1925, St. Peter's College in 1939, and King's College in 1945. Waterloo College of Arts remained affiliated with Western until 1960, when the institution was reorganized into Wilfrid Laurier University; while Assumption College remained affiliated with Western until 1964, when it was reorganized into the University of Windsor. Brescia College ceased operations and was integrated into Western's main campus in 2024, while Huron and King's remain independent affiliates.
Two World War II memorial honour rolls are hung on the Physics and Astronomy Building: the first lists the UWO students and graduates who served in the Second World War, and the second lists those who served with the No. 10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO.
Although enrolment was relatively small for many years, the university began to grow after World War II. It added a number of faculties in the post-war period, such as the Faculty of Graduate Studies in 1947, the School of Business Administration (now the Ivey Business School) in 1949, the Faculty of Engineering Science (now the Faculty of Engineering) in 1957, the Faculty of Law in 1959, Althouse College (now the Faculty of Education) in 1965, and the Faculty of Music in 1968.
In 2012, the university rebranded itself as "Western University" to give the school less of a regional or even national identity. "We want to be international," president Dr. Amit Chakma told The Globe and Mail. The university's legal name, however, remains "The University of Western Ontario" and, as such, remains in use on transcripts and diplomas.
Campus The University of Western Ontario is in the city of London, Ontario, in the southwestern end of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Most of the campus is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, with the Thames River bisecting the campus' eastern portion. Western Road is the university's major transportation artery, travelling north to south. The central campus, which includes most of the university's student residences and teaching facilities is approximately . The development of Western's present campus began in the 1920s. Many of the university's earliest buildings used Collegiate Gothic designs. As the campus expanded in the late 1960s, the university abandoned Gothic designs in favour of brutalist and modernist architecture. In 2000, planning for Western's central campus was re-conceptualized, with the core devoted for only academic buildings. The plan saw University College Hill as the focal point, linking the lower portion of the campus with the South Valley. The 2006 campus master plan called for the protection and renewed emphasis on Western's Collegiate Gothic buildings. The oldest academic buildings within the central campus is University College and the Physics and Astronomy Building, both completed in 1924. The Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation opened in September 2024 and is the newest academic building on campus. The Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, or WIRB, houses state-of-the art research facilities for the study of cognitive neuroscience as well as the Brain and Mind Institute, BrainsCAN, and the Rotman Institute for Philosophy.
Library and museums
The university's library system, Western Libraries, operates six libraries that house more than 6.11 million books , as well as electronic resources including e-books, serial titles, and databases. Libraries a part of the system include the Allyn and Betty Taylor Library, C. B. Johnston Library, the D. B. Weldon Library, the Education Library, the John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library, and the Music Library. Allyn and Betty Taylor Library primarily services the faculties of Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, while the C. B. Johnston Library primarily serves the Ivey Business School. The D. B. Weldon Library primarily services the faculties of Arts & Humanities, Information & Media Studies, and Social Sciences. The D. B. Weldon Library also houses the university's Archives and Research Collections Centre. Western Libraries also maintains the Shared Library Catalogue, which provides common access to the collections of Western Libraries, as well as the collections from the libraries of university colleges affiliated with the Western, including Huron University College, King's University College, and St. Peter's Seminary. Access to the Shared University Catalogue is provided to students and faculty of Western, and the affiliated university colleges.
Western also operates two art galleries, the Artlab Gallery, and the McIntosh Gallery. Located in the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre, the Artlab Gallery showcases approximately 14 projects per year, exploring conceptual and experimental production through a wide range of media. The Artlab Gallery also aims to assist in the research and practices of students and faculty members. The McIntosh Gallery is a university-based, public art gallery, opened since 1942. The gallery is a presentation and dissemination centre for the university, as well as the London community, showcasing advanced practices and research in art history and contemporary visual art. The gallery is the oldest university art gallery in the province of Ontario, initially opened as an exhibition of paintings by war artists from the National Gallery of Canada. 683 works of the Gallery's collection were put on display throughout the university's main campus through the Gallery's ArtShare program in 2014.
Western also maintains academic and administrative links with the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. The Museum originally grew out of a collection of artifacts housed in various buildings throughout London, including Western's University College, and Middlesex College. Formally opened on 28 February 1978, its creation was facilitated by the university president and Western's Faculty of Social Science. Although the museum was incorporated as an independent charitable organization, without the ability to share capital, its directors continued to be appointed by the university's Board of Governors.
Housing and student facilities
The main campus of The University of Western Ontario offers student housing, with nine student residences housing either first-year students or upper-year students. In September 2015, 23.49 per cent of the undergraduate population lived on campus, including 78.69 per cent of all first-year students. Each residence operates their own Residences' Council, governed by their own constitutions. Student residence building are split between traditional-styled residences, suite-styled residences, and hybrid-style residences that incorporate elements of traditional and suite-styled residences.
Traditional-styled residences include Delaware Hall, Medway-Sydenham Hall, and Saugeen-Maitland Hall. Suite-styled residences include Alumni House, Elgin Hall, Essex Hall, London Hall and Lambton Hall. Hybrid-styled residences include Perth Hall, Ontario Hall, Bayfield Hall and Clare Hall. Alumni House, London Hall, Bayfield Hall and Lambton Hall were reserved strictly for upper-year students when built but later turned into residences for first year students due to demand. The largest residential building at the university is Saugeen–Maitland Hall, which houses 1,252 first-year students. The University Community Centre acts as Western's student activity centre, and is the university's centre of student governance and student directed social, cultural, entertainment and recreational activities. The University Community Centre contains the offices the University Students' Council. The graduate student union, the Society of Graduate Students, is located in the Middlesex College building.
Off-campus facilities In addition to The University of Western Ontario's central campus, the university owns several other properties throughout Southwestern Ontario. Excluding Western's central campus, as well as the campuses of Western's affiliated university colleges, Western owns approximately of land. Included among these properties is a number of research facilities. Managed under Western Research Parks, the facilities are clustered into three research parks. The three parks serve as a research link between academics and corporations.