Office of the President
Over the past eight years the entire uOttawa community – students, faculty, and staff – has worked together to build the future of uOttawa, to put it on a path to become one of the world’s great universities. The hard work and dedication of the entire community is what has brought about our success and progress.
We have systematically pursued the ambitious goals of uOttawa’s strategic plan, Destination 2020. We have built new space for classes, labs and students; enlarged experiential and community service learning; developed hybrid courses; increased entering averages; more than doubled international enrollment; almost doubled international student mobility; broadened international partnerships; improved scholarship programs; strengthened French language programming; secured an official designation under the French language services legislation; enhanced student services; expanded our residences; and improved the choice and quality of food on campus.
We have also set aside amounts up to $5 million each year since 2012 as a strategic investment fund to finance specific Destination 2020 efforts. It was this fund, for example, that was used to create 60 new, full time, tenure-track faculty positions (now largely filled), aimed at improving our professor-student ratio, allowing us to enrol more graduate students, and supporting our research mission.
Our collective efforts have been rewarded by greater student satisfaction, a heightened sense of pride, and a strengthened reputation for the University of Ottawa both in Canada and abroad.
Much of this has simply involved working smarter, and improving the way we organize and deliver both programs and services. But we have also made major strategic investments these past few years:
- The Advanced Research Complex, with peerless labs and the latest equipment to support our world-leading clusters in photonics and geo-sciences;
- The Learning Centre which, when it opens in two years, will provide state-of-the-art classrooms and much needed student space; and
- Our new Student Information System, which will enhance the student experience enormously when it is introduced in November of 2016.
Although it is hard to leave when there is so much happening, I intend to make the most of my final few months, by completing the priority tasks that remain, and by ensuring a smooth transition for our new leader, Jacques Frémont, who will assume office on July 1, ready to build on our shared successes. I am confident that I am leaving the future of this institution in the hands of a campus full of talented and amazing individuals who believe, as I do, in uOttawa’s enormous potential. I am tremendously proud of what we have done together.
Allan Rock
