Simon Fraser University
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Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Canadian comprehensive university with campuses located in Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia , and Surrey, British Columbia. It was established in 1965 and presently has 24,000 students. It is named after Simon Fraser, explorer of the Vancouver area. OverviewSFU has been rated as Canada's best comprehensive university (1993, 1997, 1998 and 2000) in the annual rankings of Canadian universities in Maclean's magazine and has consistently placed at or near the top of the publication's national evaluations. Research Infosource, Canada’s leading provider of research intelligence evaluation, named SFU the top comprehensive university in Canada for “publication effectiveness” in 2006. Like most Canadian universities, SFU is a public university, with 56% of funding coming from taxpayers and 39% coming from tuition fees. Its programs are organized in six faculties: Applied Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Health Sciences, and Science. In May 2004, the SFU Senate approved the policy on compulsory degree requirements for all its undergraduate students making SFU the first Canadian university to implement such university-wide requirements. All students must complete a selected number of writing intensive, quantitative based, and breadth courses before graduation. The goal of this new requirement is to enrich students' core competencies.[1] Population and notable alumni
SFU is home to about 24,852 students: 22,753 undergraduates and 4,089 graduates.[2] The university has grown in recent years, and currently has an alumni population of 92,000. About 1,095 academics and 4,621 staff work for the university. International students make up 7% of its student body. Teaching Assistants, Tutor Markers, Sessional Instructors, and Language Instructors at SFU are unionized. The union, The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU), is independent. Faculty and lecturers are members of the Faculty Association. Staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), local 3338; the Administrative and Professional Staff Association (APSA), or Polyparty. A few positions at the university such as some in Human Resources and senior administrative positions fall outside of the five associations or unions above. SFU's student union is known as the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), which includes everyone who studies at SFU. It is a member of the Canadian Federation of Students, the largest such organization in Canada. Locally and internationally famous alumni include ex-B.C. Lion and Canadian football Hall-of-Famer Lui Passaglia, Olympic wrestler and politician Daniel Igali, artist David Usher, photographer and former spouse of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Trudeau, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, and former Premiers Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh. 
Minh Le, while in his last year as a Computing Science student at the university, co-created the popular spin-off from the Half Life series of computer games, Counter-Strike, which took the gaming world by storm in 2000. Francesco Aquilini graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in Business Administration. He is the Managing Director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group and is the current owner of the Vancouver Canucks and GM Place. Right-wing political analyst Rachel Marsden also graduated from SFU in the 1990s after a sexual harrassment scandal with a swim coach. The incident, which led to the resignation of President John Stubbs, is one of the most highly publicised incidents ever to take place at SFU. Probably the most highly regarded SFU alumnus and one of Canada's most treasured sons is Terry Fox. When Terry was an 18-year-old Kinesiology student and junior varsity basketball player he was diagnosed with bone cancer, which resulted in the amputation of his leg. With a prosthetic leg, Fox set out to cross Canada on a grueling run called the Marathon of Hope to raise funding and awareness about cancer. As a result of Terry Fox's legacy, running for charitable causes is now integrated within communities worldwide. He also inspired friend Rick Hansen's Man in Motion world tour by wheelchair. In 2001, SFU awarded an honorary degree to Betty Fox, mother of Terry Fox and Honorary Chair of the Terry Fox Foundation. Honorary alumniIn 1967, SFU awarded an honorary LL.D. (doctor of laws) to Marshall McLuhan. On April 20, 2004, SFU conferred honorary degrees upon three Nobel Peace Prize recipients: the 14th Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi. Some other honorary alumni include: skier Nancy Greene Raine, Milton Wong, Doris Shadbolt, dancer and choreographer Judith Marcuse, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Peter Gzowski, Douglas Coupland, Romeo Dallaire, Canadian businessman Stephen Jarislowsky. Facilities and locationImage:SFUConvocationMall.JPG
The Rotunda shows off Arthur Erickson's architectural style
Simon Fraser University has three campuses: Its main campus in Burnaby, a satellite campus in Vancouver's Downtown at Harbour Centre, and the new SFU Surrey campus. The downtown campus has expanded to include several other buildings in recent years and is now known officially as SFU Vancouver. SFU is also a partner institution in Great Northern Way Campus Ltd in Vancouver. The Technical University of British Columbia, (TechBC), a technical university created by the New Democratic government of British Columbia, was closed in 2002; some of its programs and students were transferred to SFU and became the core of SFU Surrey. The main campus is 1.7 km² located atop Burnaby Mountain, at an elevation of 365 metres (1,200 feet). This campus was designed by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey after the pair won a design competition in 1963. The library on the main campus is called the W. A. C. Bennett Library, named after the Social Credit Premier of B.C. who established it. Image:Sfu-academic-quadrangle-pond.jpg
A reflective pond at the Academic Quadrangle gardens.
At present, the part of Burnaby Mountain below SFU is a park and conservation area. Apart from SFU and associated industrial/technical research park Discovery Park, there had been little development until recently. In 2003, the university commenced construction on a new residential and commercial area occupying approximately 200 acres adjacent to the campus, atop the mountain, called UniverCity. The area will contain up to 4,500 residential units in a number of neighbourhoods, along with a new town centre, schools, parks and other amenities. As of January 2007, approximately 1200 residences, and The Cornerstone building, which includes restaurants, shops, services and rental apartments are complete. Construction of another two mid-rise residential buildings (141 homes), a mixed-use building similar to The Cornerstone, and a 1400 car multi-level parkade will begin Spring 2007. The development is noted[citation needed] for the first community transit pass program in Canada, and a prohibition on multi-national retailers in the town centre. 
The main campus was selected to be the site of a world-class speed skating oval for the 2010 Winter Olympics; however, the 2010 organizing committee changed its mind and decided it will now be built in the nearby city, Richmond, British Columbia. The university has a theatre, a Museum of Archeology and Ethnology and three art galleries. SFU also works with other universities and agencies to operate joint research facilities. These include Bamfield Marine Station, a major centre for teaching and research in marine biology; TRIUMF, a powerful cyclotron used in subatomic physics and chemistry research; MITACS, headquarters of this Network of Centres of Excellence for 26 universities and 75 companies. In March 2006, SFU approved an affiliation agreement with a private college for international students to be housed adjacent to its Burnaby campus. This new college named Fraser International College is now open in the Multi Tenant Facility located in Discovery Parks Trust SFU site.[3] Sunset as seen from SFU, taken from Academic Quadrangle, Convocation Mall and Library on the right..
ResearchThe university has recently created a new faculty of health sciences, invented the world's fastest bipolar transistor, and investigated the impact of technology on the nation's health sector. Scholarly research has been recognized with awards including Governor-General's, Grawemeyer, Guggenheim, Manning and Pulitzer awards, Canada Council Killam research fellowships, NSERC industrial chairs, and gold medals from the Science Council of BC. SFU faculty have won $59,709,000 in research grants and contracts, most through open competition outside the province.[4] Canadian Centre for Studies in PublishingThe CCSP is a teaching, research, and information centre based at Simon Fraser University Vancouver's Harbour Centre building. Founded in 1987, the CCSP is a university/industry initiative dedicated to the development of publishing in Canada and internationally. It is advised by an industry board and emphasizes book, magazine, and web publishing.[5] Electronic Document CentreSFU Library Electronic Document Centre provides internet access to digitized documents from a number of important archival collections, such as Harrison Brown's Xi'an Incident collection [6] and a number of collections on the history of British Columbia and Western Canada in general. One of these, the The Doukhobor Collection contains a large number of documents connected to the Doukhobors migration from Russian Empire to Saskatchewan and then to British Columbia. It was specially assembled for the donation to the university by John Keenlyside [1] Activities and sportsImage:McFog.JPG
McFog the Dog.
The student newspaper The Peak was established shortly after the university opened, and is circulated throughout the Lower Mainland. CJSF-FM radio is the school's campus & community radio station. It broadcasts from 90.1 FM to Burnaby and surrounding communities, and is also available online at www.cjsf.ca or on 93.9 cable fm. The school's sports teams are called the Simon Fraser Clan, and the mascot is a Scottish Terrier, "McFog the Dog". In sports and other competitions, there tends to be a strong rivalry between SFU and The University of British Columbia. SFU's Clan Athletics competes in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and the USA-based National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). SFU has 14 varsity sport teams and 300 athletes. Football, men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball and women's wrestling compete for CIS championships only. Men's and women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's cross-country and men's and women's track and field compete for NAIA championships only. Men's wrestling competes for championships of both organizations. SFU has won the NAIA NACDA Director's Cup five times, as well as other awards. Many SFU athletes have also participated in the Olympics. Medal winners include Daniel Igali (gold, wrestling), Jay Triano (basketball, captain), Jeff Thue (wrestling, silver), Sue Holloway (canoe, gold), Bob Molle (wrestling, silver), Chris Rinke (wrestling, bronze), Hugh Fisher (canoe, gold), Garry MacDonald (swimming, silver), and Bruce Roberston (swimming, silver & bronze). Outstanding results have been achieved by several of the female athletic teams in recent years, most notibly Women's Track and Field/Cross Country(NAIA Champions 2003-2005), Women's Softball (NAIA Champions 2000,2003), Womens Wrestling (CIS champions 2003, 2005), Swimming and Basketball(3 time CIS champions: 2002, 2005, 2007) SFU also has an under-recognized hockey team. They play their home games in Bill Copeland Arena, and compete in the BCIHL against other universities such as UVic and TWU. Currently their roster consists of 2 goalies, 7 defence, and 15 forwards. Their schedule can be accessed at www.sfuhockey.ca. SFU also has a Lacrosse team that is entering it's 11th year of operation. Founded in 1997, the SFU Lacrosse team is an "Elite Club" or "Virtual Varsity". This means that they play under NCAA rules and regulations,(including Academic requirements) but they do not offer scholarships to their players. They are apart of the USLIA, which consists of the NCAA and MCLA leagues.(SFU is in the MCLA) SFU is the only team from Canada in the entire league, which consists of over 175 teams separated into an A and B division. This means that SFU is the only University in Canada that can compete for a National Championship against American teams. SFU is apart of the PNCLL A Division with teams from the States of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. SFU's main rival is their Division opponents, the University of Oregon. They also play Out of Conference games against Top Programs such as BYU, Colorado State, University of Arizona and UCSB. Having won a record 6 Conference titles and having 7 National Tournaments appearances, they are the most successful team in PNCLL History. Their success reached it's peak in 1999 when they came 2nd at Nationals, being the #2 team in all of North America. Furthur information can be found here http://sfulacrosse.ca/ SFU's Rowing Team is another "Elite Club" that competes at the varsity level. The club competes every fall at local regattas such as the Fraser Fours, the Head of the Lake and Head of the Gorge in Victoria, and the Frostbite Regatta in Seattle. The top crews represent SFU at the Canadian University Rowing Championships and at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. Several members of the team have gone on to row for Canada. Recruiting and learn-to-row programs occur every fall and spring semester. [7] The university's bagpipe band performs well in international competitions and is one of the university's most famous attractions. It has won most major titles: the World Pipe Band Championship [1995, 1996, 1999, 2001], the World Drum Corps Championship [1999, 2004], the North American Championship [1982, 2002], the 2001 Australian Pipe Band Championship.[8] TransportationImage:Translink-B7467.jpg
A bus at Sperling-Burnaby Lake Station running route #144, which connects the university to the Vancouver SkyTrain system. The main route which connects SFU to the Skytrain is route #145, which goes from Production Way-University Station to the campus
The relatively remote location of SFU's main campus has long posed a transportation problem for its student body. This situation has, however, been significantly improved by the recent expansion of the Vancouver SkyTrain rapid transit system and the introduction of a low-fare university fare card, the U-Pass. The university community is now served by the Production Way-University and Sperling-Burnaby Lake SkyTrain stations. Most Simon Fraser students are commuters who live in the area, but residence housing facilities accommodate nearly 2,200. The final tower of a new three building residence project opened in the Fall of 2005 at the Burnaby campus. The downtown Harbour Centre campus is across from the Waterfront SkyTrain station. The SFU Surrey campus is at the Central City development next to the Surrey Central SkyTrain station. Residences
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