uOttawa News
Media Releases and Announcements
uOttawa and City of Woodstock partner on proposed satellite campus
OTTAWA, August 5, 2014 — The University of Ottawa and the City of Woodstock propose to establish a satellite campus offering programs in French, as well as French immersion.
This new partnership is in response to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) Major Capacity Expansion Request for Proposals.
The University of Ottawa, along with La Cité, proposes to address the French language postsecondary education access gap in Central Southwestern Ontario by establishing a satellite campus offering academic undergraduate and specialized trade programs.
One third of Ontario’s francophone population is located in the centre and southwest of the province, which has been identified by the Office of Francophone Affairs as regionally underserved for postsecondary education offerings. Access to locally available program offerings in French will help improve student retention rates for francophone and French immersion students.
“As Ontario’s flagship bilingual research-intensive university, we are committed to meeting the needs of francophones and francophiles wishing to pursue their postsecondary education in French,” said Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa.
The University of Ottawa and the City of Woodstock are working together to pursue innovative downtown revitalization opportunities for academic learning and residence spaces, as well as ancillary services.
“The City of Woodstock enthusiastically supports the opportunity to work in partnership with the University of Ottawa to bring postsecondary education to our community. Downtown Woodstock has all the necessary ingredients to quickly create a dynamic university campus and City Council is excited by this opportunity to further revitalize the downtown,” said Woodstock Mayor Pat Sobeski.
“We greatly appreciate the vision and commitment of the City of Woodstock. The University of Ottawa looks forward to working in partnership with Woodstock to realize this vision and support Ontario’s francophone and francophile communities,” said Allan Rock.
The establishment of a uOttawa satellite campus in Woodstock is subject to approval by the Ontario government.
Information for Media:
Caroline Milliard
Manager, Media Relations
University of Ottawa
Cell: 613-240-0275
caroline.milliard@uOttawa.ca
Pat Sobeski
Mayor
City of Woodstock
519-539-2382 ext. 2102
mayor@cityofwoodstock.ca
