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New Waterloo University Campus in Stratford

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rdaner

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I very much hope the campus is somewhere near Stratford's lovely downtown. I'd also like to see an international competition for this one or at the least a good design from one of the more progressive Toronto firms. This is a good move for the Toronto region.


UW and Stratford explore possibility of liberal arts campus

WATERLOO, Ont. (Tuesday, October 17, 2006) -- The University of Waterloo, the City of Stratford and the Stratford Festival of Canada are taking the first steps toward opening a liberal arts college.

The three parties are signing a memorandum of agreement to explore the possibility. UW's senate was briefed on the project late yesterday afternoon and Stratford City Council approved the agreement at a special council meeting held at the same time.

The bulk of the details, including the programs offered and number of students, have yet to be determined. The parties envision the satellite campus would operate as a liberal arts college, offering co-op and regular programs in as-yet-to-be-determined academic and professional fields.

They will explore opportunities to acquire land in Stratford and to secure capital for construction; investigate options to fund and mount academic programs on the satellite campus; and draft a business plan within six months.

"We envision a number of exciting possibilities for this project, and look forward to working with the City of Stratford and the Stratford Festival to develop a campus that fits with this wonderful community," says UW president David Johnston. "My own vision includes an international student body attracted by a unique liberal arts curriculum with its roots in culture."

Work on the agreement began in May during the Southwest Economic Assembly, when Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson approached Johnston about exploring the possibility of a UW presence within Stratford. The city, as part of its economic development plans, wishes to partner with a post-secondary institution and assist in creating a satellite campus.

"We need to diversify our economic development portfolio in Stratford," says Mathieson. "With an aging population, we need to attract and retain young, great minds. A liberal arts college would be a wonderful addition in a city where culture is an important part of our economic mix."

In early June, UW provost Amit Chakma and Antoni Cimolino, then executive director (now general director) of the Stratford Festival, joined Mathieson and Johnston to discuss possibilities and options.

"The Stratford Festival and the University of Waterloo have a long history of collaboration over the nearly 50 years we have been neighbours," says Cimolino. "Both our festival and the university aspire to excellence, and both enrich the lives of those who live in Southern Ontario. I look forward to our discussions about how we can work together to further and enhance our collective missions."

Ken Coates, UW's new dean of arts, was brought in to explore what kind of liberal arts course offerings might complement and enhance the university's current strengths on a distinct Stratford campus. In the 1990s, Coates was founding vice-president academic of the University of Northern British Columbia, the first university built from the ground up in Canada since the 1970s. He will continue to explore the options for Stratford and, following this announcement, begin wider consultation.
 
it would be nice with yet another academic centre in the Guelph-Kitchener-Stratford-London corridor if some progress could be made on improving both commuter and VIA Rail service there.
 
^ Stratford is a pretty little city, one of the nicest in Ontario, but I don't think it would be much of a "happening" kind of place for university students from out of town. I suspect it would get boring pretty quickly, and people would be lining up for the bus out of town on weekends.

That said, I wish them well; it would certainly be a boost to the local economy. Wilfrid Laurier opened a satellite campus in Brantford a few years ago and it has certainly had a positive effect on that city.
 
As a Waterloo student, I'm a bit concerned about the hollowing out of the main campus. Waterloo has in recent years banished the architecture program to Cambridge (where there was virtually no services available to students), opened a small pre-medical school in Kitchener, and is now musing about a campus in Stratford, which would probably consist of eventually banishing much of the Arts faculty... I don't think we really want to have a University that is strictly technical.

A satellite campus in Stratford would be even worse for students than Cambridge, as at least there is GRT service (an hour and a half maybe, but it exists) between it and main campus. Would the university offer a shuttle to UW's campus to these students?

I'm fine with Cambridge and Stratford developing small campuses, provided they also make adequate services available locally. I'm displeased with the idea of removing whole fields of study from the main UW campus, however. It doesn't serve the students being moved or the university as a whole.
 
Some arts would have to stay, I imagine, as universities usually require a certain amount of courses in liberal arts if only to pretend students are getting a well-rounded education, even if it was in engineering or pure math. I would also guess that UW Cambridge Arch students would also have to take courses at the main UW campus, but at least there's now one bus that does the trip on weekdays - it would be a near nightmare to commute between Stratford and Waterloo by bus or train, unless UW had a shuttle.

Laurier has a small campus in Brantford for arts programs - they took over an old Carnegie Library and a small office building - I wonder how that is working out.
 
Observer " Stratford is a pretty little city, one of the nicest in Ontario, but I don't think it would be much of a "happening" kind of place for university students from out of town. I suspect it would get boring pretty quickly, and people would be lining up for the bus out of town on weekends."

For a small town Stratford has quite a bit going for it, owing to the theatre festival and the infrastructure that surrounds it, including lots of shops, bars and good restaurants. A small university campus would be a fine addition to what is already a fairly vibrant little town, relatively speaking of course.

This seems to be a trend. A similar satelite-type campus for McMaster University will be opening in downtown Burlington.
 
A satellite campus for Mac in downtown Hamilton would do a world of good. Say in a renovated Lister Block.
 
Decision soon

Apparently the preferred site is the Fairgrounds which is a 15 minute walk to downtown.
 
Re: Decision soon

The Festival and the Fac could have a fascinating symbiotic relationship, if you think about it - summer jobs, housing, cafe society, restaurants, scandalous affairs. Sign up now to write the novel and/or thesis.
 
Good news from Stratford. A company with a fantastic track record with heritage preservation is renovating a warehouse adjacent to Waterloo's Stratford campus in addition to submitting a proposal to the city on potential reuse of the immense Cooper Site.

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http://www.southwesternontario.ca/community/riversedge-eyes-bradshaws-building/
 

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I only knew "The Cooper Site" as the old Grand Trunk/Canadian National engine shops. If that is ever restored/repurposed, that would be amazing news. It'd be nice too if there were more than two trains a day on the route between Toronto-Brampton-Guelph-Kitchener-Stratford-London, there's not even a bus service between Kitchener and Stratford.
 
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Does the world really need more liberal arts BA's? What work will they actually do after they graduate?
 

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