 Coat of arms of SFU | |
| Motto | Nous sommes prêts (French) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | We are ready |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1965; 60 years ago (1965) |
Academic affiliations | ACU,CARL,CUSID,Universities Canada |
| Endowment | CA$605 million (2021)[1] |
| Budget | CA$653 million (2022)[2] |
| Chancellor | Tamara Vrooman |
| President | Joy Johnson |
| Vice-Chancellor | Joy Johnson |
Academic staff | 1,095 |
| Students | 22,543 (2024-25 FTE)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 25,690 (Fall 2022) |
| Postgraduates | 4,690 (Fall 2022) |
| Location | Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Campus | 3 (Burnaby,Surrey,Vancouver) |
| Language | English |
| Tagline | Canada's Engaged University |
| Colours | Light red,dark red[4] |
| Nickname | Red Leafs[5] |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –GNAC |
| Mascot | Red Leafs |
| Website | www |
 | |
 | |
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is apublicresearch university inBritish Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses inGreater Vancouver, respectively located inBurnaby (main campus),Surrey, andVancouver. The 170-hectare (420-acre) main Burnaby campus onBurnaby Mountain, located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and comprises more than 30,000 students and 160,000 alumni. The university was created in an effort to expand higher education acrossCanada.[6]
Simon Fraser University is a member of multiple national and international higher education associations, including theAssociation of Commonwealth Universities,International Association of Universities, andUniversities Canada. SFU has also partnered with other universities and agencies to operate joint research facilities such as theTRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory forparticle andnuclear physics, which houses the world's largestcyclotron, andBamfield Marine Sciences Centre, a major centre for teaching and research in marine biology.
Undergraduate and graduate programs at SFU operate on a year-round, three-semester schedule.[7] In 2015, SFU became the second Canadian university to receive accreditation from theNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.[8]
.jpg)
Simon Fraser University was founded upon the recommendation of a 1962 report entitledHigher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future byJohn B. Macdonald. He recommended the creation of a new university in the Lower Mainland and the British Columbia Legislature gave formal assent on March 1, 1963, for the establishment of the university in Burnaby.[9] The university was named afterSimon Fraser, aNorth West Company fur trader and explorer. In May of the same year,Gordon M. Shrum was appointed as the university's first chancellor. From a variety of sites that were offered, Shrum recommended to the provincial government that the summit of Burnaby Mountain, 365 meters above sea level, be chosen for the new university. ArchitectsArthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey won a competition to design the university, and construction began in the spring of 1964. The campus faces northwest over Burrard Inlet. Eighteen months later, on September 9, 1965, the university began its first semester with 2,500 students.[9]
The campus was noted in the 1960s and early 1970s as a hotbed of political activism, culminating in a crisis in the Department of Political Science, Sociology, and Anthropology in a dispute involving ideological differences among faculty. The resolution to the crisis included the dismantling of the department into today's separate departments.[10][better source needed] During this time,Thelma Finlayson became the university's first female faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences. She would later become their first professor emerita upon her retirement in 1979.[11]
In 2007, the university began offeringdual and double degree programs by partnering with international universities, such as a dual computing-science degree through partnership withZhejiang University in China and a double Bachelor of Arts degree in conjunction with Australia'sMonash University.[12] It has also partnered with India's Premiere "Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay".
In 2009, SFU became the first Canadian university to be accepted into theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[13] Starting in the 2011–2012 season, SFU competed in the NCAA's Division IIGreat Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and has now transitioned all 19 Simon Fraser teams into the NCAA.
On September 9, 2015, SFU celebrated its 50th anniversary. Over its 50 years, the university educated over 130,000 graduates.[14]
A breach of SFU's systems in February 2020 exposed the records of 250,000 students.[15] A second attack in February 2021 resulted in the exposure of 200,000 records.[16] A class action lawsuit was filed against SFU in March 2021.[17]
In early 2022, Burnaby City Council announced they would officially support the SFU Gondola as part of the TransLink expansion project. This is included in the Mayors' Council's approval of the Transport 2050 regional transportation strategy announcement.[18]
In early 2025, SFU's School of Interactive Arts and Technology debuted their Virtual Ambassador Program, hailed as "the world's first official universityVTubers".[19][20][21]
.jpg)
Simon Fraser University has three campuses, each located in different parts ofGreater Vancouver. SFU's original campus is located in Burnaby, atop Burnaby Mountain. The Vancouver campus consists of multiple buildings in downtown Vancouver and the Surrey campus is located insideCentral City.
The downtown campus has expanded to include several other buildings in recent years, including theSegal Graduate School of Business. In September 2010, SFU Contemporary Arts[22] moved into the Woodward's redevelopment, known as the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.
SFU's three campuses are all accessible by public transit. The Vancouver campus is a block away from theWaterfront SkyTrain station while the Surrey campus is adjacent to theSurrey Central SkyTrain station. The Burnaby campus is linked to theProduction Way–University,Burquitlam, andSperling–Burnaby Lake SkyTrain stations by frequent shuttle bus service.
The main campus is located atopBurnaby Mountain, on Traditional Coast Salish Lands, including theTsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaɬ),Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm),Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) andMusqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations.[24] The campus is at an elevation of 365 metres, overlooking the Burrard inlet to the north. All major departments in the university are housed at the Burnaby campus. The library on the main campus is called theW. A. C. Bennett Library, named after theSocial Credit Premier of B.C. who established it. The campus also has two gym complexes, named the Lorne-Davies Complex and Chancellor's Gym. An international-sized swimming pool is located within the Lorne-Davies Complex. Since the School of Contemporary Arts relocation to the Woodward's location, the Burnaby campus production theatre has been vacant. Located within the heart of the campus are the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and three art galleries. The campus has been awarded numerous architectural awards over the years, including the gold medal for Lieutenant-Governor 2009 Awards in Architecture and the 2007 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's Prix du XXe siècle.[25][26]
The Burnaby campus is composed of a vast complex of interconnected buildings spanning across 170 hectares (420 acres) of land on Burnaby Mountain, from the eastern end of the campus to the western side, where theUniverCity urban village is located. The campus consists of the following buildings:
Due to the contemporaryBrutalist architecture of the Burnaby Mountain campus, many buildings, including the WAC Bennett Library and Academic Quadrangle have been used for location shots in various films and television programmes over the years.[29]
Each campus has its own library, the largest of which is the W.A.C. Bennett Library based on the SFU Burnaby campus, which holds over 2.7 million print and microform volumes.
SFU also has a Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, which holds many exhibits created by students as part of the museum studies courses offered in the Department of Archaeology. Archaeological collections arising from excavations and other research by faculty, staff and students are housed in the museum. Several large wooden sculptures ('totem') poles from theRoyal British Columbia Museum in Victoria represent the major art traditions of the indigenous coastal peoples of British Columbia. The museum holds an extensive collection of Indonesian wayang kulit shadow puppets and ethnographic objects from around the world. The museum's image collection holds over 120,000 35 mm slides and digital images of archaeological and ethnographic interest.
The SFU Library's Digital Collections provide internet access to digitized documents from a number of archival collections, such asHarrison Brown'sXi'an Incident collection,[30] and the history of British Columbia and Western Canada in general, including documents from theDoukhobor migration from theRussian Empire toSaskatchewan and then to British Columbia assembled for donation to the university by John Keenlyside.[31] Other highlights of the collection include The Vancouver Punk Collection, which includes more than 1200 posters as well as photographs, zines, and ephemera, the British Columbia Postcards Collection, and more than 9800 editorial cartoons from Canadian newspapers.[32][33][34][35]
Simon Fraser University's art galleries include: SFU Gallery on the Burnaby campus (established 1970), Audain Gallery at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in Vancouver (established 2010), and Teck Gallery at Harbour Centre in Vancouver (established 1989). SFU Galleries stewards the Simon Fraser University Art Collection, which includes, in its holdings of over 5,500 works, significant regional and national artworks spanning the last century.
The Bill Reid Centre for Northwest Coast Art Studies at SFU houses a collection of 50,000 objects, primarily digital images and digitized textual documents, which document the art, culture and history of different First Nations cultures of the Northwest Coast. The collection includes explorers' drawings, sketches, paintings and original photography.[36]
The SFU Burnaby campus provides residence to 1766 SFU and FIC students in six different areas, all located on the western side of the campus.
UniverCity is an urban community located on top ofBurnaby Mountain, adjacent to Simon Fraser University. It has won several awards for sustainable planning and development.[38] Envisioned in 1963 by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey, the area adjacent to the university was not officially rezoned for development until 30 years later. Development of the community began in early 2000, when Simon Fraser University commenced construction on a new residential and commercial area occupying approximately 81 hectares (200 acres) adjacent to the campus. As of September 2011[update], approximately 3000 people live in UniverCity. The main commercial district on University High Street now houses restaurants, stores, and a 20,000 square foot Nester's Market. A new elementary school, University Highlands Elementary, opened on September 1, 2010. Several new residential developments are currently in progress, including the construction of a 12-storey high rise in the heart of UniverCity.[39]
The Surrey campus consists of two buildings located inWhalley / City Centre,Surrey. The main building is part ofCentral City, an architectural complex adjacent to theSurrey CentralSkyTrain station. It was established in 2002 to absorb the students and programs of the formerTechnical University of British Columbia, which was closed by the provincial government. It has since expanded to house the Surrey operations of other SFU programs. The Central City complex that houses the campus was designed by architectBing Thom and opened in 2006. The Fraser Library,[40] a branch of the SFU Library, is located at the second floor on this campus and is the only branch with a games room, where arcade games and console games are available. It also loans equipment to students in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT),[41][42] also located on the Surrey Campus. SIAT facilities include a prototyping lab, editing suites, and a motion capture studio, the latter of which became the facility from which the Virtual Ambassador program is run.[43]
A separate five-floor building opened on April 25, 2019,[44] across the street from the existing Central City complex. The 20,458-square-metre (220,210 sq ft) building is LEED Gold certified[45] and mainly houses the Sustainability Energy Engineering (SEE) program[44] and supports 440 full-time students with engineering labs, computer labs, classrooms, lecture halls and office spaces.[46]
The Vancouver campus was launched in the 1980s with a storefront classroom. It was the first urban university classroom in British Columbia. A significant portion of funding for the building of the campus came from the private sector. The Vancouver campus has eight buildings spread across the downtown core: SFUHarbour Centre, the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, theSegal Graduate School of Business, SFU Contemporary Arts at the restoredWoodward's Building, SFU Charles Chang Innovation Centre, SFU Vancity Office of Community Engagement at 312 Main, SFU VentureLabs, SFU Collection at Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, and SFU Contemporary Arts at 611 Alexander Visual Arts Studio. The original campus building at Harbour Centre, a rebuilt heritage department store, officially opened on May 5, 1989. Today, the entire campus serves more than 70,000 people annually. Approximately 10,000 are graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in courses and degree programs based downtown. The Belzberg Library[47] is based at the Vancouver campus.
In September 2010, SFU Contemporary Arts relocated to the historic Woodward's district in downtown Vancouver known as the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. The 130,000-square-foot (12,077 m2) SFU facility is part of theWoodward's revitalization project. The new facility accommodates the increasing enrolment of students in the programme and new cultural facilities, including the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental theatre, screening rooms, sound studios, and art galleries.
The university is governed in accordance with the British ColumbiaUniversity Act.[48]
The convocation is composed of all faculty members, senators, and graduates (degree holders, including honorary alumni) of the university. Its main function is to elect the 4 convocation senators. Convocation ceremonies are held twice annually to confer degrees (including honorary degrees) as well as award diplomas and certificates.
The board is composed of the chancellor, the president, two student members, two faculty members, one staff member, and eight individuals appointed by theBritish Columbia government. Conventionally, the board is chaired by one of the government appointees. The board is responsible for the general management and governance of the university.
Board members as of July 30, 2020[update]:[49]
The senate is composed of the chancellor, the president, vice-president, academic, vice-president, research, deans of faculties, dean of graduate studies, dean of continuing studies, associate vice-president, academic, university librarian, registrar (as senate secretary), 14 student members, 28 faculty members, and 4 convocation members (who are not faculty members). The senate is chaired by the president. The academic governance of the university is vested in the senate.
The chancellor is appointed by the board of governors on nomination by the alumni association and after consultation with the senate for a three-year term, which can be renewed once. The main responsibilities of the chancellor are to confer degrees and represent the university in formal functions.
The board of governors appoints the president and vice-chancellor based on a selection process jointly established by the board of governors and the university's senate. As the chief executive officer and chair of the senate, the president is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the university.
The last president that was appointed wasJoy Johnson, who began her term on September 1, 2020. Johnson succeededAndrew Petter, who held a decade-long post as president from 2010 to 2020.[50] Johnson's term ends on September 1, 2025, after which she may choose to seek another five-year term.[51]
There are eight faculties at Simon Fraser University:
In the Fall 2021 semester, SFU had 25,595 undergraduates, with 12,812 of them being full-time and 12,783 part-time.[53] International students made up 21% of the undergraduate student body, of which over 85% came from Asia, the highest proportion being from China at 43%.[54] SFU's undergraduate student union is known as theSimon Fraser Student Society (SFSS).
The university enrolled 4,701 graduate students in the Fall 2021 semester, with international students constituting 32% of the graduate student population.[53] A Graduate Student Society[55] supports and advocates for graduate students at the university.
SFU also offers non-credit programs and courses to adult students. As of 2016[update], SFU Continuing Studies offers more than 300 courses and 27 certificate and diploma programs, mostly delivered either online or part-time from SFU's downtown Vancouver or Surrey campus. Continuing Studies also manages a part-time degree completion program, called SFU NOW: Nights or Weekends, for working adults pursuing a bachelor's degree.[56]
Teaching assistants, tutor markers, sessional instructors, language instructors, Graduate Facilitators and Research Assistants at SFU are unionized. The union, theTeaching Support Staff Union (TSSU), is independent. Faculty and lecturers are members of the Faculty Association. Staff are members of theCanadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), 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 the five associations or unions above.
Under the previous president, Andrew Petter, SFU's administration has incurred a number of grievances and bad faith bargaining judgments.[57][58][59] During their most recent rounds of bargaining, both the TSSU and CUPE local 3338 resorted to job action, and the BC Labour Relations Board found SFU's administration to be bargaining in bad faith with the CUPE local.[58] Conflicts since then include unpaid wages (in Fall 2013, 18% of TSSU members reported that they were not paid on the first payday; by the term's third payday, some members still had not received their wages),[57] and a health plan, redundant with the provincial health plan available to all international students after their first three months in-province and costing double a prior plan's cost, in which international students are automatically enrolled.[59]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| World rankings | |
| ARWU World[60] | 301–400 |
| QS World[61] | =308 |
| THE World[62] | 301–350 |
| USNWR World[63] | 359 |
| Canadian rankings | |
| ARWU National[60] | 13–16 |
| QS National[61] | 13 |
| THE National[62] | 12–15 |
| USNWR National[63] | 12 |
| Maclean's Comprehensive[64] | 1 |
| Maclean's Reputation[65] | 10 |
Simon Fraser University has placed in various international post-secondary school rankings. In the 2022Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 301–400 in the world and 13–17 in Canada.[60] The 2024QS World University Rankings ranked the university 318th in the world and thirteenth in Canada.[61] The 2023Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Simon Fraser 251–300 in the world, and 11–13 in Canada.[62] InU.S. News & World Report 2022–23global university rankings, the university placed 317th in the world, and 12th in Canada.[63] InMaclean's 2023 rankings, the university placed first in their comprehensive university category. The university also placed ninth inMaclean's reputation category.[65] Simon Fraser University was ranked despite having opted out from participation in Maclean's graduate survey since 2006.[66]
In the World's Universities for Real Impact (WURI) 2022 rankings, SFU ranked 18th in the world, and 1st in Canada.[67][68] InQS's 2022 graduate employability ranking, the university ranked 301–500 in the world, and 10–17 in Canada.[69]
In 2020, Simon Fraser University received a sponsored research income (external sources of research funds) ofC$167.256 million, the 17th highest in Canada. In the same year, the university's faculty averaged a sponsored research income of $188,600, while graduates averaged $34,000.[70][71]
Simon Fraser's research performance has been noted by severalbibliometric university rankings, which usescitation analysis to evaluates theimpact a university has on academic publications. In 2019, thePerformance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities ranked Simon Fraser 378th in the world, and 16th in Canada.[72] InUniversity Ranking by Academic Performance's 2018–19 rankings, the university placed 362nd in the world, and 15th in Canada.[73]
SFU also works with other universities and agencies to operate joint research facilities. These includeBamfield Marine Station, a major centre for teaching and research in marine biology;TRIUMF, a powerful cyclotron used in subatomic physics and chemistry research. SFU is also a partner institution inGreat Northern Way Campus Ltd in Vancouver. 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 namedFraser International College, which was in the Multi Tenant Facility (now renamed as "Discovery 2 Building") located in Discovery Parks Trust SFU site,[74][failed verification] is now moved into "Discovery 1 Building" after Discovery Parks Trust returned the building to Simon Fraser University. The MODAL Research Group, based at Simon Fraser, partners with multiple Canadian universities and arts organizations to carry out multi-disciplinary research in the arts with an emphasis on the study of artistic learning and engagement.[75]
In 2008, SFU has the highest publication impact among Canadian comprehensive universities and the highest success rates per faculty member in competitions for federal research council funding from theNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and theSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).[76]
In 2017, Simon Fraser University entered into an agreement withHuawei to receive cloud computing equipment.[77]
In 2022, Simon Fraser University announced the creation of the cross-disciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (INN)[78] research hub to empower neuroscience-related research and collaboration across the university.
The student newspaperThe Peak was established shortly after the university opened and is circulated throughout the university.CJSF 90.1 FM has been SFU's campus community radio station since the early 1970s. The Simon Fraser Student Society provides funding for over 300 campus clubs. Various campus events include the annual Terry Fox Run,Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Clubs Week, and other multi-cultural events.
The Tau chapter ofPhrateres, a non-exclusive, non-profit social-service club, was installed here in 1966. Between 1924 and 1967, 23 chapters of Phrateres were installed in universities across North America, including the Theta chapter nearby at theUniversity of British Columbia.
Six Greek organizations have formed SFU arms, although none are recognized by the university pursuant to a policy enacted in 1966:[79]
Fraternities:
Sororities:
Co-ed Professional Fraternities:
The university's varsity sports teams are called the Simon Fraser Red Leafs, and the mascot is aScottish Terrier named McFogg the Dog. In sports and other competitions, there tends to be a strong rivalry between SFU andThe University of British Columbia.
The team is the first and currently the only athletic program from outside of the United States that competes in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[82] Before joining the NCAA, the team used to compete in both theCanadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS, now U Sports) and theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In total, SFU has 15 varsity sport teams and 300 athletes. All varsity teams compete for their respective NCAA national championships, except for the Women's Wrestling team which competes for the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship (www.ncwwc.com).
Beside the varsity teams, SFU also houses various competitive club teams, including Men's Lacrosse, who currently competes in theMen's Collegiate Lacrosse Association, and Men's Hockey, who currently competes in theBritish Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League. Other club teams include rugby, cheerleading, rowing, quidditch, and field hockey.
SFU has won the NAIANACDA Director's Cup five times, among others.[83][failed verification] On Friday, July 10, 2009, theNCAA announced that it had accepted SFU as a Division II member and would begin after a two-year transition period. SFU later competed in theGreat Northwest Athletic Conference.[84] It is the first Canadian university to be accepted as a member of theNCAA at any level.[85] In 2012, the team was accepted as the first international full member of the NCAA.[82]
Many former team athletes later represented Canada during theOlympic Games, including gold medalistsCarol Huynh andDaniel Igali, and Olympic medalistsSue Holloway andHugh Fisher. Other team alumni include:Jay Triano,Chris Rinke, wrestlerAri Taub, andCarolyn Murray.
In August 2024, the university's School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) announced an initiative in partnership with Sawmill Studios to create its first-ever "Virtual Ambassadors" in order to represent and engage with the SFU community.[86] These Virtual Ambassadors, bothlivestreamers, would be functionally identical toVTubers.[87] Auditions for the talent opened that September.[86] Composed of two virtual mascots, Mo Ayato (操斗モォ)[88] and Faye Ayato (操斗フェイ),[89] the duo debuted on March 1, 2025, livestreaming both separately and together on the SIAT YouTube channel. Their primary activities involved giving feedback to student work from the SIAT program, as well as promoting the SFU's values, courses, and facilities.[86] The initiative was billed as grant-funded research, employingmotion capture technology to create full3D models of the Virtual Ambassadors and a chance for students to work in a professional motion capture studio environment.[19][90]
In promotional material, the university has referred to the duo as "Canada's first university Vtubers",[91] or alternatively, "The world's first university Vtubers". The characters were said to have come from a magicalfantasy world to SFU in order to study at SIAT. Mo Ayato was characterised as "formerly a magical red panda-esque beast known as a Cappu, is now a carefree and silly human(?)."[88] On the other hand, Faye Ayato was said to be "agraduate studies student before he leapt through the portal, unfortunately, his course credits did not follow him to Earth."[89] An animated trailer would expand on this backstory, showing Faye opening a portal to Earth and the two fleeing their homeland, where they suffered discrimination from a system that favoured those with magic powers over those without. Arriving inside of SFU Surrey's motion capture studio, Studio SIAT, the trailer shows Mo transforming from her Cappu form into her human one, after which the two would take on the name "Ayato" from the pronunciation of the "IAT" in "Studio SIAT".[91]
On January 24, 2025, anAlternate Reality Game launched on the SIAT website, with a video[20] being embedded to the page[92] in which the yet-to-be-revealed Faye Ayato encourages viewers to help him "open a portal connecting your world to mine". Posters withQR codes linking to further videos would be shared online throughDiscord communities such as the SFU,UBC, andECUAD Anime Clubs, as well as in-person, with QR codes on pawprint-shaped cutouts being posted around SFU's Surrey Campus. Posters that were shared online would also feature an illustration of the tops of the Virtual Ambassador's heads, giving the world its first look at the new mascots.[93]
On February 23, 2025, a teaser trailer was released on the Studio SIAT YouTube channel,[94] revealing full-body images of Mo and Faye Ayato for the first time. An "Animated Lore Trailer"[91] was released on Youtube and promoted on SFU's website two days later, on February 25, 2025. The trailer was a collaboration between both SIAT students and university students from across Canada, with J Tseng[95] and Trisha Wong,[96] both staff at SFU SIAT and Narratic Labs, producing and directing respectively. Tseng stated in aReddit post[97] how the team comprised mostly junior animators, with Wong adding that the main inspiration for the trailer was the work ofMakoto Shinkai.[98] Simultaneously, the SFU website was updated with a section to prominently feature the virtual ambassadors,[21] introducing Mo and Faye Ayato with a series of illustrations showing them interacting with various SIAT facilities. The illustrations were also created entirely by Canadian university students. Alongside the two Virtual Ambassadors, a third red panda-like character called a Cappu, representing the audience,[99] was also introduced.[87] On February 27, a third video was released on the Studio SIAT Youtube Channel, revealing key art for the characters and employing motion graphics featuring the pre-existing illustrations of Mo and Faye, introducing more of their personalities.[100]
The Virtual Ambassadors debuted to much fanfare, according to City News Vancouver.[101] Reactions to the Virtual Ambassadors were mostly positive, with commenters on the Animated Lore Trailer praising the fluidity of the animation and background illustration, and affirming the comparison to Shinkai. Enthusiasm was also expressed about the personalities of the Virtual Ambassadors.[90] SFU's official news page praised the trailer, calling it "stunning".[19] Other reactions were mixed, with some commenters remarking that they believed the Virtual Ambassador Program was a waste of tuition money. Art director Trisha Wong corrected some of these claims, stating that the project was "funded by external grants specifically for giving student artists the opportunity to work on professional client work and entrepreneurial experience".[91]
As of 2023, the university's alumni network included over 180,000 graduates from over 140 countries.[102] Alumni have received a number of academic awards. As of 2011, four SFU graduates have been namedRhodes Scholars, includingJoel Bakan.[103]
SFU faculty and alumni have won 43 fellowships to theRoyal Society of Canada, threeRhodes Scholarships and onePulitzer Prize.[104] Among the list of alumni includes threepremiers of British Columbia (Glen Clark,Gordon Campbell andUjjal Dosanjh),Vancouver Canucks ownerFrancesco Aquilini,Prime Minister ofLesothoPakalitha Mosisili, andMax Planck Institute directorRobert Turner.
Another notable alumni washumanitarian andcancer research activistTerry Fox, an athlete and an alumnus of SFU who embarked on the run across Canada to raise money and awareness for Cancer research. Fox'sMarathon of Hope had a lasting legacy, with theTerry Fox Run being held around the world in commemoration of his efforts. In 2001, SFU conferred an honorary degree toBetty Fox, mother of Terry Fox and honorary chair of theTerry Fox Foundation.
Other notable alumni from the university include:
At each convocation, SFU awards honorary degrees to various people from around the world for their activities and pursuits. In 1967, SFU awarded an honorary LL.D. (doctor of laws) toMarshall McLuhan, the first honorary degree awarded by the university.[112]Ida Halpern, an ethnomusicologist whose professional papers are held in part by SFU, was similarly awarded an honorary LL.D. in 1978.[113] On April 20, 2004, SFU conferred honorary degrees upon threeNobel Peace Prize recipients: the14th Dalai Lama, BishopDesmond Tutu, and human rights activistShirin Ebadi. Other honorary alumni include award-winning filmmakerCosta-Gavras,[114] skierNancy Greene Raine,Milton Wong,Doris Shadbolt, economistJeffrey Sachs,Peter Gzowski,Douglas Coupland,Lui Passaglia,Romeo Dallaire, Canadian businessmanStephen Jarislowsky,Iain Baxter, American agriculturalistCary Fowler, experimental psychologistSteven Pinker, primatologist and environmentalistJane Goodall,[115]Martha Piper,Sarah McLachlan,Rick Hansen,Kim Campbell,Ray Hyman,Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (rocket scientist and former President of India) andBill Nye.[116][117][118][119]
The school's originalcoat of arms was used from the university's inception until 2006, at which point the Board of Governors voted to adapt the old coat of arms and thereby register a second coat of arms. The adaptation replaced two crosslets with books after some in the university asserted the crosses had misled prospective international students into believing SFU was a private, religious institution rather than a public, secular one.[120] In 2007, the university decided to register both the old coat of arms and the revised coat of arms featuring the books. In 2007, a new marketing logo was unveiled, consisting of white letters on block red.[121]
|
|
| Campuses |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academics | |||||
| Student life | |||||
| Athletics |
| ||||
| Affiliated | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
.svg)
