Carleton University
Carleton University is a public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, situated on unceded Algonquin territory adjacent to the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1] Founded in 1942 as Carleton College by the Ottawa Association for the Advancement of Learning, it originated as a non-denominational institution offering evening courses at Glebe Collegiate Institute to provide accessible post-secondary education to local residents, including government workers, during the Great Depression and World War II.[2] The provincial government confirmed its degree-granting privileges in 1952, and in 1957, an amendment to the Carleton College Act renamed it Carleton University and established it as a public university.[3] Enrolling over 30,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs, Carleton emphasizes research-driven education in fields such as engineering, computer science, public policy, journalism, and political science, fostering collaborations with industry and government in Ottawa's innovation ecosystem.[4][5][6] The institution has achieved prominence in research funding, ranking first in social sciences and humanities grants and fifth in science grants among Canadian universities, while placing fourth overall in Maclean's comprehensive university rankings.[7][8] Notable for its sustainability initiatives, Carleton secured second place in Canada and 49th globally in the 2022 UI GreenMetrics rankings.[9] Carleton has encountered controversies reflecting institutional priorities, including recent backlash from Israeli universities and Jewish advocacy groups over its employment of Hassan Diab, a sociology professor convicted in France in 2023 for complicity in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people, despite his claims of innocence and ongoing legal appeals in Canada.[10] Reports of hazing incidents within Greek letter organizations from 2021 to 2023, involving allegations of substance abuse and sexual misconduct, prompted calls for stronger oversight by student groups and the university administration.[11]