The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 455 hectares (1,120 acres) of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames River bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools.
The initial aspirations of Bishop Hellmuth carry through to the internationally known research of our top scholars today. These leaders of vision, courage and imagination have always looked to the future in shaping Western University. Founded on March 7, 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth (1817–1901) ‘The Western University of London Ontario’ opened its doors to students for the first time in 1881. Four faculties – Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine were there at Western's inception. In 1916, the current campus was purchased from the Kingsmill family, and in 1923 the university was renamed The University of Western Ontario. Since that first class graduated in 1883, the university has become a vibrant centre of learning. Through 12 faculties and three affiliated university colleges, Western today offers its 36,000-plus students more than 400 specializations, majors and minors.
