Woodstock has added its name to the list of Ontario cities hoping to attract new post-secondary campuses.
The city is working with the University of Ottawa on a proposal to turn the downtown Reg Hall building into a satellite campus offering science, nursing and business classes – all of which would be in French.
Louis de Melo, the school’s vice-president of external relations, says it’s in response to a demand for French-language post-secondary education from the francophone community – which he estimates as 210,000 people within 200 kilometres of Woodstock.
“Having accessibility to Francophone education … will be a great advantage for these students,” he says.
Woodstock Mayor Pat Sobecki sees advantages for his city as well, pointing to the roles university campuses in Brantford and Cambridge have played in revitalizing core areas in those cities.
“We thought coming to a downtown location would not only benefit Woodstock, but would provide the University of Ottawa with a building they could test to see if the demand is here,” he says.
Approximately 300 post-secondary students already attend classes in Woodstock, at a Fanshawe College in the city’s south end.
De Melo says if approved by the province, the school could open as early as September 2015 and grow to a population of 1,000 students by 2020.
The school and the city still have to finalize certain elements of their plan before submitting it to the province by a September deadline, de Melo said.
Among the other universities and municipalities vying to build new campuses is a partnership between Wilfrid Laurier University and the Town of Milton.
It is believed at least 25 bids will be reviewed by the province.
