http://www.canada.com/montrealgazet...=49cc4d7f-e460-42a5-90eb-e40f5ac36ff0&k=17351 ..................................................... McGill tops on continent: global survey Peggy Curran, The Gazette Published: Wednesday, November 07 McGill University is the cream of Canadian schools, the best public university in North America and ranks 12th among the world's top 200 universities, according to a prestigious global survey. Released today, the Times Higher Education Supplement has McGill bounding up from last year's 21st place showing based on such factors as emphasis on science programs, the strong contingent of international students and faculty, student/faculty ratios, and publications by faculty and graduate researchers. Harvard placed first on the list, while Oxford, Cambridge and Yale tied for second spot. The report puts McGill ahead of such research-intensive powerhouses as Duke, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and Cornell. Findings are based on a combination of facts and opinions, with more than 5,000 academics around the world invited to rate a given institution. A key change in methodology this year made it impossible for professors to rate their own school. I'm really thrilled," said McGill principal Heather Munroe-Blum, who sees the results as a vindication of McGill's disciplined approach to academic planning, targeted hiring of 800 new professors and efforts to enhance both research and the undergraduate experience. McGill is the only Canadian school to have placed in the top 25 since the Times of London launched the THES-QS World University rankings in 2004, although 10 other Canadian schools have clawed their way into the world's top 200. Universite de Montreal also saw a dramatic improvement, climbing from 181st last year to 108, while the University of Toronto slipped from 27th last year to 45th overall. Other Canadian campuses that made the grade are University of British Columbia (33), Queen's (88), University of Alberta (97), McMaster (108), Waterloo (112), University of Western Ontario (126) Simon Fraser (139) and University of Calgary (166). Munroe-Blum credits initiatives by the Canadian and Quebec governments, like the Canada Research Chair program and fellowships for graduate students, with helping universities raise their profile on the world stage. She dismissed the notion that McGill's strong ranking could backfire, prompting Quebec to assume it doesn't need any more money. Yes, it's encouraging to see McGill's ability to "punch above its weight," she said, but just imagine what it could do if it weren't struggling to keep pace with well-heeled schools in the United States, Europe and most recently, Australia, which has invested huge amounts of money into post-secondary education in the past decade.
