Lakehead University and City of Orillia Announce Plan for Permanent Campus Location

(Thunder Bay, ON - September 11, 2007) Lakehead University and The City of Orillia are pleased to announce that they have now entered into formal negotiations to establish Lakehead University's permanent Orillia campus on the Horne Farm.

According to Mayor Stevens, "Despite our best intentions, the Huronia Regional Center (HRC) site did not pan out, although as everybody knows, the community of Orillia is entirely behind Lakehead University's permanent location in Orillia and we believe we have found an excellent alternative."

Dr. Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University said, "Negotiations of the magnitude of those associated with the HRC site are never simple, but we had hoped to have settled this matter many months ago to enable us to start the physical construction at a permanent location to avoid disruption to our students, faculty, and staff. We are still committed to be in Orillia and I am hopeful that together with the City we can solidify an agreement and start work as soon as possible to make up for lost time. Although we regret that the HRC option did not materialize, we believe that the Horne Farm will be an excellent campus location for Lakehead University in Orillia."

The decision was arrived at because of timing issues and the pressing matter of a looming lack of adequate space for the campus as evidenced by its enrolment growth in its second year. As of the first week of September, over 300 students are now enrolled fulltime at the Orillia Campus' present temporary location on Colborne St., which has a capacity of 500 students. Negotiations had been under way for many months to secure the HRC site, but regrettably the pressing time issue forced both Lakehead University and the City of Orillia to look elsewhere. The University had hoped for resolution by the end of 2006 regarding HRC but continued to delay planning for the permanent campus until any further delay would have compromised meeting the September 2009 deadline for having new facilities available.

Lakehead University has a three-year lease on the current Orillia Campus location on Colborne St. which started in 2006.

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Media: Dr. Gilbert may be interviewed by calling Lakehead University's Office of Communications at 807-343-8177; Mayor Stevens may be contacted by calling 705-325-2447.

For further information on this release, please contact the following: City of Orillia - Robert Lamb, 705-325-4900; Lakehead University - Eleanor Abaya, 807-343- 8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca.