SFU has also partnered with other universities and agencies to operate joint research facilities such as the TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, which houses the world's largest cyclotron, and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, a major centre for teaching and research in marine biology.

[8] Simon Fraser University was founded upon the recommendation of a 1962 report entitled Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future by John B. Macdonald.

The original name of the school was Fraser University, but was changed because the initials "FU" evoked the profane phrase "fuck you".

From a variety of sites that were offered, Shrum recommended to the provincial government that the summit of Burnaby Mountain, 365 meters above sea level, be chosen for the new university.

Architects Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey won a competition to design the university, and construction began in the spring of 1964.

[12][better source needed] During this time, Thelma Finlayson became the university's first female faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences.

[19] In early 2022, Burnaby City Council announced they would officially support the SFU Gondola as part of the TransLink expansion project.

The Burnaby campus is linked to the Production Way–University, Burquitlam, and Sperling–Burnaby Lake SkyTrain stations by frequent shuttle bus service.The main campus is located atop Burnaby Mountain, on Traditional Coast Salish Lands, including the Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaɬ), Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations.

The museum holds an extensive collection of Indonesian wayang kulit shadow puppets and ethnographic objects from around the world.

SFU Galleries stewards the Simon Fraser University Art Collection, which includes, in its holdings of over 5,500 works, significant regional and national artworks spanning the last century.

The Bill Reid Centre for Northwest Coast Art Studies at SFU houses a collection of 50,000 objects, primarily digital images and digitized textual documents, which document the art, culture and history of different First Nations cultures of the Northwest Coast.

UniverCity is an urban community located on top of Burnaby Mountain, adjacent to Simon Fraser University.

[37] Envisioned in 1963 by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey, the area adjacent to the university was not officially rezoned for development until 30 years later.

Development of the community began in early 2000, when Simon Fraser University commenced construction on a new residential and commercial area occupying approximately 81 hectares (200 acres) adjacent to the campus.

The main commercial district on University High Street now houses restaurants, stores, and a 20,000 square foot Nester's Market.

It was established in 2002 to absorb the students and programs of the former Technical University of British Columbia, which was closed by the provincial government.

[46] The convocation is composed of all faculty members, senators, and graduates (degree holders, including honorary alumni) of the university.

The chancellor is appointed by the board of governors on nomination by the alumni association and after consultation with the senate for a three-year term, which can be renewed once.

Under the previous president, Andrew Petter, SFU's administration has incurred a number of grievances and bad faith bargaining judgments.

In March 2006, SFU approved an affiliation agreement with a private college for international students to be housed adjacent to its Burnaby campus.

Six Greek organizations have formed SFU arms, although none are recognized by the university pursuant to a policy enacted in 1966:[76] Fraternities: Sororities: Co-ed Professional Fraternities: The university's varsity sports teams are called the Simon Fraser Red Leafs, and the mascot is a Scottish Terrier named McFogg the Dog.

[80][failed verification] On Friday, July 10, 2009, the NCAA announced that it had accepted SFU as a Division II member and would begin after a two-year transition period.

Other team alumni include: Jay Triano, Chris Rinke, wrestler Ari Taub, and Carolyn Murray.

[84] SFU faculty and alumni have won 43 fellowships to the Royal Society of Canada, three Rhodes Scholarships and one Pulitzer Prize.

[85] Among the list of alumni includes three premiers of British Columbia (Glen Clark, Gordon Campbell and Ujjal Dosanjh), Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini, Prime Minister of Lesotho Pakalitha Mosisili, Max Planck Institute director Robert Turner, and humanitarian and cancer research activist Terry Fox.

Another notable alumni was Terry Fox, an athlete and an alumnus of SFU who embarked on the run across Canada to raise money and awareness for Cancer research.

Other notable alumni from the university include: At each convocation, SFU awards honorary degrees to various people from around the world for their activities and pursuits.

[94] On April 20, 2004, SFU conferred honorary degrees upon three Nobel Peace Prize recipients: the 14th Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi.

Other honorary alumni include award-winning filmmaker Costa-Gavras,[95] skier Nancy Greene Raine, Milton Wong, Doris Shadbolt, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Peter Gzowski, Douglas Coupland, Lui Passaglia, Romeo Dallaire, Canadian businessman Stephen Jarislowsky, Iain Baxter, American agriculturalist Cary Fowler, experimental psychologist Steven Pinker, primatologist and environmentalist Jane Goodall,[96] Martha Piper, Sarah McLachlan, Rick Hansen, Kim Campbell, Ray Hyman, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam (Rocket Scientist and Former President of India) and Bill Nye.

The adaptation replaced two crosslets with books after some in the university asserted the crosses had misled prospective international students into believing SFU was a private, religious institution rather than a public, secular one.