The Université du Québec à Rimouski (commonly referred to as UQAR) is a public university located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada with a campus in Lévis. Since its establishment in 1969, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) has granted over 50,000 diplomas. In addition to its Lévis and Rimouski campuses, UQAR offers academic training throughout eastern Quebec, including the Chaudière-Appalaches, Gaspésie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Haute-Côte-Nord, and Manicouagan. It also has permanent offices in Gaspé and Rivière-du-Loup. UQAR is part of the Université du Québec network, the largest university network in Canada, with over 100,000 students. UQAR welcomes about 7,000 new students every year, including about 550 foreign students from over 45 countries. Marine science, regional development, and nordicity are areas of research excellence that characterize a number of UQAR programs. The university's athletics teams are known as the Nordet, a French word used to refer to a northeasterly wind (and a reference to UQAR's location in Québec). History First milestones Religious and community leaders first proposed establishing a university in Rimouski in the 1930s. By the 1950s, the Seminaire de Rimouski had begun offering postsecondary level courses in partnership with Université Laval. Following the onset of the Quiet Revolution in Québec, postsecondary access expanded in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The Parent Commission report established that Québec's citizens were entitled to full educational opportunities at all levels. Implementing the report's recommendations necessitated secularizing the province's educational system, which had largely been run by religious organizations. An act creating the Université du Québec was passed by the provincial legislative assembly in 1968. One year later, the Université du Québec à Rimouski opened on the grounds of the former monastery of the Ursulines of Quebec. 2009 fire During the night of May 14, 2009, at approximately 1:30, the fire alarm system was triggered and reported by the on-duty Rimouski campus security agent while at the same time smoke was spotted by patrolmen from the Sûreté du Québec passing by. The fire resulted in a general alarm for the Rimouski fire department, prompting assistance from the fire departments of Bic and St-Anaclet. By midday, the fire was contained and mostly put out. It resulted in the destruction of the main wing's belfry as well as major fire damage to the roof and water damage to the floors below. The affected wing houses procurement and printing services, student services, the student's bookstore, the rector's and vice-rectors offices, finances and human