Video footage: WDBA/the Gordie Howe International Bridge project
Bridging Borders
By Lindsay Charlton
Perched next to the Detroit River and the busiest Canada–U.S. crossing, the University of Windsor has built a reputation for programs that thrive on connection. Here, crossing boundaries isn’t just symbolic — it’s a way of learning, living and leading.
At the heart of the University of Windsor’s crest sits a bridge.
Simple in form, it arcs across the shield in gold, a nod to the river that defines this region and the crossings that have shaped its story.
For UWindsor, that image isn’t just symbolic. It reflects the lived reality of a campus on the edge of an international border, where connection is part of everyday life.
Here, moving among places, ideas and perspectives is second nature.
Students learn in classrooms that look out over the Detroit River, with collaboration across Michigan not as an exception but as a rhythm.
Graduates carry that spirit forward, stepping into roles that take them across countries, disciplines and communities, their education shaped by the constant exchange of people and knowledge.
You can see it in the work of UWindsor alumni, now engineers, contributing to the Gordie Howe International Bridge, in architecture students navigating two universities and two cities at once, in nurses whose skills serve both Windsor and Detroit and in law students trained to practice justice on either side of the border.
The bridge in the University shield is more than a design.
It’s a reflection of place, of practice and of possibility, a symbol made real in the way UWindsor connects communities near and far.
Kiefer Wright and Tad Czubernat are among many UWindsor alumni who contributed to the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. | Photo by Travis Fauteux.
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority
Rising over the Detroit River, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is steadily taking shape, transforming from a construction site into a landmark of the Windsor-Detroit skyline.
Since development began in 2018, UWindsor students and graduates have had the opportunity to be at the heart of the project, stepping into roles that gave them a front-row seat to construction and real-world challenges.
“Our shared values of community leadership, collaboration and advancement have allowed us to bring the project to life in a way that invites the next generation of students, engineers and community leaders to imagine the ways they may be able to shape the future through large infrastructure projects,” said Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) chief capital officer Grant Hilbers (BASc ’94, MASc ’97).
More than 200 UWindsor students have completed co-op placements with the bridge authority, and roughly 50 alumni are now part of the team, contributing in engineering, business and computer science.
“I got to see this bridge start up in my first term when they started putting in the foundation for the towers. Seeing it come together from the base level into where it is now definitely helps ignite your passion,” said Tad Czubernat (BASc ’21), who started as a co-op student and now is an engineer who oversees on-site construction.
Once complete, the 2.5-kilometre bridge is expected to ease congestion, create jobs and boost regional tourism, while also becoming the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America.
"I thought VABE was such a fantastic balance and would offer a wide experience."
Jack Lavigne (BFA ’21)
Visual Art and the Built Environment (VABE) graduate, Jack Lavigne (BFA ’21). | Photo by Michael Wilkins, graphic created by Victor Romao.
Visual Arts and the Built Environment
Jack Lavigne (BFA ’21) has always been drawn to the spaces that shape our world. Tagging along on visits to his father’s project sites, he watched blueprints transform into places people live, work and move through every day.
Now a graduate of UWindsor’s Visual Arts and the Built Environment (VABE) program, Lavigne brings that hands-on perspective to a Chicago-based urban planning firm.
“I thought VABE was such a fantastic balance and would offer a wide experience,” Lavigne said. “It seemed like there would be so many avenues if I did this program, and I still think that’s true after finishing it.”
The program embodies cross-border collaboration, bringing together students and faculty from UWindsor’s School of Creative Arts (SoCA) and the University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Architecture. Students explore the built environment through art and architecture, considering aesthetics, culture, construction, meaning and history across two cities and two countries.
“There is no visual arts and architecture program, as far as we know, like Visual Arts and the Built Environment that leverages the international border through academic study,” explained Jason Grossi, program coordinator and associate professor who teaches architecture and visual arts at SoCA.
“Students have to navigate two institutions and two countries, which gives them a broader perspective on architecture as a global profession. This international dimension shapes their understanding right from the start.”
"Even outside the hospital, there’s such a broad scope of what we do in the community."
Sylwia Borawski (MN ‘25)
Sylwia Borawski (MN ’25) demonstrates proper IV insertion technique to a nursing student during a training session. | Photo by Michael Wilkins.
Nursing
At 13, Sylwia Borawski (MN ’25) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
It was a nurse’s patience and compassion that inspired her to pursue a career caring for others.
Now working as an emergency room (ER) nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Dearborn, Mich., after graduating from the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Nursing, Borawski said that experience opened her eyes to the key role of nurses and how vital they are to a patient’s experience during frightening or uncertain times.
“I try to create those little moments among the chaos in my own ER,” she said. “I think it’s come full circle that way. It really makes you appreciate what patients are going through.”
Borawski is one of many UWindsor graduates who take their skills across the border, while the University also welcomes nurses trained abroad through programs like the Ontario Internationally Educated Nurses Course Consortium.
This hybrid program helps internationally trained nurses from around the world launch their careers in Ontario, reflecting the flow of knowledge, skills and care across borders — local, national and global.
The pandemic brought that work into sharp focus, highlighting the vital role nurses play in health care, a recognition Borawski feels was long overdue.
“When you’re a nurse, you never really clock out,” she said. “Even outside the hospital, there’s such a broad scope of what we do in the community.”
"Long term, it positioned me for cross-border litigation, international firms or even policy roles. Being an alum of both schools expanded my professional network and connected me to two exceptional legal communities."
Evelyn Dentelbeck (JD '25)
Law professor Marcela Aroca teaches law students in the newly renovated Moot Court. | Photo by Peter Marval.
Law
Windsor Law defines itself as a justice-seeking, people-centred and community-engaged law school with a rich history of upholding access to justice supported by staff, students, alumni and scholars who share that passion.
That passion extends across borders.
Since 1983, the Canadian and American Dual Juris Doctor (JD) program — a partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy Law — has allowed students to earn two law degrees in three years. Courses are taught in a comparative format, giving students a front-row seat to the legal systems in both countries and immersing them in two legal cultures from day one.
Shanthi Senthe, an associate professor at Windsor Law, said what makes the program exciting is its innovative approach to legal education, equipping students with fluency in both jurisdictions.
“I have found that teaching law students who can navigate the complexities of both legal systems, particularly in business law — where cross-border entities, regulatory regimes and transactional norms intersect — has become increasingly important,” she said. “The Dual JD program is a model for what legal education in this technology-driven and rapidly evolving economy must look like. It is boundary-crossing, comparative and future-oriented.”
Graduates leave with a JD from each country, ready to write bar exams in Canada and the U.S. and equipped with a dual perspective that connects communities and crosses borders.
“Engaging with two distinct legal systems trained me to think comparatively and critically. I realized that legal reasoning and outcomes are often shaped by broader contextual, social and political factors,” said recent graduate Evelyn Dentelbeck (JD ’25).
Now articling at a personal injury law firm in Michigan, Dentelbeck said the program opened doors she hadn’t imagined.
