| University of Hull | |
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| Established | as University College Hull 1927 as University of Hull 1954 |
| Type: | Public |
| Chancellor: | Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone |
| Vice-Chancellor: | Professor David Drewry |
| Visitor: | The Lord President of the Council ex officio |
| Faculty: | 1,000 |
| Staff: | 2,300 |
| Students: | 21,430 [1] |
| Undergraduates: | 17,310 [1] |
| Postgraduates: | 4,125 [1] |
| Location | Hull and Scarborough, United Kingdom |
| Campus: | Urban area |
| Course information: | 900 courses |
| Website: | www.hull.ac.uk |
The University of Hull, also known as Hull University, is an English university located in Hull (or Kingston upon Hull), a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It was founded in 1927. The main campus is located on Cottingham Road. Part of the campus is the home of the Hull York Medical School. The university also has a smaller campus in Scarborough. The university was once the workplace of the poet Philip Larkin who was Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library. It was also once the workplace of current poet laureate Andrew Motion and the film director Anthony Minghella. Former Vice-Chancellors include Professor David Dilks FRHistS FRSL and Brynmor Jones after whom the library on the Hull campus was named.
Lord Wilberforce, the noted House of Lords judge was Chancellor of the University from 1978 until 1994, and was known for his keen participation in the life of the University and the Law School, despite the position being entirely honorary. Robert Armstrong, former Cabinet Secretary, was Chancellor from 1994 to 2006. Virginia Bottomley was installed as the current Chancellor in April 2006.
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History
The foundation stone of the University College Hull was laid in 1927 by the Duke of York (who later became George VI). It was an external college of the University of London. A year later the first 14 departments, in pure sciences and the arts, opened with an attendance of 39 students. The college consisted of one building, the Venn building (named after the mathematician John Venn, who was born in Hull). It was built on land donated by Hull City Council and local benefactors Thomas Ferens and G F Grant. In 1954, the College gained its Royal Charter which empowered it to award degrees and made it the third university in Yorkshire and the 14th in England. The Brynmor Jones Library was constructed in 1960, with a tower block extension added in 1970. During the 1960s more academic buildings were added, with their height diminishing from the centre of the campus towards the perimeter, a barrier which the university was quickly outgrowing. In 1979 Hull became the first university to be awarded the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement for the joint-development of the long-lasting materials that made liquid crystal displays possible. In 1972 George Gray and Ken Harrison created in the University Chemistry laboratories room-temperature stable liquid crystals, which were an immediate success in the electronics industry and consumer products. In 2000, the University decided to buy the site of University College Scarborough, on Filey Road in Scarborough. Out of this emerged the University of Hull Scarborough Campus. In 2003, the University purchased the adjacent buildings of the University of Lincoln; the site now houses the Hull York Medical School, and recently-completed construction has led to the Business School relocating to these three buildings - Wharfe, Derwent, and Esk - which now form the West Campus of the university as of the academic year beginning in 2005.
Campus network
The Venn Building is the administration centre of the university.
Academic Faculties
Science (FoS)
- Dean: Derek Wills
- Departments: Computer Science, Biological Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Sport Health & Exercise Science, Engineering, Psychology, Geography, Centre for Environmental and Marine Sciences.
Until recently, this was two faculties (Faculty of Applied Science & Technology and the Faculty of Science & The Environment). Notable facilities include HIVE (Hull Immersive Visualisation Environment). The Chemistry department is noted for its impressive research record.
Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
- Dean: Dr. George Talbot
- Departments: Criminology & Social Sciences, Drama & Music, English, History, Humanities, Law School, Modern Languages, Politics & International Studies, School of Arts & New Media, Social Work
Includes the School of Arts and New Media at Scarborough, formed in August 2006. Drama is taught in the Gulbenkian Centre, including the Donald Roy Theatre. Music is in the Larkin Building.
Health and Social Care (FHSC)
- Dean: Robert Parry
- Departments: Nursing & Midwifery, Applied Health Studies
Based in the Calder, Aire and Dearne Buildings in the West Campus (former campus of Universities of Humberside, then finally Lincoln). The Leven building contains mock clinical areas, wards, an operating theatre and a midwifery suite, within a simulated environment.[2]
Hull York Medical School (HYMS)
- Dean: Ian Greer
Began in October 2003 on the West Campus. Medical students receive joint degrees from Hull and York. Includes the International Society for the Study of Cough based at Castle Hill Hospital on Castle Road in Cottingham. Third and fourth year students train at hospitals also in Scunthorpe, Grimsby, and Scarborough. Created to make a new medical school affordable by spreading the cost.
Institute for Learning (IfL)
- Dean: Dr. Julian Stern
- Centres: Educational Studies, Lifelong Learning, Scarborough School of Education
Includes the Scarborough School of Education, a former teacher training college - the North Riding College. This became University College Scarborough, then the Scarborough campus.
Postgraduate Medical Institute(PGMI)
- Director: Professor Nicholas D. Stafford
Established in 1994. One of the PGMI's sections is the Yorkshire Cancer Research-funded Centre for Magnetic Resonance Investigations which, under the Directorship of Professor Lindsay W. Turnbull, is actively engaged in researching the application of magnetic resonace imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques to cancer research.
The Business School (HUBS)
- Dean: Professor Mike Jackson
Established in August 1999. Has 2,300 students at the Hull and Scarborough campuses. New £9m premises in 2005 on the West Campus. You could class the Business School as one large department, but it is so large and cannot fit in another category, so it's a standalone faculty. It has seen an impressive number of developments recently and attracts a large number of international students. The new £9 million Logistics Institute has been completed September 2007. The Business School has both EQUIS and AMBA accreditions. It is important to note that there is also the Scarborough Management Centre in addition to the facilities on the Hull campus.
Student life and activities
Hull University Union (HUU) was voted "Best Student Union" by students poll in 2004. The Student Union is run by students for students and the student sabbatical body is elected each year. The Student Union comprises a £3.6 million nightclub called Asylum, the "John McCarthy" bar and the "Sanctuary" for students. The Sanctuary bar offers an external seating area and indoor leisure facilities such as pool, darts and games machines. The John McCarthy bar is used for a variety of events, such as comedy night, quiz night, society socials and private functions. There is also a Union shop, a bookshop, cafes, snooker room and offices for its many up and running clubs. They also have a monthly student newspaper Hullfire as well as its student radio station Jam 1575. It also hosts many societies and sports clubs including Hull's branch of the national charity, Revelation Rock-Gospel Choirs. The Students' Union is currently undergoing a redevelopment of the top floor, to form the Welfare Hub, which will house all of the University's Welfare Services. Also new September 2007 is the internet hub located downstairs near the Sanctuary bar. Student accommodation is based on campus as well as off campus. The on campus accommodation is based along Cranbrook Avenue, Auckland Avenue, Cottingham Road and Taylor Court. Taylor Court flats, which are located on the campus, are single en suite self-catering flats and can accommodate 288 students. Student housing is based primarily around the university campus itself, as well as around the Newland Avenue and Beverley Road areas of the city. Off campus areas are Cottingham, with Thwaite Hall, and Needler Hall which are the traditional halls, as well as "The Lawns". This is a complex featuring the traditional Ferens Hall as well as six smaller halls (Lambert, Nicholson, Morgan, Downs, Reckitt and Grant) of five blocks each. The site has a main focal "Lawns Centre" for eating, drinking and socialising. The complex houses just over 1,000 students, and was designed by the renowned Scottish architectural firm of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia. Interestingly, original plans for The Lawns made provision for 12 halls however only six were built. Cleminson Hall, situated opposite Thwaite was also part of the accommodation setup, but closed several years ago. The University is currently refurbishing student accommodation.
Accommodation
The Lawns
The Lawns is a complex of student accommodation for the University of Hull, located in Cottingham, East Yorkshire. It comprises seven halls of residence: Ferens, Lambert, Nicholson, Morgan, Downs, Reckitt and Grant, and the Lawns Centre. The latter includes a communal dining area for residents of the semi-catered halls, and the Veranda Bar (more commonly known as "The Lawns" bar), from which alcoholic refreshments may be purchased and drunk by Lawns residents each evening. Of the seven halls on the site, Ferens is a traditional rectangular 'Sandhurst block' with the accommodation around three sides of a central lawn, and is somewhat isolated from the other halls both by its location and by virtue of being screened by trees. The remaining halls, which were designed by the renowned architectural firm of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, each comprise five blocks, identified by the letters A to E, and accommodate approximately 140 residents. Most have only limited catering facilities. Downs Hall was converted in the early 2000s to fully-catered accommodation.
During the expansion of university education after WWII a military camp of huts[3] on part of the grounds of the former Cottingham Grange became, as Camp Hall, the male hall of residence. "The Lawns" now occupies most of that site. The physical Cottingham Grange country house was demolished in the 1930s.[4]
In 2007 The Lawns received national attention following the murder of a student resident on the site. A second year History student pleaded guilty to murder, and is awaiting sentencing.[5]
Notable academics
- Jacob Bronowski - mathematics (1934-42).
- George William Gray, instrumental in developing the materials which made liquid crystal displays possible (1946-1990), awarded Kyoto Prize and Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society
- Chris Langton, developed an early detection system for osteoporosis utilising ultrasonic waves[6]
- Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth, Professor of Politics
- Stuart Palmer, responsible for major breakthroughs in the field of Ultrasound Bone Densitometry
- Bhikhu Parekh, Baron Parekh, Professor of Politics, specialist on the theory of multiculturalism (1964-2000)
- John Saville, Professor of History, major Marxist Historian.
- Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Professor of Law (1991-2000), now President of Dublin City University and Director of Skillsoft plc.
- Noël O'Sullivan, Professor of Politics, specialist in political theory
- David Freestone, Honorary Professor of Law, specialist in international environmental law; Deputy General Counsel, Advisory Services Legal Vice Presidency for The World Bank
Notable alumni
Selected honorary degrees
- Sir Liam Donaldson (government medical advisor)
- John Robinson (ex-Chairman of University Council)
- Sir Digby Jones (ex-CBI boss)
- Pierluigi Collina (football referee)
- Dame Tanni Grey Thompson (paralympic athlete)
- John Hurt (actor)
- Ian Rankin (author)
- Geoffrey Shovelton former Principal Tenor with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
- Bill Bryson (travel writer)
- Chris Lunn (Political activist)
- Tom Kirkwood (Biologist/Gerontologist)
- Kelly Holmes (former athlete)
- Jane Tomlinson
- John Sentamu (Archbishop of York)
- Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow
- Lord [Lord Morris of Handsworth| Bill Morris]] (Union Leader)
- Sir Trevor Philips
In popular culture
The University of Hull was referred to in the popular BBC comedy Blackadder Goes Forth in the episode General Hospital.
Blackadder hunts down a German spy operating in a British military hospital in the Great War and informs his superior with the following dialogue:
- Captain Blackadder: And then the final, irrefutable proof. Remember, you mentioned a clever boyfriend...
- Nurse Mary: Yes.
- Captain Blackadder: I then leapt on the opportunity to test you. I asked if he'd been to one of the great universities, Oxford, Cambridge, or Hull.
- Nurse Mary: Well?
- Captain Blackadder: You failed to spot that only two of those are great Universities.
- Nurse Mary: Swine!
- General Melchett: That's right! Oxford's a complete dump!
The joke is historically inaccurate as University College Hull was founded in 1927 (nine years after the First World War) and became the University of Hull only when granted a Royal Charter in 1954. However, the humour of Blackadder is well-known for its anachronistic references. The joke here is that Stephen Fry, playing Melchett, attended Cambridge (as did Hugh Laurie, another cast member), Rowan Atkinson, playing Blackadder, had attended Oxford University (as did Tim McInnerny, another cast member) while writer Richard Curtis's sister studied drama at Hull (1983-86). The same contrast between Oxbridge and the University of Hull was also used in the play and film The History Boys. Whereas the students are preparing to enter one of the major two universities in England, the headteacher says (with a dull tone) that he himself studied in Hull.
References
- ^ a b c Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
- ^ Health and Social Care from official website
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Student pleads guilty to murdering woman. Guardian Unlimited. Guardian News and Media Limited (2007-10-18). Retrieved on 2007-11-03.
- ^ "100 UK university discoveries", The Guardian, July 5th, 2006
