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University of Exeter

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University of Exeter
University of Exeter - coat of arms
Latin: Exoniensem (Exon.)
Motto Lucem sequimur
(We follow the light)
Established 1955
Type Public
Chancellor Floella Benjamin OBE
Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Smith
Students 13,827 (total)
Postgraduates 3,900
Location Exeter, United Kingdom
Visitor HM Queen Elizabeth II
Affiliations 1994 Group
Website http://www.exeter.ac.uk

The University of Exeter is the principal university in the city of Exeter, England. The University is classified as a red brick university receiving its Royal Charter in 1955 and is today based largely on two campuses near the city centre: the Streatham Estate and St Luke's. The University also maintains a third campus at Tremough, near Falmouth in Cornwall, in conjunction with University College Falmouth - the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus - under the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) initiative. Along with the university's other activities in Cornwall, the Camborne School of Mines has relocated to the Tremough campus.

Exeter is a member of the 1994 Group of smaller research-intensive universities in the UK.

Contents

[edit] History

After earlier beginnings, university education proper in Exeter began with the conversion in 1922 of the previous Royal Albert Memorial College into the University College of the South West of England, and the college's inclusion onto the list of institutions eligible to receive funds from the then University Grants Committee. At that time the college was conceived as a territorial institution, making university education available relatively locally for students from the four counties of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset. As was customary for new university institutions in southern England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the college prepared students for external degrees of the University of London. With increasing growth in the 1920s and 1930s, it was granted increasing autonomy, but full independence was delayed by the Second World War. The university college received its Royal Charter and became the free-standing University of Exeter in December 1955. In the post-war period, Exeter like other UK universities became much more of a national institution, with students coming from all over the southern United Kingdom; as a research-intensive institution, it now attracts significant numbers of students from overseas. However regional activity continued, for example through extra-mural teaching throughout Devon and Cornwall, and the establishment of an Institute of Cornish Studies in Truro.

[edit] Chronological timeline

1225 The earliest evidence of university education in the city dates back to Gilbert le Bond’s grant to St John's Hospital School the sum of 2s per annum for the formation of a centre of ecclesiastical learning. It seems that the fledgling university failed to flourish though.
1829 John Taylor publishes his Prospectus for a School of Mines in Cornwall
1840 Foundation of Exeter Diocesan Training College
1855 Foundation of Exeter School of Art
1863 Foundation of Exeter School of Science
1868 Schools of Art and Science relocate to Albert Memorial Museum
1876 Foundation of Camborne Miners' Association laboratory
1888 Camborne laboratory established as Camborne Mining School
1893 Schools of Art and Science renamed to the Exeter Technical and University Extension College
1900 Exeter Technical and University Extension College renamed to Royal Albert Memorial College, Gandy Street
1922 Royal Albert Memorial College renamed as The University College of the South-West of England;
Streatham Hall (now Reed Hall) gifted to the University College
1930 Exeter Diocesan Training College renamed to St Luke's College, Exeter
1955 The University College received its Charter and became the University of Exeter
1962 Post-graduate Medical School founded
1966 St Luke's College became co-educational
1978 Incorporation of St Luke's College of Education into the University's Department of Education
1991 Affiliation of the College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth
1993 Incorporation of Camborne School of Mines
1995 Affiliation of St Loyes School of Health Studies
2000 The Peninsula Medical School was established in conjunction with the University of Plymouth and the National Health Service. This is based at St. Lukes and local hospitals.
2004 The University's new Cornwall Campus opens, moving all of its interests in Cornwall to a single campus. Closure of Chemistry and Music departments announced. Closure of Italian department considered but plans were eventually dropped. Closure of the Cognitive Science BSc. (Hons) degree programme and the re-structuring of the Biology department, now called the Biosciences department.

[edit] Chancellors

[edit] Vice Chancellors

[edit] Coat of Arms

The University coat of arms symbolises the historical associations of the University with the locality. The triangular gold castle with three towers comes from Exeter's coat of arms and is thought to represent the Rougemont Castle as alluded to by the red background. The 15 gold Besants round the edge of the shield are from Cornwall's coat of arms whilst the green cross on the white background is from the Devon County Council's coat of arms. The theme of learning is symbolised by the book with gold edges and a latin motto "lucem sequimur" translating roughly as "we follow the light".

[edit] Academic reputation

Image:University of Exeter new logo.gif

Ninety-eight per cent of subject areas at Exeter were rated 4, 5 or 5* (of national or international standing) in the 2001 RAE.

Also according to The Sunday Times University Guide 2005, the University of Exeter was rated Excellent for 20 subjects, including Archeology; Business and Management; Classics and Ancient History; Computer Science; Drama, Dance and Cinematics; Economics; Education (continuing professional development); English; French; Geography; German; Italian; Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research; Molecular Biosciences; Physics and Astronomy; Politics; Psychology; Teacher Training; Theology and Religious Studies.

The Sunday Times' university league table for 2006 placed Exeter 18th in the UK, up seven places from 2005. Exeter was ranked 20th in the UK in 2003.

The Guardian's 2006 university rankings placed Exeter at 28th in the UK (after erroneously reporting the university at 48th place). The Times league table also placed Exeter 18th in 2006, up 6 places from the previous year.

In the National Student Survey 2005, Exeter was ranked joint 10th nationally for overall satisfacation. The results put Exeter in the top 25 per cent of UK universities for learning resources (such as IT resources) and for course management and organisation.

[edit] Campus Life

Image:Devonshire house.jpg
Image:Reed Hall.jpg
Image:The main library.jpg
Image:Peter Chalk.jpg

[edit] Streatham campus

Most students work on the main campus, Streatham, which includes the Northcott Theatre. Sitting on a hillside one side of which looks down across Exeter city centre, the campus is renowned for its beautiful landscaping and excellent views. The Independent has described the campus environment as ‘sublime’. The campus also has several galleries, including The Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture. There is also a Sculpture Walk, including pieces by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and a statue to commemorate the events at Tiananmen Square. There is a pub type bar called the Ram and a Bar/Nightclub Called the Lemon Grove (or Lemmy), both run by the Students' Guild. The campus boasts a medical centre, a counselling service, a children’s day-care centre, and numerous catering outlets. Many halls of residence and some self-catering accommodation are located on this campus or in the near vicinity. In 2005 Streatham Campus's newest building, the Xfi centre, was completed to provide facilities mainly but not exclusively for postgraduate study into finance and investment.

[edit] St Luke's campus

Several thousand students, mainly Sports Scientists and Education students (both undergraduates and postgraduates), live and work at St. Lukes. This campus also houses part of the Peninsula Medical school, which is a joint venture with the University of Plymouth.

[edit] Tremough campus (University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus)

The University of Exeter's Cornwall campus, Tremough now houses all the university's activity in Cornwall, previously scattered across the county. It is part of the Combined Universities in Cornwall project, and is shared with University College Falmouth. University of Exeter departments on the site include the internationally renowned CSM (Camborne School of Mines), whose graduates who are sought after by earth-based industries ranging from mining to electricity. CSM merged with the university in 1993 and is now part of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources. Other departments at Tremough include Conservation Biology, English, Geography and the Institute of Cornish Studies, and additional departments are being added.

[edit] Students' Guild

Students at Exeter are represented by a Guild of Students,<ref>Students' Guild.</ref> which has an active role in campaigning at local and national levels.

Exeter's Guild is home to award winning media: a student radio station Xpression FM,<ref>Xpression FM.</ref> a newspaper Exeposé,<ref>Exeposé.</ref> a website X-Net<ref>X-Net.</ref> and television station XTV.<ref>XTV.</ref> There is also a volunteering agency within the Students' Guild called Community Action,<ref>Community Action.</ref> which runs its own projects with members of the local community that are run by volunteers and provides further volunteering opportunities through links with external partner organisations. There is a RAG (Raising and Giving) group<ref>RAG.</ref> which exists to raise money for five nominated charities, and collects in town centres around Britain every weekend. RAG events are run by students, under the co-ordination of a full-time member of staff. The main aim of these societies and activities groups is to provide opportunities for student development. The Guild of Students was renamed the Students' Guild in 2005.

There are over 100 affiliated student societies, ranging from the Theatre Company and Creative Writing to the LDYS, Conservative Future, and Socialist Students societies. There are a large number of sports clubs, although the Athletic Union (AU) is now a separate body from the Students' Guild but strong links remain. The Debating Society which predates establishment of the university, started life in 1927 as The Exeter Debating Society, with the inaugural speaker being Anthony Eden.

Students are represented by a sabbatical team consisting of a President, Deputy President (based at the St Lukes Campus), Finance, Activities and Trading Officer (FATO, Formerly General Secretary), Education Officer, Welfare and Equal Opportunities Officer and the Athletic Union President. There are also other non sabbatical officers representing areas of the student population and student activities areas. These are elected by students in a series of elections throughout the academic year.

[edit] New Developments

The University has undergone an investment programme worth more than £140 million in recent years. £38 million has been invested in new student accommodation, including the new Holland Hall, named after the former vice-chancellor of the same name. £8m has been invested in sports facilities, including a professional-standard tennis centre. A £1m upgrade has been carried out to the students’ union building and nightclub and £1.5m has been spent improving access for people with disabilities. In October 2002, The Peninsula Medical School, a partnership between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, admitted its first students of medicine. In 2005, the new University of Exeter Centre for Finance and Investment (Xfi), the result of a multi-million pound gift from a mystery donor, was opened. Thanks to a donation of £650,000 from the Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, an extension has been added to the also recently constructed Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies Building. A new £28 million Peninsula Dental School, a partnership between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, will open its doors in October 2007. The dental school will have places for 62 graduate entry students each year. The South West of England Regional Development Agency is investing £9.7m in phase II of the University of Exeter Innovation Centre. The project is currently under construction and will create a 38,000 square ft building for use by new and growing businesses within the development and research sectors at the university's Streatham campus. Phase I of the Innovation Centre was finished in 2000 and houses high-tech businesses from the software, biomedical sectors to advanced manufacturing and internet firms.

[edit] Department closures

Image:Exeter protests over Chemistry closure.png

Since 2000 the University has undergone a process of restructuring in order to focus on areas of strength. In common with a number of similar universities, it closed its chemistry department in 2004. At the same time, the University also closed its music department, and stopped offering single honours degrees for Italian.

The university said that it must close the chemistry department due to falling student demand for the discipline, and that the department was losing money.[citation needed]

Although similar moves elsewhere had attracted little attention, a media storm blew up around this issue, perhaps because of the high profile that Exeter's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve Smith, was taking in UK university politics at the time.[citation needed] While the university claimed cost-cutting as a major reason, losing 130 jobs from the closures, the AUT questioned the university's figures.<ref>AUT (2004-11-26). AUT questions 130 Exeter redundancies.</ref>

On thursday, 25 november 2004, about 2,000 students marched in protest over the decision,<ref>"Save Our Departments", Exeposé, 2004-11-29.</ref>, making the local television news. Some even attempted to sell the university on eBay in protest.<ref>"Students put university on eBay", BBC News, 2004-11-25.</ref>

Sir Harold Kroto, a nobel laureate returned his honorary degree from this institution in protest afainst this move.<ref>"Nobel winner in degree protest", BBC News, 2004-11-29.</ref> Shortly afterwards, his own institution, the University of Sussex, made a similar proposal, though this is currently stalled.

In 2006, the University commissioned a feasibility study into potential sale of St Luke's site, moving the three schools there into Streatham campus.<ref>"[http://exepose.ex.ac.uk/exepose/200607/Exepose%20-%202006-10-09.pdf Is this the end for St Lukes?]", Exeposé, 2006-10-09.</ref> According to emails from the Vice-Chancellor, the "problem is one of success, that is if these three Schools achieve their planned expansion ... then we will simply run out of space at St Luke's."<ref>Email from the Vice-Chancellor to all students, 2006-10-04</ref>

[edit] Notable current and former staff members

NB Vice-chancellors are listed above and are not repeated here

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Writers and Artists

[edit] Politicians

[edit] Military

  • Jonathon Band - First Sea Lord and chief of the Naval Staff (head of the Royal Navy)

[edit] Royalty

[edit] Media and Journalism

[edit] Actors/Directors

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Entrepreneurs

[edit] Law and order

[edit] Sport

[edit] Academicia

[edit] Others

[edit] Fictional Alumni

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] Global Partnership

[edit] External links

Universities in South West England

Bath | Bath Spa | Bournemouth | Bristol | Exeter | Gloucestershire | Plymouth | UWE

The 1994 Group (of smaller British research universities)
Bath | Birkbeck | Durham | East Anglia | Essex | Exeter | Goldsmiths College | Lancaster | Leicester | Loughborough | Queen Mary | Reading | Royal Holloway |
School of Oriental and African Studies | St Andrews | Surrey | Sussex | Warwick* | York
* Also a member of the Russell Group
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