University of Warwick: Difference between revisions
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A plan to open a 10,000-student campus in Singapore was abandoned in October 2005 amid concerns about academic freedom, cost, and freedom of speech for students. |
A plan to open a 10,000-student campus in Singapore was abandoned in October 2005 amid concerns about academic freedom, cost, and freedom of speech for students. |
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[[Image:Warwick_university_buildings_panoramic_- |
[[Image:Warwick_university_buildings_panoramic_-_Manufacturing_and_CS_and_Maths.jpg|thumb|700px|center|Recently constructed buildings on the Warwick campus; (left to right) the International Manufacturing Centre (IMC), the Department of Computer Science (DCS), and the [[Erik Christopher Zeeman|Zeeman]] building (Maths and Statistics).]] |
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One of the [[United Kingdom|UK]]'s [[Plate glass universities|younger universities]] (founded in [[1965]]), Warwick has quickly established itself as one of the UK's leading seats of learning. According to [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8404-1246845,00.html The Sunday Times University Guide], the University of Warwick was rated as "Excellent" for 19 courses. |
One of the [[United Kingdom|UK]]'s [[Plate glass universities|younger universities]] (founded in [[1965]]), Warwick has quickly established itself as one of the UK's leading seats of learning. According to [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8404-1246845,00.html The Sunday Times University Guide], the University of Warwick was rated as "Excellent" for 19 courses. |
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Revision as of 14:02, 6 May 2006
| Logo of the University of Warwick | |
| Motto | Mens agitat molem "Mind over Matter" |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1965 |
| Chancellor | Sir Nicholas Scheele |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof David VandeLinde |
| Students | 17,904 |
| Undergraduates | 10,077 |
| Postgraduates | 6,272 |
| Location | , |
| Affiliations | 1994 Group, Russell Group, AMBA, EQUIS, Universities UK |
| Website | www.warwick.ac.uk |
The University of Warwick is a campus university in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1965 as part of government plans to expand higher education to a mass public and, like the other new universities, its location was decided in response to strong support from councils and other local institutions and in the face of fierce competition from other areas. Despite its name, it is located mainly inside the southern boundary of Coventry, some 11 km (7 miles) from the town of Warwick. Part of the campus (the Cryfield site) is built on land donated by Warwickshire. The campus originally consisted of low-cost Modern architecture (apparently in deliberate contrast with the medieval and classical character of Oxbridge architecture). The low cost was imposed by the government of the day, which required the new universities to be built at rates below those previously used for Britain's older universities. Since its establishment the campus has expanded to 750 acres with many modern buildings and academic facilities, lakes and woodlands. A recent survey by The Times resulted in the campus being voted the best in the UK by a national poll of university students.
Warwick has amongst the highest entry grades in the UK [1], and with almost ten applications per place [2] competition is fierce. Almost 80% of students go on to gain first or upper second class degrees [3].
In the 1960s and 1970s, Warwick had a national reputation as a politically radical institution. The early years of the institution were characterised by confrontations between students, staff and the administration over the involvement of business and industry in the development of the University. The University's associations with industry were criticised in E. P. Thompson's book Warwick University Limited.
More recently, the University has been seen as a favoured institution of the British 'New Labour' government. Tony Blair described the University as "a beacon among British universities for its dynamism, quality and entrepreneurial zeal"[4]. The University's reputation for a commercial approach to management, however, has led some to criticise it as being "The University of Warwick plc" [5].
A plan to open a 10,000-student campus in Singapore was abandoned in October 2005 amid concerns about academic freedom, cost, and freedom of speech for students.
One of the UK's younger universities (founded in 1965), Warwick has quickly established itself as one of the UK's leading seats of learning. According to The Sunday Times University Guide, the University of Warwick was rated as "Excellent" for 19 courses.
The University of Warwick is also home to the Modern Records Centre, Britain's largest repository of the archives of trade unions and industrial relations. A recent addition is the Leicester-Warwick Medical School, one of a number of medical schools opened in an attempt to increase the relatively low numbers of doctors trained in the UK.
It is a member of both the Russell Group and the 1994 Group.
Attainment
According to the Guardian the University was ranked 5th for quality of research out of 124 of the institutions which took part in the UK Funding Councils' 2001 Research Assessment Exercise[6]. Over 91% of the University's academic staff are located in departments with top research ratings of 5 or 5*.
Warwick consistently ranks well in rankings of UK universities such as the The Sunday Times University Guide (6th place overall in 2005), The Times Good University Guide (8th), and The Guardian University Guide (8th place overall in 2006). Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Imperial College London are the only universities which have never been out of the Top 10 in the British league tables.
In the two attempts at producing World University Rankings, Warwick lies at joint 77th place in the world according to The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005, and in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2005 ranking (which places Universities in equal groups of approximately one hundred after the first hundred individually ranked Universities), Warwick is placed in the 203-300th rank.
The University of Warwick was ranked 8th overall, according to Guardian Rankings, in the UK and 18 of Warwick's departments were ranked in the top 10: American Studies, Biological Sciences, Business Studies, Classics, Theatre Studies, Economics, Engineering, Education, English, History and History of Art, Law, Mathematics, Film Studies, Philosophy, Social Policy, Sociology and Politics.
Staff
Well known members of staff at Warwick have included:
- Germaine Greer, the feminist author
- Mike Cowlishaw, creator of the REXX programming language.
- Andrew Davies, the television screenwriter
- Stephen Houlgate, Bill Brewer, and Keith Ansell-Pearson, philosophers
- Ian Stewart, mathematician and author
- Jack Cohen, developmental biologist and xenobiologist
- Andrew Oswald, economist
- David Morley, poet
- Nick Land, cybernetics theorist
- David Hardiman, well known Indian/Ghandian historian and author.
- E.P. Thompson, Marxist historian and founding member of the CND.
- Paul Raffield, current lecturer in law; actor in Joking Apart
- Sir Christopher Zeeman, the famous topologist and exponent of Catastrophe theory, founded the Mathematics Department and Mathematics Institute.
- The Coull String Quartet has been quartet-in-residence since 1977.
- Patrick Atiyah Q.C., barrister and legal writer.
Alumni
Famous people to have attended the University of Warwick include:
Politicians
- Baroness Amos (Sociology, grad. 1976) – Britain's first female black Cabinet Minister, currently Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
- David Davis (Molecular Science/Computer Science, 1968–1971) – Conservative Shadow Home Secretary
- Andrew Dismore (Bachelor of Laws), 1975 – Member of Parliament for Hendon
- Yakubu Gowon (PhD in Political Science) – former Nigerian Head of State
- Kim Howells – Minister for Higher Education at the Department for Education and Skills
- Estelle Morris – former Labour Secretary of State for Education
- Wendy Alexander – member of the Scottish Parliament
- George Saitoti – mathematician, politician, and former Vice-President of Kenya
- Valentine Strasser – former head of state of Sierra Leone (did not graduate)
Civil Servants
- Sir Gus O'Donnell (Economics, grad. 1973) – Cabinet Secretary, the highest ranking civil servant in the British Civil Service
Mathematicians
- Ian Stewart – the popular science author, and member of Royal Society
- David Lake – the popular mathematician and magician
Journalists
- Jennie Bond (French and European Literature, grad. 1968) – former BBC Royal Correspondent
- Brian Deer – journalist
Writers
- Jonathan Coe – novelist
- Simon Calder (Mathematics) – travel writer for The Independent
- A. L. Kennedy – author
Media presenters / Media people
- Merfyn Jones – member of the Board of Governors of the BBCand vice-chancellor of the University of Wales, Bangor
- Timmy Mallett (History) – 1980s children's television presenter
- Frank Skinner – popular author, comedian and chat-show host
- Simon Mayo (History, grad. 1981) – broadcaster
Actors / Directors
- Paul W. S. Anderson – film director
- Hannah Waterman – actor
- Alex Jennings – actor who has performed in many lead roles at the RSC
- Stephen Merchant – comedy writer/director
- Julian Rhind-Tutt - actor best-known from the award-winning comedy series Green Wing
Musicians
- Sting – lead singer of The Police and solo artist (did not graduate)
- DJ Yoda - (English and American Literature grad. 1998) Hip hop turntablist
Philosophers
- David Wood – philosopher at Vanderbilt University
- Andrew Benjamin – philosopher at Monash University
Chancellors
- Lord Radcliffe (1965–1977)
- Lord Scarman (1977–1989)
- Sir Shridath Ramphal (1989–2002)
- Sir Nicholas Scheele (2003–present)
Vice-Chancellors
- Lord Butterworth (1965–1985)
- Dr C.L. Brundin (1985–1992)
- Professor Sir Brian K. Follet (1993–2001)
- Professor David VandeLinde (2001–present)
Professor VandeLinde has announced that he intends to retire at the expiry of his current contract in Summer 2006. It was announced on November 29th 2005 that he would be replaced by Professor Nigel Thrift, currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Oxford.
Campus Media
- Radio Warwick, one of the most successful student radio stations in the UK Link
- Warwick Boar, an award-winning, weekly newspaper Link
- Warwick TV, a fast-growing television station Link
Students' Union
The University of Warwick Students' Union is one of the more active Students' Unions in the UK, currently having over 200 societies and around 70 sports clubs. It has an annual turnover of approximately £5 million, the profit from which is used to provide services to students and to employ its staff and Sabbatical officers. The Union building contains four "club" venues and seven bars, with some events such as Top Banana and Skool Days encompassing the entire building.
In late 2005 the student body voted for a ban on smoking in all Union buildings via a cross-campus referendum, though (somewhat controversially) the implementation of this policy will not occur until a forthcoming national ban is implemented.
Recently the abortion issue has been a hot-topic on campus. Pro-choice and No-stance policies have both been overturned in the past eighteen months by the student population.
Drinks prices are not considered to be particularly cheap, although the Union has recently introduced a £1-per-drink night as part of Top Banana on Mondays.
The Union is a member of the National Union of Students (NUS) and West Midlands Area NUS (WMANUS).
Each year in January, the University of Warwick plays host to the world's largest student-run international event, One World Week. Other student run events include Green Week, Warwick Economics Summit and Warwick Student Arts Festival.
In the summer of 2006, Warwick University will host a nationally unprecedented event in the Warwick World Cup '06. Raising money for charity, it aims to bring the 100+ nationalities represented together through a large scale men's and women's football tournament which runs parallel to the FIFA World Cup in Germany. It is a phenomenal project, with thousands secured through sponsorship and donations, and ever-increasing media interest.
University Arts Centre
Situated at the centre of the University, the Warwick Arts Centre is the second largest arts centre in the UK (after London's Barbican).
The centre comprises:
- The Butterworth Hall, a 1500-seat capacity concert hall
- A 550-seat theatre
- A 180-seat theatre studio
- A 220-seat cinema
- The Mead Gallery, an art gallery.
Hospitality Services & Warwick Retail
Warwick was a pioneer among UK Universities in opening its halls and lecture facilities to outside organisations, for profit, during the holidays. Warwick Conferences is now a thriving internal business unit, with its profits contributing to the University's financial independence, with a dedicated, year-round conference centre, Scarman House, built on campus.
Unfortunately some such developments have led to many students becoming disillusioned by the manner in which the University seems more concerned with profit than education. Construction work and other preparation for conferences can sometimes interrupt teaching or cause disruption near student accommodation.
Furthermore a number of security breaches, technical difficulties with internet provision in 2005 and 2006, and slow responses to emergency problems with heat and water has made Warwick Accommodation unpopular with many students resident on campus.
The University also has a small portfolio of businesses – Warwick Retail – a private company limited by shares wholly owned by the University of Warwick, whose object is the operation of retail shops. Facilities offered include:
- Costcutter Supermarket
- University Bookshop
- Lazerlizard
- Sozo Gift Shop
The University also created and owns the temporary employment agency Unitemps and the higher education recruitment website jobs.ac.uk.
Information
In 2002, the total number of students was 17,904. This figure comprised:
- undergraduates: 10,077
- postgraduates: 6,272
- overseas undergraduate and postgraduate students: 2,948
- other programmes: 1,555
- overseas students on other programmes: 1,484
Total number of staff: 4,354, including:
- academic: 824
- other research: 728
Size of campus:
- 2.9 km² (720 acres)
The University's coat of arms includes atoms of two isotopes of lithium, a DNA helix to represent science and also the Bear of Warwickshire and the Elephant of Coventry (the bear is not chained in the University's current coat of arms - although it was in earlier versions).
