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University of Bristol

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Education

   CAPTION: University of Bristol

   University of Bristol logo
   Latin: Bristolliensis (Bris.)
     __________________________________________________________________

   Motto Vim promovet insitam
   [Learning] promotes one's innate power, from Horace, Ode 4.4
   Established 1909 (predecessor in 1876)
   Type Public
   Chancellor The Baroness Hale of Richmond
   Vice-Chancellor Prof Eric Thomas
   Staff 5,521
   Students 16,000
   Postgraduates 5,200
   Location Bristol, United Kingdom
   Campus Urban
   Affiliations Russell Group, Coimbra Group, WUN
   Website www.bristol.ac.uk

   The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. It
   received its Royal Charter in 1909 and is one of the original "
   redbrick" universities.

Overview

          "There shall be from henceforth for ever in Our said City of
          Bristol a University..."

                — King Edward VII, Charter of Incorporation of the
                University of Bristol, 4 December 1909

   The University was preceded by the University College of Bristol
   founded in 1876. Since the founding of the University itself in 1909,
   funded by Henry Overton Wills III, the University has grown
   considerably and is now a member of the Russell Group of research-led
   UK universities, the Coimbra Group of leading European universities and
   the Worldwide Universities Network (the WUN).

   The University College was the first such institution in the country to
   admit women on the same basis as men. The University is now one of the
   largest employers in the local area, although it is considerably
   smaller by student numbers than the nearby University of the West of
   England. Bristol does not have a campus but is spread over a
   considerable geographic area. Most of its activities however, are
   concentrated in the city centre.

   The University offers a wide range of courses: undergraduate,
   postgraduate (taught and research), full-time and part-time spanning a
   long list of disciplines (see below). Its particular strengths lie in
   Medicine, Engineering (see History) and Law. The University usually
   ranks in the top ten of British universities in newspaper league tables
   and was ranked 60th in the world in 2004, rising to 49th in the world
   in 2006. Bristol is also known for its research strength, having 15
   departments gaining the top grade of 5* in the latest RAE ( Research
   Assessment Exercise) in 2001, and for its teaching strength, having an
   average Teaching Quality Assessment score of 22.05/24 before the TQA
   was abolished. This reputation lead to Bristol being the most
   oversubscribed of any United Kingdom university in the 2001 UCAS
   admissions round, with 11 applications for every undergraduate place.
   For admissions in 2004, this figure had declined only slightly to 10.2
   applications per place.

   The University has been regarded as being elitist, taking one third of
   its undergraduate students from non-state schools. In late February and
   early March 2003, Bristol became embroiled in a row about admissions
   policies, with some private schools threatening a boycott based on
   their claims that, in an effort to improve equality of access, the
   University was discriminating against their students. These claims were
   hotly denied by the University. In August 2005, following a large-scale
   survey, the Independent Schools Council publicly acknowledged that
   there was no evidence of bias against applicants from the schools it
   represented. The University has a new admissions policy which lays out
   in considerable detail the basis on which any greater or lesser weight
   may be given to particular parts of particular applicants backgrounds —
   in particular what account may be taken of which school the applicant
   hails from. This new policy also encourages greater participation from
   locally resident applicants.

   Bristol, in common with most other UK universities, has faced
   increasing shortfalls in funding for teaching in recent years (although
   the budget is usually in surplus, the University has little room for
   further borrowing). It was a proponent of the recently introduced, and
   highly controversial, variable tuition fees policy of the UK
   Government, with the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eric Thomas, writing an
   article in The Sunday Times in support. After due consideration, the
   University decided to charge the full £3000 fees for all undergraduate
   courses from 2006/ 7, and offer means-tested bursaries to students
   affected by the new fees. This pattern of charging has emerged as the
   norm amongst English universities, with the competition largely between
   the size and nature of the bursaries offered.

History

The early years

   The Wills Memorial Building
   Enlarge
   The Wills Memorial Building
   Most of the buildings here are used by the University. The Wills
   Memorial Building is left of centre. Viewed from the Cabot Tower on
   Brandon Hill
   Enlarge
   Most of the buildings here are used by the University. The Wills
   Memorial Building is left of centre. Viewed from the Cabot Tower on
   Brandon Hill
   The Victoria Rooms now house the University's Department of Music.
   Enlarge
   The Victoria Rooms now house the University's Department of Music.

   After the founding of the University College as a College of the
   University of London in 1876, Government support began in 1889 and
   allowed the opening of a new Medical School and an Engineering School
   (after mergers with the Bristol Medical School and the Merchant
   Venturers' Technical College), two subjects which remain among the
   University's greatest strengths. In 1908, gifts from the Fry and Wills
   families (who made their fortunes in chocolate and tobacco
   respectively), particularly £100,000 from Henry Overton Wills III (£6m
   in today's money) were provided to endow a University for Bristol and
   the West of England, provided that a Royal Charter could be obtained
   within two years. In December 1909, the King granted such a Charter and
   erected The University of Bristol; Henry Wills became its first
   Chancellor. He died in 1911, and in tribute his sons George and Harry
   built the Wills Memorial Building, started in 1913 and completed in
   1925 — a spectacular edifice which dominates the city to this day.
   These days, it houses parts of the academic provision for law,
   management & finance, geography & geology amongst others and graduation
   ceremonies are held in its Great Hall. In 1920 George Wills bought The
   Victoria Rooms and endowed them to the University as a Students' Union
   — one of the first Student Unions in the country.

   At the point of foundation, the University was required to provide for
   the local community. This mission was behind the creation of the
   Department of Extra-Mural Adult Education in 1924 to provide courses to
   the local community. This mission continues today — the new admissions
   policy specifically caters to the 'BS' postcode area of Bristol.

   In 1927 the H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory was opened by Ernest
   Rutherford. It has since housed some of Bristol's most famous names:
   Paul Dirac ( 1933), a Bristol graduate; Cecil Frank Powell ( 1950);
   Hans Albrecht Bethe ( 1967); and Sir Nevill Francis Mott ( 1977). The
   Laboratory stands on the same site today close to the Bristol Grammar
   School and the city museum and remains at the forefront of research in
   the field.

   Sir Winston Churchill became the University's third Chancellor in 1929,
   serving the University in that capacity until 1965.

Towards mass higher education

   During World War II, the Wills Memorial was bombed, destroying the
   Great Hall and the organ it housed. It has since been restored to its
   former glory, complete with oak panelled walls and a new organ.

   In 1946, the University established the first drama department in the
   country. In the same year, Bristol began offering special entrance
   exams and grants to aid the resettlement of servicemen returning home.
   Student numbers continued to increase, and the Faculty of Engineering
   eventually needed the new premises that were to become Queen's Building
   in 1955. This substantial building housed all of the University's
   engineers until 1996 when Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
   moved over the road into the new Merchant Venturers' Building to make
   space for these rapidly expanding fields. Today, Queen's Building
   caters for most of the teaching needs of the Faculty and provides
   academic space for the 'heavy' engineerings ( civil, mechanical,
   aeronautical).

   With unprecedented growth in the 1960s, particularly in undergraduate
   numbers, the Student's Union eventually acquired larger premises in a
   new building in the Clifton area of the city, in 1965. This building
   was more spacious than the Victoria Rooms, which were now given over to
   the Department of Music. The new Union provides many practice and
   performance rooms, some specialist rooms as well as three bars: the
   Epi; the Mandela (also known as AR2) and the Avon Gorge. Whilst
   spacious, the Union building is thought by many to be ugly, and out of
   character compared to the architecture of the rest of the Clifton area.
   It is also rather away ftom the areas where the students are taught.
   There are long term plans to relocate the Union back to the most
   central part of the city.

   The Sixties were a time of considerable student activism in Britain,
   and Bristol was no exception. In 1968, many students marched in support
   of the Anderson Report which called for higher student grants. This
   discontent culminated in an 11-day sit-in the Senate House (the
   administrative headquarters of the University).

The modern university

   As the age of mass higher education dawned, Bristol continued to build
   its reputation and its student numbers. The various undergraduate
   residences were repeatedly expanded and more recently, some
   postgraduate residences have been constructed. These more recent
   ventures have been funded (and are run) by external companies in
   agreement with the University since the University currently has little
   borrowing facility left available to it to finance large capital
   ventures without external funding. Current residences are:

Undergraduate residences

          Name                   Established            External link
   Badock Hall        1964                              Website
   Churchill Hall     1956; expanded 1960, 1980         Website
   Clifton Hill House 1909; expanded 1960, 1972         Website
   Durdham Hall       1993                              Website
   Goldney Hall       1956; expanded 1994               Website
   Hiatt Baker Hall   1966                              Website
   Manor Hall         1932;
                      constituent parts various;
                      main building refurbished 1997- 8 Website
   University Hall    1971; expanded 1992               Website
   Wills Hall         1929; expanded 1969, 1990         Website

Postgraduate residences

   Name Established External link
   Chantry Court 2002; run by Unite Website
   Deans Court 2001; run by the Dominion Housing Group Website
   Hodgkin House Run by the Anglican Church Website
   Methodist International House Run by the Methodist Church Website

Mixed residences

        Name                    Established               External link
   Unite House    2003; run by Unite                      Website
   Woodland Court 2005; run by the Dominion Housing Group Website

   After a recent rearrangement, Bristol now has 6 Faculties: Arts,
   Engineering, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Medicine and Dentistry,
   Science, and Social Sciences & Law. Between them they comprise 52
   separate Departments, offering over 200 undergraduate courses and 110
   taught postgraduate courses. Additionally, the University offers
   postgraduate degrees by research (see Degrees of the University of
   Bristol), spanning a huge range of specialist topics.

   1981 saw the establishment of one of the few Centres for Deaf Studies
   in the UK, followed in 1988 by the Norah Fry Centre for research into
   learning difficulties.

   Also in 1988 and again in 2004, the Students' Union AGM voted to
   disaffiliate from the National Union of Students. On both occasions,
   however, the subsequent referendum of all students reversed that
   decision and Bristol remains affiliated to NUS.

   As the number of postgraduate students has grown (particularly the
   numbers pursuing taught Master's Degrees) there eventually became a
   need for separate representation on University bodies and the
   Postgraduate Union (PGU) was established in 2000.

   Universities are increasingly expected to exploit the intellectual
   property generated by their research activities and, in 2000, Bristol
   established the Research and Enterprise Division (RED) to further this
   cause (particularly for technology-based businesses). In 2002, the
   University opened a new Centre for Sports, Exercise and Health in the
   heart of the University precinct. Local residents are also able to take
   advantage of its facilities.

   Expansion of teaching and research activities continues. In 2004, the
   Faculty of Engineering completed work on the Bristol Laboratory for
   Advanced Dynamics Engineering (BLADE). This £20m project provides
   cutting-edge technology to further the study of dynamics and is the
   most advanced such facility in Europe. It was built as an extension to
   the Queen's Building and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in
   March 2005.

   In January 2005, The School of Chemistry was awarded £4.5m by HEFCE to
   create Bristol ChemLabS: a Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning
   (CETL), with an additional £350k announced for the capital part of the
   project in February 2006. Bristol ChemLabS stands for Bristol Chemical
   Laboratory Sciences; it is the only Chemistry CETL in the UK.

   There is also a plan to significantly redevelop the centre of the
   University Precinct in the coming years.

Chancellors

   The Chancellor is elected by Court on nomination by the Council. The
   initial term is ten years, although this is renewable. There have been
   seven Chancellors of the University:
     * Henry Overton Wills III, 1909 – 1911
     * The Viscount Haldane of Cloan, 1912 – 1928
     * Sir Winston Churchill, 1929 – 1965
     * The Duke of Beaufort, 1965 – 1970
     * Professor Dorothy Hodgkin, 1970 – 1988
     * Sir Jeremy Morse, 1989 – 2003
     * The Baroness Hale of Richmond, 2004 –

Vice-Chancellors

   There have been twelve Vice-Chancellors of the University:
     * Professor Conwy Lloyd Morgan, 1909
     * Sir Isambard Owen, 1909 – 1921
     * Professor E. F. Francis, (Acting) 1921 – 1922
     * Thomas Loveday, 1922 – 1945
     * Professor A. M. Tyndall (Acting) 1945 – 1946
     * Sir Philip Morris, 1946 – 1966
     * Professor J. E. Harris 1966 – 1968
     * Professor A. R. Collar 1968 – 1969
     * Sir Alec Merrison, 1969 – 1984
     * Professor P. Haggett (Acting) 1984 – 1985
     * Sir John Kingman, 1985 – 2001
     * Professor Eric Thomas, 2001 –

Constitution and governance

   Whilst the Chancellor is the titular head of the University, it is in
   practice led by the Vice-Chancellor, currently Prof. Eric Thomas, who
   is the University's Principal Academic Officer and Chief Executive
   Officer. He is supported by a team of 4 (but usually 3) Pro
   Vice-Chancellors: Profs. Malcolm Anderson, Avril Waterman-Pearson,
   David Clarke and Selby Knox; the Registrar (Derek Pretty) and a Deputy
   Registrar (Alison Allden) . There are also 2 Pro Chancellors, but their
   roles are purely ceremonial, deputising for the Chancellor when he or
   she is unable to attend.

   There are four organs of governance in the University. A brief overview
   may be found here.

Council

   Council comprises 32 members, with a lay majority and appoints its own
   Chairmain from among the lay members. The members are the
   Vice-Chancellor, the Pro-Vice-Chancellors, the Treasurer, 15 lay
   members elected by Court, a member appointed by Bristol City Council, a
   member appointed by the Society of Merchant Venturers, a member
   appointed by Convocation, 4 members of the academic staff, 2 members of
   the support staff and 3 students. Elected and appointed members serve
   for renewable three-year terms.

   The University Council is the supreme governing body of the University.
   It alone has the power to make changes to the University's Charter,
   Statutes and Ordinances and make the necessary recommendations to the
   Privy Council. The only exceptions to this are academic ordinances
   which Council may only make or amend with the consent of Senate, and
   changes to the constitutions of Court and Convocation which require
   approval from Court. If Court withholds consent, then after one year
   Council may impose the changes without Court's consent.

   The ceremonial officers of the University (the Chancellor and
   Pro-Chancellors) and the Treasurer are nominated by Council for
   approval by Court. The senior executive team of the University and the
   Professors are appointed by Council, after consulting Senate. Council
   may also institute or abolish any academic post, with Senate's consent.
   Honorary degrees are awarded by Council on nomination by Senate and
   Council recommends to Court the award of honorary fellowships. In fact,
   all degrees are awarded by Council, but for the most part this is after
   the approval of the relevant Board of Examiners and/or Degree
   Committee.

   Council is also ultimately responsible for the legal and financial
   affairs of the University and is, for example, the formal employer of
   all staff. The Council also holds Senate to account. It meets usually 6
   times per year, and is advised by a large number of Committees, some
   jointly formed with Senate.

Court

   There are approximately 550 members of Court. They include officers of
   the University, representatives of the non-academic staff, members of
   Council and Senate, emeritus Professors, benefactors, some members of
   the Society of Merchant Venturers, representatives of Local
   Authorities, people appointed by the Privy Council, people appointed by
   the Chancellor, representatives of other universities and colleges,
   local Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament,
   representatives of local and professional ('learned') societies, and
   about 100 members elected by and from Convocation. The students are
   represented by those they elect to Council and Senate and do not have
   direct electoral powers to Court. It is chaired by the Chancellor and
   usually meets once each year in December, although it may meet at other
   times if sufficiently many of its members so request.

   Court was formerly the only body in the University which could approve
   changes to the Charter and Statutes (before they were petitioned to the
   Privy Council). Thus, Council would recommend the changes and Court
   would debate and approve, amend or reject them. After a recent tussle
   with the Privy Council and the Department for Education and Skills,
   Court has lost these powers. Council is now the only body which can
   make such changes. Court's only residual powers in this respect are the
   ability to delay changes to the constitutions of itself and of
   Convocation; powers which were only barely retained.

   Some 'genuine' power retained is that to appoint the Chancellor,
   Pro-Chancellors and Treasurer, on the nomination of Council, to appoint
   the external auditors and to elect 15 of the lay members of Council.
   Note, however, that it can only select these (mainly ceremonial) posts
   on recommendation from other bodies and Court does not usually disagree
   with them. It also retains the power to remove its own members and
   those of Council, apart from those whose membership results from their
   office or from being members of the academic staff of the University.
   Thus most of the members of Court are excluded from this provision,
   though notably not most of Council, a situation the Privy Council does
   not seem concerned with.

   Court's role now is thus largely advisory. It receives an annual report
   from Council and the audited accounts. It may comment on the affairs of
   the University, may advise Council on any matter relating to the
   University and may invite Council to review a decision.

Senate

   There are a little over 100 members of Senate including the
   Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Deans of Faculties, Heads of
   Departments, the Registrar, Librarian, the President and Vice President
   of the Student's Union, the President of the Postgraduate Union,
   representatives of: the Undergraduate Deans, the Graduate Deans, the
   Professors and the non-professorial academic staff, and one
   undergraduate and one postgraduate student from each of the Faculties.

   Senate is the senior academic body in the University and changes or
   additions to the academic ordinances may only be made by Council with
   Senate's approval. It is responsible to Council for overseeing
   teaching, examinations and research and no new academic award may be
   created without Senate's approval. Recommendations for honorary degrees
   and professorships are made to Council by Senate and advice is given
   regarding the appointment or removal of the Vice-Chancellor,
   Pro-Vice-Chancellors and academic staff. Note that Senate has no
   influence over the Charter or Statutes, including the academic elements
   of them, since that power rests solely with Council.

   Being the ultimate academic authority in the University, Senate
   oversees the Faculties, Schools and Departments and may make
   recommendations to Council regarding their composition and structure.
   Similarly, it is the body formally responsible for controlling student
   admissions and student discipline. Senate has the formal power to
   declare an opinion on any matter relating to the University and Council
   is required to take that opinion into account in its discussions.

   Senate usually meets four times a year and is chaired by the
   Vice-Chancellor. After each meeting it reports to Council.

   There are a few Committees advising Senate, some construed jointly with
   Council.

Convocation

   Convocation has a large number of members: the Chancellor,
   Pro-Chancellors, Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellors, honorary
   fellows, members of Senate, academic staff, University officers,
   graduates, honorary graduates and such other former students as
   Convocation determines, currently those who have received academic
   awards requiring at least nine months of full-time study or an
   equivalent period of part-time study. There are also associate members,
   including all the academic-related staff of the University.

   It has little power in its own right, although it elects 100 members of
   Court and 1 member of Council. Like the other bodies, it may express an
   opinion on any matter relating to the University and it may communicate
   directly with Court, Council and Senate. Its principal function is to
   provide a forum for discussion for all the members of the University
   who have no other representation, and to organise alumni events and the
   like to ensure graduates stay in touch with the University.

   It meets each July, over a reunion weekend. It is formally chaired by
   the Chancellor, but the Chair of Convocation (currently Susannah Howie)
   more normally presides.

Degrees

   Bristol awards a range of academic degrees spanning bachelor's and
   master's degrees as well as junior doctorates and higher doctorates.
   The postnominals awarded are the degree abbreviations used commonly
   among British universities. The University is part of the Engineering
   Doctorate scheme, and awards the Eng.D. in engineering management and
   aerospace engineering .

   Bristol notably does not award by title any Bachelor's degrees in music
   which is available for study but awarded B.A. (although it does award
   M.Mus. and D.Mus.), or any degree in divinity since divinity is not
   available for study (students of theology are awarded a B.A.).
   Similarly, the University does not award B.Litt. (Bachelor of Letters),
   although it does award both M.Litt. and D.Litt. In regulations the
   University does not name M.D. or D.D.S. as higher doctorates although
   they are in many universities. This is because at the University of
   Bristol these degrees are normally accredited professional doctorates.

   The degrees of D.Litt., D.Sc., D.Eng., LL.D. and D.Mus., whilst having
   regulations specifying the grounds for award, are most often conferred
   as honorary degrees (in honoris causa). Those used most commonly are
   the D.Litt., D.Sc. and LL.D., with the M.A. (and occasionally the
   M.Litt.) also sometimes conferred honorarily for distinction in the
   local area or within the University.

Academic dress

   The University specifies a mix of Cambridge and Oxford academic dress.
   For the most part, it uses Cambridge-style hoods and Oxford-style
   gowns. Unusually for British universities, the hoods are required to be
   'University red' (see the logo at the top of the page) rather than
   black.

Famous alumni

   A list of some of the most famous alumni of the University can be found
   here.

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