University of York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

University of York
Motto	In limine sapientiae On the threshold of wisdom
Established	1963
Type	Public
Chancellor	Greg Dyke
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Brian Cantor
Staff	3,082
Students	12625[1]
Undergraduates	8715[1]
Postgraduates	3910[1]
Location	Heslington, York, UK
Campus	Heslington and King's Manor
Affiliations	1994 Group, EUA, White Rose, WUN, N8 Group
Website	www.york.ac.uk

The University of York is a campus university in York, England. Over 30 departments and centres cover a wide range of subjects in the arts, social sciences, science and technology. A proportion of the university's teaching is divided along collegiate lines; some students also live in college accommodation.

The landscaped campus, constructed in the mid-1960s, is on the outskirts of the medieval city, next to the village of Heslington. The campus is home to York Science Park and the National Science Learning Centre. The university also uses a number of historic buildings in the city centre.

Consistently ranked among the top ten universities in the UK for teaching, York also has a low dropout rate and an impressive reputation for academic research.

Contents 1 History 2 Critical assessment 3 Colleges 4 Academic departments 5 The Heslington campus 6 The King's Manor 7 Student activities 8 Future expansion 9 Notable alumni 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

One of a series of new British universities, the University of York was opened in 1963, admitting 200 students. At the time the university consisted of three buildings, principally King's Manor (former residence of Thomas Wentworth, and one-time headquarters of the Council of the North) and Heslington Hall (former residence of Thomas Eynns, Secretary and Keeper of the Seal to the Council of the North). A year later, work began on the Heslington Campus (see below), which today forms the main part of the University.

There were several earlier proposals for the development of a university in York. In 1903 F. J. Munby and others (including the Yorkshire Philosophical Society) proposed a "Victoria University of Yorkshire",^[2] whilst the College of Ripon and York St John also considered purchasing Heslington Hall in the past as part of a proposed new campus.

[edit] Critical assessment

In newspaper league tables, York ranks within the top ten universities in the UK, coming second in The Daily Telegraph university league table in 2001, and, in 2003, The Sunday Times named it "University of the Year". In 2006 the Sunday Times ranked York 7th in its overall university league tables. It is also frequently at the top of subject specific league tables. In official government assessments York has regularly been ranked either first or second in the country for the quality of its teaching. More state-school pupils come to York than any other leading university, according to a recent study.

York has an impressive reputation for research with 18 subjects out of 23 receiving a rating of 5 and three 5* ratings in the last Research Assessment Exercise. York is a founder member of the World Universities Network WUN which supports world-wide collaboration in teaching and research. In 2005 the University was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for CNAP, the Centre for Novel Agricultural products which explores the potential from the biosphere to reduce the global economy's dependence on fossil reserves and fuel.^[3]

There are around eight applications for every place and a very low dropout rate of 4% (only Oxbridge, Bristol, and UCL are lower^[4]).

[edit] Colleges

The university is based on eight colleges, which provide accommodation for students and some academic departments. In practice, the colleges fall somewhere between the halls of residence seen in other UK universities and the traditional Oxbridge colleges. By date of construction the colleges are:

• Derwent, named after the River Derwent
• Langwith, after Langwith Common and the abandoned village of Langwith
• Alcuin, after Alcuin of York, a monk and scholar who became the adviser of Emperor Charlemagne
• Vanbrugh, after architect John Vanbrugh
• Goodricke, after astronomer John Goodricke
• Wentworth, now a post-graduate only college, after Earl Thomas Wentworth
• James, (originally a graduate-only college but admitted undergraduates in the academic year 1993/94) after Lord James of Rusholme (the University's first Vice Chancellor)
• Halifax, originally Halifax Court, made a college in the academic year 2001/02, after Lord Halifax

(Derwith, a shared extension of Derwent and Langwith colleges, on the other side of University Road to both of its parents, was built in about 1988)

There are also several off-campus residences, including Constantine House, Walmgate, and Fairfax House.

[edit] Academic departments

A complete list of departments may be found at the University's website.

• Archaeology, located at King's Manor, incorporates the former Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies.
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Economics and Related Studies, located in Alcuin College.
• Educational Studies, located in Langwith College.
• Centre of Eighteenth-Century Studies
• Electronics
• English and Related Literature, located in Langwith College.
• Environment
• Health Sciences
• History, located in Vanbrugh College.
• History of Art, located in Vanbrugh College.
• Language and Linguistic Science
• The York Management School
• Mathematics, located in Goodricke College.
• The Hull York Medical School [1], opened in 2003, is shared between the Heslington campus and the University of Hull.
• Centre for Medieval Studies
• Music, containing one of the earliest electronic music studios built in the United Kingdom. It was also one of the first departments to include the teaching of ethnomusicology in its undergraduate courses, and has its own gamelan orchestra.
• Philosophy, located in Derwent College.
• Physics
• Politics, located in Derwent College.
• School of Politics, Economics and Philosophy, located in Derwent College.
• Psychology
• Social Policy and Social Work, located in the Seebohm Rowntree Building, Alcuin College.
• Sociology, located in Wentworth College. Staff in the sociology department work actively on various topics, including conversation analysis and sociological theory. The department contains an important Science and Technology Studies Unit, based in the department at Wentworth College.
• Theatre Film and Television
• Centre for Women's Studies
• The Centre for Novel Agricultural Products

The campus is also home to the National Science Learning Centre, a government initiative opened by the Prime Minister in 2006 to revitalise science teaching in schools, and the York Science Park, which provides facilities and accommodation for technology companies and start-up companies.

[edit] The Heslington campus

In 1964, work began on the campus facilities in the grounds of Heslington Hall. The marshy land was drained, forming the narrow, winding lake which dominates the campus, and extensively landscaped. The original buildings were designed by architect Andrew Derbyshire, and assembled using the CLASP system of prefabricated construction. Scattered around the lake, the buildings are connected by numerous covered walkways and bridges. Most of the university's arts departments inhabit the colleges, while many of the science departments have their own buildings.

A major landmark building is Central Hall, a daringly-designed half-octagonal concert hall whose appearance is frequently likened to that of a spaceship. As well as University convocations and examinations, it is used as a venue for theatrical and musical performances, and has played host to Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, and Paul McCartney. Performances by big-name acts have been rarer at the university following a 1985 Boomtown Rats concert, during which the cover of the Central Hall orchestra pit was damaged.^[5][6] A ban on pop performances, and in particular dancing, in Central Hall was imposed by the University, although it has occasionally been waived. Central Hall is still used for classical concerts. Public concerts are regularly held in the music department's Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, the Rymer Auditorium and in some of the colleges.

At the time of its construction, the campus lake was proclaimed to be the largest plastic-lined lake in Europe^{[citation needed]}. It has attracted a large population of wild and feral waterfowl. These include Greylag, Canada, Barnacle and Snow geese and large numbers of ducks, including Tufted Duck, Pochard and a Ruddy Shelduck. There is also a growing population of Black Swans and a few Great Crested Grebes. The southern end of the lake has been established as a bird sanctuary. Fishing is permitted in season, on purchase of a license.

The Heslington campus has both indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including an all weather pitch and County standard cricket pitch. A large, tent-like structure was recently built for indoor sport, gymnastics and dance.

[edit] The King's Manor

See also King's Manor.

Located in the centre of the city of York, around three miles from the main Heslington campus, The King's Manor is home to the Archaeology, Medieval Studies and Eighteenth Century Studies departments and is regularly used by other similar departments such as History. It has a public restaurant and is used for art displays.

[edit] Student activities

The university has an unusually high number of active student societies. University Radio York (URY), the student radio station, is the oldest independent radio station in the United Kingdom, and winner of the Student Radio Awards Best Station Award 2006. Nouse, the oldest student newspaper on Campus, was established in 1964 and was 2005 NUS/Mirror Student paper of the year; its rival newspaper, Vision, was named Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year for three consecutive years between 2002 and 2004 - the only time this has occurred in the 27-year history of the prestigious awards. It also won Best Small Budget Publication at the 2006 NUS/Mirror National Student Media Awards. There also exists student television station YSTV, England's first student TV station and one-time holder of the world record for longest continuous television broadcast under a single director.

The University of York Music Society [2] is one of the largest societies on campus with over 400 members. The Music Society, in collaboration with DramaSoc (below), elect and put on the annual musical in Central Hall with the Central Hall Musical Society (CHMS) - normally attracting over 1,800 students over a three night production. 2005 proved to be a fantastic year for CHMS with three sold out nights of 'Fame - The Musical' and gaining Royal recognition by HRH Prince William and HRH The Duke of York - the first York society to gain such an accolade. The Music Society also was the first student run society in the UK to offer monetary aid to those wishing to further their musical abilities by offering students Music Society Bursaries. Recently, under the chairmanship of Soumya Basu (Schmitt), the Society started to rebrand itself to lose the 'stigma' attached to it and continues to do so with collaborations with other societies such as the York University Pole Exercise Club [3] resulting in 'Goldrush' - a fundraising event raising money for MSF.

The University of York DramaSoc is one of the university's largest societies, and stages a play every week of term in the Drama Barn, as well as organising other projects such as open drama nights, and the annual 24 hour musical. Another of the University's dramatic societies is the Gilbert and Sullivan Society who put on a fully staged production every spring. In addition, they also put on a non-Gilbert and Sullivan show every summer, and give concerts and performances in the York area. There is also Pantsoc, the Pantomime Society, founded in just 2003, whose self-professed mission is "to enrich the lives of students through the magic of panto".^{[citation needed]}. Elsewhere, they describe this mission as being more of a "quest for tomfoolery and comic genius (and excessive amounts of alcohol on the way)". Pantsoc put on a student pantomime every January.

The York Union Society is the University of York's active and successful debating union, which competes in intervarsity tournaments against other universities, as well as teaching debating and speaking skills. The York union has also brought several important speakers to campus to argue their case on a range of issues.

Formerly known as The Cinematography Society, University of York Filmmaking Society is a student run filmmaking group. Since 1999 its members have made two features and many shorts, some of which have gone on to national film festivals. Commercial films are shown most nights of term weeks too.

Free membership of a 'hacking' society is available to all students of the Computer Science departmental, named "HackSoc", founded in 2004 as a way of providing students' access to a group of machines purchased by the department and put in an isolated environment known as the Playpen.

Despite lacking a central students' union social facility, York students enjoy a varied nightlife, particularly in the College bars on the Heslington campus. The city has numerous nightclubs and pubs, with Hull Road in particular developing into a student area. York St John University is also in the city, and has its own students' union with regular events.

Every summer term the students take part in the Roses Tournament, a sports competition against Lancaster University. The venue of the event alternates each year between York and Lancaster. In Spring 2005, a similar White Rose Varsity Tournament was held, between University of York and York St John College (now York St John University).

Each College has its own JCRC or students' association which provide a variety of services, including College events, student welfare, volunteering, charity work, recycling, College merchandise, College sports and representation to the College and University. They also organise the Freshers' Fortnight activities in their College.

The university student government organisation is called York University Students' Union (YUSU), the membership of which is currently the entire student population. Posts in YUSU are elected by the students yearly. Like many student unions, it can be criticised by students for being inward looking, and not representative of the student body as a whole. Low turnout at YUSU elections, and poor turnout at UGMs (Union General Meetings) are cited as evidence of this. The student societies are considered an integral part of YUSU and draw the larger part of their funds from it.^{[citation needed]}

The university also hosts a detachment of Leeds University Officer's Training Corps (UOTC).

[edit] Future expansion

Over the next decade, the University plans to increase student numbers by around 5,000, and to introduce a number of new subjects. The Departments of Law and of Theatre, Film and Television studies are already recruiting students. Pharmacy and Dentistry are planned. These intentions are based upon calculations of expansion of University numbers nationally and a re-targeting of the University's assets. For most of its history, the core strengths of the University were regarded as the technology departments - Physics, Computer Science and Electronics - and the traditional liberal arts - History and English. Successes in cancer research lead to a re-structuring of the Chemistry and Biology departments to bring them closer together, the founding of a Health Sciences department, the establishment of courses in Nursing and Midwifery, and the creation of the Hull York Medical School or HYMS. This entry into medical and health care training has led to a change in the University's priorities.

On the arts side, the University is building upon its reputation for fostering interdisciplinary studies. The Centre for Medieval Studies has been regarded as at the forefront of combining history, art history, archaeology, literary studies, architectural studies and drama to give a more rounded view of historical events and culture. This model has been successfully replicated with the establishment of the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies. The opening of the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies was in 2007, admitting the first postgraduate students in 2008. At the same time, the Department of English and Related Literature intends to expand upon its literary studies by placing more emphasis on creative writing and performance linked to the new Department for Theatre, Film and Television.

For a number of years, the University's expansion plans have been limited by planning restrictions on the Heslington West campus. The City of York planning conditions stipulate that only 20% of the land may be built upon, to retain its character.

In the academic year 2003/04, draft plans were finalised for a new second campus, called Heslington East. The proposal is for a new 70 hectare campus designed to mirror the existing main Heslington campus, to be built on land situated between Grimston Bar park and ride car park and Heslington village. This land is currently used for arable farming. Designs have yet to be finalised for the site and for the new buildings, but the current proposal includes landscaping the area, constructing an artificial lake and planting light woodland. Several departments are being considered for new, purpose-built facilities on the campus, including Computer Science and Law, and the University's Chancellor Greg Dyke has funded a professorship in the new Department of Theatre, Film and Television. Heslington East will be connected to the existing campus by a network of pathways and light transport links. The University hopes to begin construction in 2008, with the first buildings coming into use the following year. A lengthy consultation and planning exercise took place, with a public inquiry into the proposals being held^[7] in 2006 and a decision expected from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by May 2007.

In March 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair opened the National Science Learning Centre located at the University of York. The National Science Learning Centre serves as the hub for a £51 million national network of Centres dedicated to revitalising science teaching in schools. Thousands of science teachers, technicians and teaching assistants will attend residential courses at the Centre on the University's Heslington campus, where they can learn the latest teaching techniques, experiment with classroom equipment and keep abreast of the new technologies that can invigorate their science teaching. The National Science Learning Centre is operated by the White Rose University Consortium, comprising the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York together with Sheffield Hallam University.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Haleh Afshar, Professor of Politics and Women's Studies
• Daron Acemoglu, MIT Professor in economics, winner of the John Bates Clark Medal
• Kerry Andrew, composer and performed with Juice experimental voice trio
• Rollo Armstrong, musician (Faithless)
• Saleem Badat, Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University, South Africa
• Tony Banks (1943-2006), MP
• Hugh Bayley, MP
• Steve Beresford, musician
• Alan Burns, Computer Scientist
• Tanya Byron, TV child psychologist
• Alex Callinicos, Marxist intellectual, former Professor of Politics
• James Callis, actor
• Aníbal Cavaco Silva, economist, 11th Prime Minister and 21st President of Portugal, doctorate from York University
• Jung Chang, writer and historian
• Dave Cheeseman, underground session musician
• Richard Coyle, actor
• Gregory Dart, writer and journalist
• Michael Dobbs, journalist and author
• Jonathan Dollimore, professor
• Denise O'Donohue, TV producer
• Helen Dunmore, writer
• Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC and now Chancellor of the University of York
• Harry Enfield, comedian
• Ambrose Field, composer
• Paul Goodman, MP
• Linda Grant, Novelist, journalist
• Michael Gray, author
• Christine Hamilton, television personality
• Fabian Hamilton, MP
• Harriet Harman, MP and government minister
• Adam Hart-Davis, television producer / presenter
• Peter Hitchens, journalist
• Chris Hogg, BBC News correspondent, Tokyo, Japan
• Patrick Holford, nutrition expert
• Anthony Horowitz, British writer
• Berwick Kaler, actor
• Jonathan Isaby, Daily Telegraph journalist
• Oona King, ex-MP
• Mark Laity, former BBC news reporter, now NATO spokesman
• Carol Leader, actress and presenter of Playschool on television.
• Victor Lewis-Smith, comedian and writer
• Tim Liardet, poet
• Peter Lord, Oscar nominated director of Aardman Animations
• Genista McIntosh, theatre director
• Gordon McPherson, composer
• Dominic Muldowney, composer
• Greg Mulholland, MP
• Meg Munn, MP
• Albert Owen, MP
• Alvin Pang, poet
• Peter Robinson, poet
• Justina Robson, Science fiction author
• Mark Russell, radio presenter
• Ryan Sabey News of the World Royal Correspondent
• Verity Sharp, Radio 3 and The Culture Show presenter
• Tim Smith, BBC Radio 2 presenter
• Jeremy Strong, children's author
• Jonathan Stroud, author
• Graham Swift, author
• Jamie Turner, Founder of the 1Click group of companies
• Vincenzo Visco, former Italian finance minister
• Simon Wain-Hobson (Chemistry, 1974), HIV researcher
• Simon Webb, composer
• Trevor Wishart, composer
• John Witherow, newspaper editor (Sunday Times)
• Tony Worthington, MP
• Sir Colville Norbert Young, Governor-General of Belize

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• University of York website
• York University Students' Union (YUSU)
• YUSU Alternative Prospectus
• University Radio York (URY)
• YSTV - York Student Television
• Vision - University of York Student Newspaper
• Nouse - University of York Student Newspaper
• University of York Gilbert and Sullivan Society
• University of York Filmmaking Society
• University of York Gliding Club
• Overseas Students' Association
• York Campus Folklore
• Unofficial Student Guide to York University
• About Heslington East
• The National Science Learning Centre
• University of York Christian Union
• The York Union Society
• Map and aerial photo of University of York from Multimap.com
• Other map and aerial photo sources