Hope University, Liverpool

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Whilst Liverpool Hope University is one of the newest universities in Britain, itshistory stretches back over a century and a half, when the Church of England Diocese of Chester and the Roman Catholic Sisters of Notre Dame established separate teacher education Colleges for women. These Colleges (S.Katharine's and Notre Dame) were in Warrington and Liverpool City Centre respectively. They were supplemented on Merseyside when a second Catholic teacher education College, Christ's College, on a site adjacent to S. Katharine's, admitted its first students in 1965.

In 1980 these three Colleges joined in an ecumenical federation under the holding title of Liverpool Institute of Higher Education (LIHE). The late Archbishop Derek Worlock and Bishop David Sheppard wrote of this as being "a sign of hope" (Better Together).

In 1995 a new Instrument and Articles of Government established a single, unified, ecumenical College, and a new name -Liverpool Hope -which better reflected its role and Mission. A Company Limited by Guarantee and registered as a Charity was formed.

Meanwhile, expansion followed in both the range of degrees and in student numbers. The status of a fully accredited institution of the University of Liverpool had been achieved in 1994. This gave full responsibility to the College for the quality and standards of its course provision and provided recognition of its academic standing. In 1998, the Accreditation Agreement was renewed for five years and extended to cover taught postgraduate awards. After extensive scrutiny by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2001 and 2002, Liverpool Hope University College gained taught degree awarding powers in August 2002.

The application to become a University - submitted in September 2004 - was successful and the Privy Council approved the title Liverpool Hope University in July 2005.

The values of Hope The values to which Hope aspires and which are integral to the fulfilment of the Mission are to strive to:

be open, accessible and inclusive, take faith seriously, being fully Anglican, fully Catholic, fully ecumenical, fully open to those of all faiths and beliefs, be intellectually stretching, stimulating, challenging, be hospitable, welcoming, cheerful, professional, full of Hope; creating collegial, aesthetically pleasing environments and supportive communities, be well-rounded, holistic, integrated, a team, a community of communities, collaborating in wider partnerships.

Mission Statement Liverpool Hope University is an ecumenical Christian Foundation which strives:

to provide opportunities for the well-rounded personal development of Christians and students from other faiths and beliefs, educating the whole person in mind, body and spirit, irrespective of age, social or ethnic origins or physical capacity, including in particular those who might otherwise not have had an opportunity to enter higher education;

to be a national provider of a wide range of high quality programmes responsive to the needs of students, including the education, training and professional development of teachers for Church and state schools;

to sustain an academic community, as a sign of hope, enriched by Christian values and worship, which supports teaching and learning, scholarship and research, encourages the understanding of Christian and other faiths and beliefs and promotes religious and social harmony;

to contribute to the educational, religious, cultural, social and economic life of Liverpool, Merseyside, the North-West and beyond.