University of Nottingham

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The University of Nottingham


Motto	Sapientia urbs conditur ("A city is built on wisdom")
Established	1798 (became a London university college 1881, separated from university of London 1948)
Type	Public
Endowment	£28.4 million ^[1]
Chancellor	Professor Fujia Yang
Vice-Chancellor	Sir Colin Campbell
Students	32,870 ^[2]
Undergraduates	24,920 ^[2]
Postgraduates	7,945 ^[2]
Location	Nottingham, England
Campus	330 acres
Colours	Green and Gold
Affiliations	Russell Group, Universitas 21, ACU, EUA
Website	http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/

The University of Nottingham is a leading research and teaching university in the city of Nottingham, in the East Midlands of England. It is a member of the Russell Group, and of Universitas 21, an international network of research-led universities. British newspapers regularly rank Nottingham among the top ten higher education institutions in the UK.^[3]

In 2005, it had more than 32,000 registered students, with more than 10 applicants per place. This included over 4,000 international students from more than 100 countries. Its current Chancellor and President is Chinese professor Fujia Yang, and its Vice-Chancellor is Sir Colin Campbell.

In 2006 it won the Times Higher Education UK University of the Year Award.

1 Research
2 Student life
3 Campuses
4 History
5 Organisation of the University
6 Notable alumni
7 International Rankings
8 Controversies
9 References
10 See also
11 External links

[edit] Research

Much of the pioneering work on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was done at Nottingham, work for which Nottingham professor Sir Peter Mansfield received the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2003. The University remains a strong centre for research into MRI and its 7 tesla scanner contains the most powerful magnet in the UK - it required 230 tonnes of iron cladding to prevent the surrounding area being affected by its powerful field. The University has contributed to a number of other significant scientific advances. Professor Frederick Kipping, Professor of Chemistry (1897-1936), made the discovery of silicone polymers at the University (but failed to realise the commercial significance of what is now a multi-billion pound industry). Major developments in the in vitro culture of plants and micropropogation techniques were made by plant scientists at Nottingham, along with the first production of transgenic tomatoes by Professor Don Grierson in the 1980s. Other innovations at the university include cochlear implants for deaf children and the brace-for-impact position used in aircraft. Other facilities at the university include the UK's seventh most powerful supercomputer.

The university is also strong in the humanities and social sciences, and in the same year that Sir Peter Mansfield won his Nobel Prize, Professor Clive Granger, who was at the university for 22 years as a student and academic, also won the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The University had 26 departments rated 5 or 5* (internationally excellent) in the UK Funding Council's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. The University is one of the top four UK universities for receiving research funding from private industry and commerce, for the year 2005-06 the university's research funds increased by 22.5% year-on-year to £122,809,720. The university is a key partner in the government's designation of Nottingham as a 'Science City'.

[edit] Student life

Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus

The University of Nottingham Students' Union is heavily involved with the provision of student activities at the university and has more than 150 student societies affiliated with it. A further 72 clubs are affiliated to the Students' Union's Athletic Union. The University consistently places within the top ten in the country in British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) rankings. The University participates annually in the Varsity Series, a number of sporting events between the students and staff of the University and traditional rivals Nottingham Trent University.

The student magazine Impact is published regularly in term time. A range of student theatre takes place at the University’s New Theatre, which is the only student run theatre in England: http://www.newtheatre.org.uk. The Students' Union runs two Sound and Lighting companies, TEC PA and Lighting, who provide their services for many student events at the University Park, and Jubilee campuses, and SB-TEC who provide their services to the Sutton Bonington Campus. The University Radio Station, URN / Student Radio for Nottingham has won approximately a third of all the BBC Radio 1 awards for student radio. The radio station also held the world record for the longest continuous radio broadcast at 42 hours. A number of other world records have been set at the university, including the most people in a Ford Sierra car (27) and the longest line of dancing drag queens (set by Broadgate Park Karni reps and residents) (49).

Campus 14 is a bar crawl of fourteen bars on the University Park campus and is a well-known campus tradition. It was officially banned by the university in 2001, but the tradition still (not so) quietly continues today.

[edit] Campuses

Trent Building and Highfields Lake, University Park Campus

[edit] Nottingham Campuses

University Park Campus to the west of the city centre, is the principal campus of the University and is widely regarded as one of the most attractive in the country. The University now has several further campuses, but all share similar design features to the original, being 'garden campuses' situated around a lake with extensive greenery (with the exception of Sutton Bonington campus which pre-dates the creation of University Park Campus).

Jubilee Campus is an award winning campus designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, opened by HM the Queen in 1999, a mile away from University Park. The rumour that the 'floating' library was sinking into the lake because the architect didn't calculate for the weight of the books is long-running but thankfully false. Following the purchase and demolition of the old Raleigh bicycle factory, the university intends to undertake further expansion of the campus with buildings by Ken Shuttleworth.

Sutton Bonington Campus houses the University's School of Biosciences and the new Veterinary School and is located about 12 miles (20 km) to the south of Nottingham, between the M1 motorway, Ratcliffe power station and the Midland Main Line railway.

The old Carlton Studios site on Lenton Lane was bought in March 2005, to become the King's Meadow Campus, which mainly houses administrative functions of the university.

Student accommodation for the majority of first year undergraduates and a number of other students is provided on the University's campuses in halls of residence. For further details see University of Nottingham Halls of Residence.

University of Nottingham Malaysia campus.

[edit] International Campuses

The Malaysia Campus is situated in Semenyih, a short distance from Kuala Lumpur. The University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China is the most recent campus, and is located in the city of Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China.

[edit] Medical School

The University also has one of the largest medical schools in the United Kingdom, and runs courses at a number of teaching hospitals. The main teaching hospital, the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) is located just across the A52 from the University Park Campus, and is the largest teaching hospital in Europe. In September 2003 the doors opened for the first intake at a new medical school in the nearby city of Derby, offering a 4 year fast-track postgraduate medicine course. On top of these, a few years ago the University of Nottingham took on a number of nursing teaching sites (formerly the Mid Trent Nursing College), these are located across the East Midlands and include sites at Boston, Derby, Lincoln and Mansfield as well as Nottingham. As of 2006 applicants will be required to sit the UKCAT admission test.

[edit] History

The University can trace its origins back to the founding of an adult education school in 1798. The foundation stone of the original University College in Shakespeare Street was laid in 1877, accompanied by a speech by William Ewart Gladstone. The building was formally opened in 1881 by Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Outgrowing its city centre site, in 1928 the University College moved to a new campus to the south west of the city, a move made possible by the generosity of Jesse Boot, later Lord Trent. His gift of land has gradually been added to, creating the current University Park Campus. In 1948 the College received its Royal Charter, which gave it the title of "university" and the power to confer degrees. Previously, its students received their degrees from the University of London.

Over time the University has seen steady expansion. In 1947 the Midlands Agricultural and Dairy College at Sutton Bonington merged with the university, in the 1970s the university established a medical school. In 1999 a new Jubilee Campus was opened on the former site of the Raleigh factory, one mile away from the University Park campus. More recently, the university has expanded overseas, opening campuses in Malaysia and China. In September 2005 the King's Meadow campus opened. Built on the site of a former television studio the campus hosts the university's administrative departments and the Information Services department.

The logo used until 2001

The university has used several logos over the years. Initially, the university coat of arms with the cross, book and towers was used, and is still used in books owned by the university's various libraries. Later, the university adopted a simpler logo, in which a stylised version of Nottingham Castle was surrounded by the text 'University of Nottingham'. In 2001 the university undertook a major rebranding exercise, including dropping this logo and replacing it with the current one (with the text to the right of the stylised castle).

[edit] Organisation of the University

Trent Building, University Park Campus

The Chief Officer of the University is the Chancellor, elected by the University Court on the recommendation of the University Council. The chief academic and administrative officer of the University is the Vice-Chancellor, who is assisted by five Pro-Vice Chancellors. The university is divided into five faculties, each headed by a Dean, and 32 schools of study.

The University's governing body is the University Council, which has 33 members, mostly non-academic. Its academic authority is the Senate, consisting of senior academics of the University and elected staff and student representatives. The University's largest forum is the University Court, presided over by the Chancellor.

[edit] Notable alumni

The most celebrated alumnus of the University of Nottingham is probably the novelist D. H. Lawrence (although his opinion of his alma mater was ambivalent at best). The university has particularly strong links with Malaysia, and two Malaysian Kings as well as several Malaysian government ministers are graduates. Other prominent alumni include 2003 Nobel Laureate Sir Clive Granger and 12 current members of the UK parliament.

For a more detailed list see: List of University of Nottingham people

[edit] International Rankings

The University of Nottingham over the years has experienced a successful and fast climb in international ranking lists for the best universities world wide. In 2006 the university was ranked at 74th place in Newsweek's 'The Top 100 Global Universities'^[4] and 79th in 'The Shanghai Jiao Tong University World Rankings'.^[5]

The University of Nottingham was named the Higher Education Institution of the Year in the Times Higher awards ^[6]

[edit] Controversies

From September 20 to December 7, 2004, the University was subject to an international academic boycott - 'greylisting' - after a breakdown in negotiations with the Association of University Teachers (AUT) on pay and conditions for academic staff. The AUT claimed that Nottingham failed to honour a commitment to follow a national agreement reached in March 2004. The University, however, claimed that its actions were in line with its undertakings in respect of the national agreement and that the University had sought to negotiate with the AUT from the start. The boycott led to disruption at Nottingham, with lectures scheduled to be given by lecturers from other universities being cancelled, participants withdrawing from conferences and, in the case of a Royal Geographical Society conference, the whole conference being moved to London. The boycott was suspended after agreement was reached on re-opening talks. The university was subsequently affected by a national pay dispute by the AUT in the summer of 2006, which led to the boycotting of some assessment.

The University also attracted controversy in 2001 when it accepted £3.8m from British American Tobacco for the creation of a centre of corporate social responsibility. The donation caused Professor Richard Smith, Editor of the British Medical Journal to resign from his post as professor at the university, a 20 strong Cancer Research Team to move to London, and the Cancer Research Campaign to stop its £1.5m fundraising campaign for the renovation of the University's cancer research facilities.

As a distributed University, the parity of course structure and equivalence between the various University of Nottingham campuses has raised some controversy, particularly over the MBA held at the Malaysian Campus.^[7]

The University has also caused some controversy amongst students for its proposed plans to build a hotel on the campus in order to raise more revenue for the University. Students are worried as to the effects having such a commercial establishment will have on student life and sports activities which currently take place at the planned location.^[8] It is suggested that the University is currently in talks with Hilton Hotels in regards to the project.

[edit] References

Fawcett, Peter and Neil Jackson (1998). Campus critique: the architecture of the University of Nottingham. Nottingham: University of Nottingham.
Tolley, B.H. (2001). The history of the University of Nottingham. Nottingham: Nottingham University Press.
www.nottingham.ac.uk