University of Reading

The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. The university was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.

The university has a long tradition of research, education and training at a local, national and international level. It offers traditional degrees alongside less usual and other vocationally relevant ones.

History

University College, Reading

The university owes its first origins to the Schools of Art and Science established in Reading in 1860 and 1870. In 1892 the College at Reading was founded as an extension college by Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. The first President was the geographer Sir Halford John Mackinder. The Schools of Art and Science were transferred to the new college by Reading Town Council in the same year.

The new college received its first treasury grant in 1901. Three years later it was given a site, now the university's London Road Campus, by the Palmer family of Huntley & Palmers fame. The same family supported the opening of Wantage Hall in 1908, and of the Research Institute in Dairying in 1912.

University status

The college first applied for a Royal Charter in 1920 but was unsuccessful at that time. However a second petition, in 1925, was successful, and the charter was officially granted on 17 March 1926. With the charter, the college became the University of Reading, the only new university to be created in the United Kingdom between the two world wars.

In 1947 the university purchased Whiteknights Park, which was to become its principal campus. In 1984 the University started a merger with Bulmershe College of Higher Education, which was completed in 1989.

In October 2006, the Senior Management Board proposed the closure of its Physics Department to future undergraduate application. This was ascribed to financial reasons and lack of alternative ideas and caused considerable controversy, not least a debate in Parliament over the closure which prompted heated discussion of higher education issues in general. On 10 October the Senate voted to close the Department of Physics, a move confirmed by the Council on 20 November. Other departments closed in recent years include Music, Sociology, Geology, and Mechanical Engineering. The university council decided in March 2009 to close the School of Health and Social Care, a school whose courses have consistently been oversubscribed.

In January 2008, the university announced its merger with the Henley Management College to create the university's new Henley Business School, bringing together Henley College's expertise in MBAs with the University's existing Business School and ICMA Centre. The merger took formal effect on 1 August 2008, with the new business school split across the university's existing Whiteknights Campus and its new Greenlands Campus that formerly housed Henley Management College.

A restructuring of the university was announced in September 2009, which would bring together all the academic schools into three faculties, these being the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social sciences, and Henley Business School. The move was predicted to result in the loss of some jobs, especially in the film, theatre and television department, which will shortly be moving into a brand new £11.5 million building on Whiteknights Campus.

In late 2009 it was announced that the London Road Campus was to undergo a £30 million renovation, preparatory to becoming the new home of the university's Institute of Education. This is planned for completion in the summer of 2011, and is being partially funded by the sale of the adjoining site of Mansfield Hall, a former hall of residence, for demolition and replacement by private sector student accommodation.

The university is a lead sponsor of UTC Reading, a new university technical college which opened in September 2013.

Campuses

The university maintains over 1.6 square kilometres (395 acres) of grounds, in three distinct campuses:

• Whiteknights Campus, at 1.3 square kilometres (321 acres), is the largest and includes Whiteknights Lake, conservation meadows and woodlands as well as most of the University's departments. The campus takes its name from the nickname of the 13th century knight, John De Erleigh IV or the 'White Knight', and was landscaped in the 18th century by the Marquis of Blandford. The main University library, in the middle of the campus, holds nearly a million books and subscribes to around 4,000 periodicals. It also has a lake, which is home to many Mandarin Ducks.

• The smaller London Road Campus is the original university site and is closer to the town centre of Reading. The London Road site is home to The Institute of Education - one of the leading providers of teacher training in the UK. The Institute moved to its new home in January 2012. The campus was refurbished at a cost of £30 million, providing it with the best and most attractive facilities in the UK. The London Road site also plays host to the University graduation ceremonies twice a year, in the Great Hall.<http://www.reading.ac.uk/education/about/ioe-about.aspx>

• The Greenlands Campus, on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. Once the home of William Henry Smith, son of the founder of WH Smith, and latterly the site of the Henley Management College, this campus became part of the university on 1 August 2008, with the merger of that college with the university's Business School to form the Henley Business School. The school's MBA and corporate learning offerings will be based at Greenlands, with undergraduate and other postgraduate courses being based at Whiteknights.

• The Bulmershe Court Campus in Woodley was the site of the former Bulmershe Teaching College, which merged with The University of Reading in 1989. The campus was sold in January 2014 as the University decided to concentrate its activity on its three other campuses. It had previously moved all teaching and research at Bulmershe either to Whiteknights or to London Road, and closed the student accommodation.

The university also owns 8.5 square kilometres (2,100 acres) of farmland in the nearby villages of Arborfield, Sonning and Shinfield. These support a mixed farming system including dairy cows, ewes and beef animals, and host research centres of which the flagship is the Centre for Dairy Research.

As part of the proposed Whiteknights Development Plan in Autumn 2007, the University proposed spending up to £250 million on its estates over 30 years, principally to focus academic activities onto the Whiteknights site. The University also announced its intention to site some functions on the London Road site, and proposed a complete withdrawal from Bulmershe Court by 2012, which was accomplished.

In October 2012, the university administration announced plans to establish its first overseas campus in Malaysia. The project will be overseen by Tony Downes.

Museums, libraries and botanical gardens

Reading University maintains four museums, a main campus library, a range of inter-departmental libraries, and a botanical garden. The largest and best known of these museums is the Museum of English Rural Life, which has recently relocated from a location on Whiteknights Campus to a site nearer the town centre on the London Road Campus. The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, the Cole Museum of Zoology, the University of Reading Herbarium and the Harris Garden are all on the Whiteknights Campus.

The Whiteknights Main Library holds catalogue of over 1.2 million books, as well as a range of electronic resources, videos and archives, in 14,000 square metres of public space on five floors of resources, a maintenance floor, entrance plaza and the Knowledge Exchange. The secondary library at the University's Bulmershe Campus is no longer in operation and its collections have been transferred to the Whiteknights Main Library. There is also a library in the University's Meteorology department.

Organisation and governance

Henley Business School

Henley Business School is a highly selective, top-ranking business school, among only 58 institutions worldwide (less than 1% of business schools globally) to be granted Triple accreditation by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: EQUIS, AMBA and the AACSB. It includes several academic areas:

• Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting
• Leadership and Organisational Behaviours
• International Business and Strategy
• ICMA Centre
• Real Estate and Planning

Graduate School

The university-wide Graduate School is a Faculty provides training and a range of support for doctoral researchers and related staff across the other four Faculties.

Governing bodies and roles

The university is nominally led by a Chancellor, who is the titular head of the university, and is normally a well-known public figure. The day-to-day chief executive role is the responsibility of the Vice-Chancellor, a full-time academic post. The senior management board of the university is headed by the Vice-Chancellor, assisted by a Deputy-Vice-Chancellor, three Pro-Vice-Chancellors, four Deans and five Heads of Directorate. It is responsible for the day-to-day management of the University and meets fortnightly throughout most of the year.

The senior management board reports to the university's Senate, the main academic administrative body. The senate has around 100 members and meets at least four times a year and advises on areas such as student entry, assessment and awards. Membership includes Deans, Heads and elected representatives of Schools, as well as professional staff and students. The Senate in turn reports to the Council, which is the supreme governing body of the university, setting strategic direction, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and approving constitutional changes. The Council meets four times a year, and comprises a broad representation of lay members drawn from commercial, community and professional organisations.

Academic profile

Rankings and reputation

In the government's 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) Reading was ranked 40th in the UK across the assessment of all its research in a ranking produced by The Guardian.

Departments in the University has been awarded the biannual Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education four times: in 1998, in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Law category, for work on Shakespeare; in 2005, in the Environment category; in 2008, again in Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; and in 2011, for "teaching and design applications in typography, through print and new technologies" in the Arts.

Reading was the first university to win a Queen's Award for Export Achievement, in 1989.

The School of Agriculture Policy and Development was ranked top in the UK and 11th in the world, according to the QS classification of universities by subject.

Finance

In recent years the university has been beset by controversy, with closing departments and job losses among staff. The university will lose 7.7% of its HEFCE funding in fiscal year 2010â€"2011.

Affiliated institutions

The Gyosei International College in the U.K. was established on property acquired from the University of Reading in 1989. The college, later renamed to the Witan International College, was acquired by the University of Reading in 2004. Witan College closed in 2008.

Student life

Reading University Students' Union (RUSU) is the affiliated student organisation which represents the students' interests. The university also has a number of Junior Common Rooms that are linked to the Students' Union. The Students' Union has been the launch pad for many political careers including Penny Mordaunt (MP for Portsmouth North), who was the 1994â€"5 President of the Students' Union.

The Students' Union runs the student radio station Junction11 Radio, an online student radio station. It also publishes Spark*, a newspaper aimed at the student population of the University, which is published fortnightly during term-time only and award winning student television station RU:ON.

The union provides a free advice service to students, and facilitates over 160 different activities for students to get involved in. The Students' Union building on Whiteknights Campus contains an 2000 capacity venue called 3sixty, two bars, and a number of retail outlets.

Halls and accommodation

Student accommodation is provided in a number of halls of residence offering a mix of partially catered (19 meals per week) and self-catering accommodation, along with other self-catering accommodation. Following a major review the University is now preceding with the integrated Halls and Catering Strategy, that will see several halls replaced as well as new ones created with social, catering & welfare facilities provided in hub areas. Most of the halls of residence lie close to the northern campus periphery and in residential areas close by.

Halls are managed in the following groups: Lakeside, comprising Bridges, Bulmershe and Wessex; Northcourt, comprising Sherfield, Benyon and St Patrick's Hall; Park, comprising Greenow, McCombie, MacKinder, Stenton, Windsor and Dunsden Crescent; Redlands, comprising Hillside, Martindale, St. George's, Wells and Wantage; and Estates Management, comprising 35 Upper Redlands Road, Mansfield and St. David's.

Wantage Hall is thought to be the oldest purpose built hall outside of 'Oxbridge' and is built in the style of an 'Oxbridge' hall.

St. Andrews Hall closed in 2001, and is now the home of the Museum of English Rural Life.

St. George's Hall and the Reading Student Village are leased back to the University from UPP. The cost of leasing back the Student Village to the University, according to the University accounts, was £1.3 million in 2002â€"03 and £1.5 million for 2003â€"04.

In 2011 the management of the mature and international halls, Hillside and Martindale, was taken over by the "Estates management team". In the same year the new Kendrick Halls were opened, this were on the ground of halls which had not been in use for many years. These are not managed by the university.

In 2012, UPP and the University announced that they would be redeveloping Bridges Hall. The Hall is scheduled to reopen for the 2014â€"15 academic year.

Working with business

Reading hosts a number of private sector businesses on its campuses, either occupying dedicated buildings or in managed space at the Science & Technology Centre or Enterprise Hub.

Science & Technology Centre

The University of Reading Science & Technology Centre is situated on the eastern side of Whiteknights Campus. The Science & Technology Centre supports and accommodates technology companies from start-up through to larger SMEs.

The following notable companies are based at, or have been based at, the Science & Technology Centre:

• Assuria Ltd
• Reading Scientific Services Ltd

Reading Enterprise Hub

Reading Enterprise Hub is a business incubator opened in 2003. The hub was jointly sponsored by the university and SEEDA, and sought to attract startup high tech companies, particularly those with interests in environmental technology, information technology, life sciences, and materials science.

The hub was originally situated in World War II era temporary office buildings on the university's Whiteknights campus. During the summer of 2008 the hub was demolished, along with the neighbouring former agriculture buildings, and the remaining tenants relocated to a building on the London Road campus. As of April 2010, a new Reading Enterprise Centre is being constructed on the hub's original site.

Dedicated buildings

Besides its use of the Science & Technology Centre, Reading Scientific Services also occupies the Reading Science Centre, situated on the eastern side of Whiteknights campus.

Officers

Principals of University College, Reading

• Sir Halford John Mackinder (1892â€"1903)
• William Macbride Childs (1903â€"1926)

Chancellors of the University of Reading

• J. H. Benyon (1926â€"1935)
• Sir Austen Chamberlain (1935â€"1937)
• Sir Samuel Hoare, Viscount Templewood (1937â€"1959)
• Lord Bridges (1959â€"1969)
• Sir Roger Makins, Lord Sherfield (1970â€"1992)
• Lord Carrington (1992â€"2007)
• Sir John Madejski (2007â€")

Vice-Chancellors of the University of Reading

• William Macbride Childs (1926â€"1929)
• Sir Franklin Sibly (1929â€"1946)
• Sir Frank Stenton (1946â€"1950)
• Sir John Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden (1950â€"1963)
• Sir Harry Raymond Pitt (1964â€"1978)
• Ewan Page (1979â€"1993)
• Sir Roger Williams (1993â€"2002)
• Gordon Marshall (2003 â€" July 2011)
• Tony Downes (acting; July 2011 â€" January 2012)
• Sir David Bell (January 2012â€")

Notable academics

• Stanislav Andreski â€" was a professor of Sociology at the University of Reading
• Malcolm Barber â€" Emeritus Professor of History, University of Reading
• Dianne Berry â€" Professor of Psychology and Dean of Postgraduate Research Studies at the University of Reading
• William de Burgh â€" Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
• Mark Casson â€" Professor of Economics, University of Reading
• Howard Colquhoun â€" Professor of Materials Chemistry, University of Reading
• John Cottingham â€" Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
• Neil Crosby â€" Professor of Real Estate, University of Reading
• Jonathan Dancy â€" Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
• Michael Drew â€" Professor of Chemistry, University of Reading
• Antony Flew â€" Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
• Sir Terry Frost â€" was Professor of Fine Art, University of Reading
• Michael Fulford â€" Professor of Archaeology and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading
• Colin S. Gray â€" Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies, University of Reading
• Edward Guggenheim â€" was a thermodynamicist and professor of chemistry at the University of Reading
• Andrew Gurr â€" was a professor of English at the University of Reading until his retirement and is a leading authority on Shakespeare
• Beatrice Heuser â€" Professor of International Relations, University of Reading
• Gustav Holst â€" was a professor of Music at University College, Reading
• Harold Hopkins â€" was a professor of Applied Physical Optics at the University of Reading
• Sir Brian Hoskins â€" Professor of Climatology, University of Reading and Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London
• Michael Lockwood - Professor of Space Environment Physics, University of Reading
• William Burley Lockwood â€" Professor of Germanic and Indo-European Philology 1968â€"1982
• J-P Mayer - Professor Emeritus, editor of the works of Alexis de Tocqueville and founder of the Tocqueville Research Centre at the University
• Roger W. Mills â€" Emeritus Professor of Finance, University of Reading
• Edith Morley - Professor of English, University College, Reading: the first woman appointed (1908) to a chair at an English university-level institution.
• Crispin St. J. A. Nash-Williams â€" was a professor of Mathematics at the University of Reading
• Frank R. Palmer - Emeritus Professor of the Linguistic Science, University of Reading
• Richard Rado â€" was a professor of Mathematics at the University of Reading
• Peter Robinson â€" poet, poetry editor at Two Rivers Press, and Professor of English and American literature at the University of Reading
• Hugh Macdonald Sinclair â€" pioneer of human nutrition and visiting professor in Food Science at the University of Reading
• Keith Shine â€" Professor of Climatology, University of Reading
• Sir Frank Stenton â€" was a professor of History at the University of Reading
• Galen Strawson â€" Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
• Percy and Annie Ure â€" husband and wife team. Percy was the first professor of classics at Reading and Annie was the curator of the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology
• Andrew Wallace-Hadrill â€" Director of the British School at Rome and professor of Classics, University of Reading
• Kevin Warwick â€" Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading

Notable alumni

Academics

• Ash Amin â€" Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge
• Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Vice-Chancellor designate of the University of Liverpool
• L. J. F. Brimble, botanist and editor of Nature magazine
• Sir Clifford Charles Butler â€" co-discoverer of hyperons and mesons, Professor of Physics at Imperial College London, Vice-chancellor of Loughborough University
• Stephen E. Calvert â€" Emeritus Professor of Geology, University of British Columbia
• Michael Cox â€" Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics
• Sir Peter Crane â€" Professor of Botany, Yale University
• Andrew Dobson â€" Professor of Political Science, Keele University
• Beate Hermelin (1920â€"2008) â€" German-born experimental psychologist, who worked in the UK
• Sean Holly â€" Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
• Jolyon Howorth â€" Professor of European politics, University of Bath and Visiting Professor of Political Science at Yale University
• Michael Leifer â€" was a professor of International Relations, London School of Economics
• David Marks â€" Professor of Psychology, City University London
• Dragan MaruÅ¡ič â€" Professor of Mathematics at the University of Ljubljana
• Avi Shlaim â€" Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford
• June Thoburn - Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of East Anglia
• John Turner â€" Professor of Engineering and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth
• A. E. Wilder-Smith â€" creationist and chemist

Broadcasting

• Julian Barratt â€" comedian, BBC's The Mighty Boosh
• Keith Bosley â€" former BBC broadcaster and prizewinning poet and translator
• Richard Holmes â€" military historian and television presenter
• Kaddy Lee-Preston â€" TV weather presenter
• Julian Richards â€" archaeologist and broadcaster
• Richard Sambrook â€" Director of the BBC World Service
• Tomasz Schafernaker â€" TV weather presenter
• Nick Thorpe â€" BBC Central Europe correspondent (1996â€"); formerly BBC Budapest correspondent
• Laura Tobin â€" TV weather presenter
• Jay Wynne â€" TV weather presenter

Politics

• Anton Apriantono â€" food technology scientist, serving as Indonesia's Minister of Agriculture since 2004
• Dimeji Bankole â€" Nigerian politician and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria
• Fred Gardiner - Canadian politician who took an officer's course at Reading during World War I
• Edison James â€" Prime Minister of Dominica 1995â€"2000, Leader of the Opposition, 1990â€"1995 and 2000â€"2007
• Shukuru Kawambwa â€" Tanzanian Minister of Education and Vocational Training
• Jan Kavan â€" Czech diplomat and politician
• Penny Mordaunt â€" Conservative Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North
• Mike Penning â€" Conservative Member of Parliament for the Hemel Hempstead parliamentary constituency
• Mark Prisk â€" Conservative Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford
• Hugh Robertson â€" Conservative Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid Kent
• Rob Wilson â€" Conservative Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency

Music

• Arthur Brown â€" rock and roll singer
• Jamie Cullum â€" jazz pianist and singer
• Hilary James â€" singer, double bassist, guitarist, and mando-bassist
• Liam Howe â€" music producer, musician, formed the band Sneaker pimps with David Westlake and Joe Wilson (musician) also alumni
• Simon Mayor â€" mandolinist, fiddle player, guitarist, and composer
• Alan Clayson â€" singer, composer, record producer, leader of the band Clayson and the Argonauts
• Andy MacKay â€" member of the band Roxy Music
• Martin Noble â€" musician, Noble in the band British Sea Power
• Edmund Rubbra â€" composer
• Twelfth Night â€" progressive rock band active 1978â€"1987, formed at Reading University by five alumni
• Julian Wagstaff â€" composer
• Scott Wilkinson â€" musician and composer, Yan in the band British Sea Power

Sport

• Anna Watkins (full name) or Anna Bebington (birth name) â€" rower, bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Olympic Gold medalist London 2012 rowing, PhD student in Mathematics (currently on sab for training)
• Cath Bishop â€" rower, Olympic silver medallist
• James Cracknell â€" rower, double Olympic gold medallist
• Debbie Flood â€" rower, quadruple sculls silver medallist at the 2004 Olympics
• Alex Gregory - rower, Olympic gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics
• Gary Herbert â€" rower, Olympic gold with Greg and Jonny Searle in the coxed pair in Barcelona 1992 Olympics
• Molly Hide â€" captained English women's cricket team for seventeen years
• Will Hoy â€" British Touring Car champion
• Bill Lucas - rower

Writing and art

• Steven Atkinson â€" theatre director, and artistic director of HighTide Festival Theatre
• Anne Bean - installation and performance artist
• Vincent Connare â€" creator of Comic Sans
• Jeff Evans â€" beer writer
• Robert Gillmor â€" ornithologist, artist, illustrator, author and editor
• Kathleen Hale â€" artist and children's author, the Orlando the Marmalade Cat series
• Duncan MacMillan - playwright, Lungs, 1984 (with Headlong)
• Mike Nelson â€" installation artist
• Wilfred Owen â€" war poet
• Joan Smith â€" novelist and journalist
• Richard Wilson â€" installation artist
• David Watkins â€" designer of the London 2012 Olympics medals

Military

• Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, Welsh Guards officer killed in action in Afghanistan
• Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas, killed in action (2014) in Afghanistan

Others

• Eve Balfour â€" farmer, educator, organic farming pioneer, and a founding figure in the organic movement
• Azahari Husin â€" leading member of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, believed to have been involved in the 2005 Bali bombing
• Robin Bextor â€" film and television director, father of Sophie Ellis Bextor
• Clive Ponting â€" civil servant who faced trial for the leaking of information on the sinking of the Belgrano, during the Falklands War
• Peter Romary â€" attorney, philanthropist and humanitarian
• Wei Tang â€" actress, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution
• John Tabatabai â€" professional poker player

Business

• David Atkins â€" Chief Executive, Hammerson plc
• Nick Candy â€" Co-Founder and partner of high end property development company, Candy & Candy, London
• Gavin Grant â€" Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Nicky Kinnaird â€" founder and president of British cosmetic retailer Space NK
• Robert Noel â€" businessman, Chief Executive of Land Securities Group plc

See also

• List of modern universities in Europe (1801â€"1945)

References

External links

• Official website

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