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University of Warwick

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University of Warwick
File:University of Warwick logo.png
MottoMens agitat molem
"Mind over Matter"
TypePublic
Established1965
ChancellorSir Nicholas Scheele
Vice-ChancellorProf Nigel Thrift
Students16,175
Undergraduates11,370
Postgraduates4,805
Location
Coventry
,
UK
Affiliations1994 Group, Russell Group, AMBA, EQUIS, Universities UK
Websitewww.warwick.ac.uk
File:Univ warwick crest.gif
The University of Warwick coat of arms

The University of Warwick is one of the leading universities in the United Kingdom. A campus university, it was established in 1965 as part of a government initiative to expand access to higher education. Warwick has grown to become one of the highest-ranked universities in the UK, consistently in the top 10 since its inception. In the last Research Assessment Exercise the University was the 5th highest-ranked research institution in the UK.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Warwick had a reputation as a politically radical institution. More recently, the University has been seen as a favoured institution of the British New Labour government. Warwick was one of the first UK universities to develop close links with the business community, and has been successful in the commercialisation of research. This commercial approach has resulted in it being nicknamed "Warwick PLC". It is situated on the southern edge of the city of Coventry, only 5 km from the city centre. Warwick University should not be confused with the University of Coventry.

Warwick is a member of both the Russell Group and the 1994 Group, the only university to be a member of both organisations.

History

Establishment

The establishment of the University of Warwick was given approval by the government in 1961 and received its Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1965. Its creation was supported by University of Birmingham Chancellor Aitken who acted as 'Godfather to the University of Warwick' (Ives, 2000, p.342). The initial plan was for a university college at Coventry attached to Birmingham but Aitken advised an independent initiative to the University Grants Committee (Ives, 2000, p.343).

It is situated on a large 2.8 sq. km campus which straddles the boundary between the City of Coventry and the County of Warwickshire. (Because of this there was much dispute between local sponsors from both the city and county over whether it should be named after Coventry or Warwickshire. The name "University of Warwick" was adopted at a compromise. [1]) The idea for a university in Coventry was mooted shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War but it was a bold and imaginative partnership of the City and the County which brought the University into being on a 400 acre site jointly granted by the two authorities. Since then, the University has incorporated the former Coventry College of Education in 1979 and has extended its land holdings by the purchase of adjoining farm land. The University also benefited from a substantial donation from the family of Jack Martin, which enabled the construction of the Warwick Arts Centre.

Rapid growth

The University initially admitted a small intake of graduate students in 1964 and took its first 450 undergraduates in October 1965. In October 2003, the student population was over 15,500 of which a third are postgraduates. 20% of the student body comes from overseas and over 114 countries are represented on the campus. The University has 29 academic departments and over 40 research centres and institutes, in four Faculties: Arts, Medicine, Science and Social Studies.

Since its establishment Warwick has expanded its campus to 700 acres with many modern buildings and academic facilities, lakes and woodlands. A recent survey by The Times resulted in the campus being voted the best in the UK by a national poll of university students.

A different type of university

The campus originally consisted of distinctive Modern architecture, in deliberate contrast with the medieval and classical character of older Universities. The freedom given to academic departments combined with an aggressive and unapologetic commercial approach, both policies of the first Vice-Chancellor Lord Butterworth, were new innovations for UK Higher Education and have subsequently been copied by many other Universities.

Even today Warwick has an identity of qualitative independence rather than academic competition. The Guardian commented that while "the outside world imagines universities aspire to Oxbridge, those in the know realise everyone now wants to be Warwick" (The Guardian, 1st May 2001)[1]. "Elite it may be, but not elitist"[2] was the BBC's verdict, noting that Warwick is one of the few universities to hit its target for the proportion of state students admitted (86%). This is mainly due to the University's distinctive community policy and commitment to increasing access to higher education.

Chancellors

Vice-Chancellors

Coat of arms

The University's coat of arms includes atoms of two isotopes of lithium, a DNA helix to represent science and also the Bear of Warwickshire and the Elephant of Coventry. The bear is not chained in the current depiction of the University's coat of arms, although it was in earlier versions, and in the letters patent issued by the College of Arms.

Campuses

File:Residence.JPG
Residence on Main Campus
Residence on Main Campus - overlooking a field
File:Warwick Accomodation.jpg
Warwick Accommodation
File:Warwick Campus River.jpg
Lake at the rear of Warwick Business School

The University of Warwick is located in Coventry, 5 km (3 miles) southwest of the centre of the city, and not in Warwick as its name suggests (52°22′52″N 1°33′43″W / 52.381°N 1.562°W / 52.381; -1.562 Coordinates: Extra unexpected parameters
). The University has three campuses:

In addition, other substantial University properties include:

  • University of Warwick Science Park
  • Clinical Sciences Building at University Hospital Coventry - part of the Warwick Medical School
  • Warwick HRI Research & Conference Centre, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire
  • Warwick HRI Research Centre, Kirton, Lincolnshire
  • 3 Carlton House Terrace, Central London - The University's offices in London, close to Trafalgar Square and overlooking the Mall and St James's Park

Academic standards

Research

The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s top 5 research universities (with Oxbridge, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics). Indeed, the University was ranked fifth for quality of research out of 124 of the institutions which took part in the UK Funding Councils' 2001 Research Assessment Exercise[3]. Over 91% of the University's academic staff are located in departments with top research ratings of 5 or 5*. Warwick is particularly renowned for its research in mathematics,statistics, business and management, economics, english language and literature, and theatre studies in which it received top ratings of 5* in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Rankings

Warwick is consistently well placed in rankings of UK universities such as the The Sunday Times University Guide (6th place overall in 2006), The Times Good University Guide 2007 (8th), and The Guardian University Guide (8th place overall in 2006). Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Imperial College London are the only universities which have never been out of the Top 10 in the British league tables. In many league tables Warwick is currently the best ranked university outside of London and Oxbridge, and the only multifaculty institution aside from Oxbridge to have never been out of the top ten.

In the two attempts at producing World University Rankings, Warwick lies at 73rd place in the world according to The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2006, and in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2006 ranking (which places Universities in equal groups of approximately one hundred after the first hundred individually ranked Universities), Warwick is placed in the 201-300th rank.

Academic staff

Current and former notable members of the academic staff at Warwick:

Biological Sciences

Computer Science

Economics

English

Engineering and Warwick Manufacturing Group

History

Law

Mathematics and Statistics

Philosophy

Other

Future development

University House, the main administration building

Vision 2020

In November 2005, the University of Warwick made public its vision for the year 2020 and outlined proposals for how it would like to develop its campus over the next 15 years Link. These proposals built upon recent construction activity which included a new Mathematics and Statistics Building, a new Computer Science Building, a new Business School building, the new Heronbank Residences and an expanded Sports Centre. The proposals would see a shift in the "centre of gravity" on campus away from the Students' Union towards the new University House and a proposed "Academic Square", located around the new Maths and Computer Science buildings.

University House

In 2003 the University acquired the former Headquarters of the National Grid which it converted into its new University administration building (now called University House). The building includes a student learning centre called the "Learning Grid".

Singapore Campus

In 2004 the University publicly revealed that it planned to open a 10,000-student campus in Singapore. Due to concerns about academic freedom, cost and freedom of speech for students, many students and academic staff opposed the scheme. Following exhaustive research the matter was discussed by the University's Senate, which requested further research to be undertaken, in effect, forcing the University to abandon the scheme. Attempts to establish some firm links with Singapore (albeit not necessarily a full physical campus) are continuing.

Campus life

Student life

Undergraduate student life at Warwick is divided into two phases. In the first year, student life revolves around campus and, in particular, the Students' Union (with its sports clubs, societies and entertainment facilities). In the second and third years, as students move off-campus, the focus shifts to either Leamington Spa or Earlsdon in Coventry. There has been criticism of the perceived focus of the entertainment events toward first year undergraduates resident on campus.

Campus Facilities

Staff, students and visitors benefit from the many non-academic facilities on campus. As well as Warwick Arts Centre (see below), the University hosts a large leisure centre, comprising 25 m swimming pool, two sports halls, gymnasium, squash courts and rock-climbing facility. Elsewhere on campus are a number of other sports halls, outside tennis courts, 400 m athletics track, multi-purpose outdoor surfaces and cricket grounds. Sports facilities are being constantly expanded, following the commencement of Warwick Sport, a joint venture between the University and the Students' Union in 2005. Indoor tennis courts are expected to be built in the next couple of years and an Olympic-size swimming pool has been rumoured in the long-term, depending on Coventry City Council's priorities. Most of the University's sports facilities are open to the general public.

There is a Costcutter supermarket, a pharmacy, a number of banks, a hairdressers, STA Travel travel shop and an Oxfam all in the middle of the campus.

All food and drink outlets are operated by Warwick Hospitality or the Student Union, apart from a nearby pub.

Students' Union

See also: University of Warwick Students' Union

The University of Warwick Students' Union is one of the biggest Students' Unions in the UK, currently having over 200 societies and around 70 sports clubs. It has an annual turnover of approximately £6 million, the profit from which is used to provide services to students and to employ its staff and Sabbatical officers. The Union is divided into two buildings: Union North (mainly societies and administration) and Union South (entertainment facilities). Union South contains four club venues, seven bars and a cafe over four floors, with some events such as Top Banana and Skool Dayz encompassing the entire building. Drinks prices are not considered to be particularly cheap[2] but have recently been reduced for some events.

The Union has also recently hosted such bands as Sugababes, The Kooks, The Departure, The Subways, Idlewild, Hell is for Heroes and The Killers.

The Union is a member of the National Union of Students (NUS), West Midlands Area NUS (WMANUS) and National Postgraduate Committee (NPC).

Student events

Each year in January, the University of Warwick plays host to the "world's largest student-run international event", One World Week. This incorporates the very successful One World Forum. Other student run events include People & Planet's Go Green Week, Warwick International Development Summit, Warwick Economics Summit, RAG Week and Warwick Student Arts Festival.

Campus media

  • Radio Warwick, also known as RaW, one of the most successful student radio stations in the UK
  • Warwick Boar, an award-winning, weekly newspaper distributed free across campus each Tuesday
  • Warwick TV, a fast-growing television station

Warwick Arts Centre

See also: Warwick Arts Centre
Warwick Arts Centre and the white cone-shaped Warwick Koan

Situated at the centre of the University's main campus, the Warwick Arts Centre is the second largest arts centre in the UK (after London's Barbican).

The centre comprises:

  • The Butterworth Hall, a 1500-seat capacity concert hall
  • A 550-seat theatre
  • A 180-seat theatre studio
  • A 220-seat cinema
  • The Mead Gallery, an art gallery

Warwick Koan

The Koan, situated directly outside the main entrance of Warwick arts centre is a piece of modern art designed by the artist, Lilian Lijn. The Koan is about 4m high, white in colour and dressed in tubes of fluorescent light. It rotates whilst generating a grinding sound. Originally, it was intended to be placed on the roof of the Arts Centre, but it was found out that the roof was not strong enough to support its weight. An urban myth which circulates throughout students on campus is that someone was once found hanged inside the Koan.

Warwick PLC

Under the leadership of its first Vice-Chancellor, Lord Butterworth, Warwick was one of the first UK universities to adopt a business approach to higher education, develop close links with the business community and exploit the commercial value of its research.

Commercialisation of research

The University has established a number of stand-alone units to manage and extract commercial value from its research activities. The four most prominent examples of these units are:

As a result of these activities, Warwick is the only UK University to generate more income through commercial activities than it receives from Government grants, which has allowed it to invest generously in facilities and undergo rapid growth.

Warwick Hospitality

'Arthur Vick' Residences

Warwick was the first UK University to open its lecture and accommodation facilities to outside organisations, for profit, during the holidays. Warwick Conferences is now a thriving internal business unit, with its profits contributing to the University's financial independence, with a dedicated, year-round conference centre, Scarman House, built on campus.

Warwick Accommodation, a subsidiary of Warwick Hospitality, provides accommodation for first-year undergraduates, final-year undergraduates (depending on availability) and postgraduate students. Many of its 5700 rooms are used by conference guests outside of term-time.

Warwick Retail

The University has a small portfolio of businesses under the Warwick Retail umbrella, a private company wholly owned by the University.

Operations include:

  • Costcutter Supermarket
  • University Bookshop
  • Oxfam Books, Music, Fashion and Fairtrade (Opened April 2006)
  • Warwick Print (in-house publishing)
  • CopyShop (previously called Lazerlizard) (stationary and reprographics)
  • Fopp - Music, Film & Books (Warwick Arts Centre branch)

The University also created and owns the temporary employment agency Unitemps and the higher education recruitment website www.jobs.ac.uk.

Finances

  • Total University Income: £240.4m
  • HEFCE Grants: £54.9m
  • Tuition Fees: £64.3m
  • Research Grants and Contracts: £40m
  • £77.6m of the University's total income is currently derived from "earning" activities such as self-financing short courses, research contracts, management training centres, vacation conferences, retail and catering.

Criticism

There has been some criticism that the University has become too commercially minded at the expense of academic creativity and diversity. The most famous proponent of this critique was the noted historian E. P. Thompson, who wrote Warwick University Ltd in 1971.

Nevertheless, with the appointment of Sir Nicholas Scheele as Chancellor in 2002, the University has signalled that it intends to continue and expand its commercial activities. In an interview for the BBC, Scheele said: "I think in the future, education and industry need to become even more closely linked than they have been historically. As government funding changes, the replacement could well come through private funding from companies, individuals and grant-giving agencies."[4]

Involvement with Government initiatives

Warwick has very close links to the Government and has been the academic partner for a number of flagship Government schemes including the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth and the NHS University (now defunct). Tony Blair has described Warwick as “a beacon among British universities for its dynamism, quality and entrepreneurial zeal”.[5]

Tuition / top-up fees

Warwick has been a very strong supporter of the Government’s policy to introduce top-up fees. This has attracted strong criticism and regular protests from the Students’ Union and many academics, concerned that access to education will be based on ability to pay and not academic ability. In response, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, David VandeLinde, called the policy “a positive one for Higher Education institutes" and promised "70 per cent of the additional money derived from fees will be spent on further improving student services, facilities and support."[6]

Warwick is particularly well placed to benefit from Top-Up Fees as it is one of the few universities to meet its target, set by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, for the proportion of students enrolled from state schools (86%).[7] This means that it is unlikely to come under the scrutiny of the Office for Fair Access, an issue many other leading Universities are concerned about.

Bill Clinton presidential visit

On the recommendation of Tony Blair, Bill Clinton chose Warwick as the venue for his last major foreign policy address as US President in December 2000. Sandy Berger, Clinton’s National Security Advisor, explaining the decision in his Press Briefing on 7 December 2000, said that: "Warwick is one of Britain's newest and finest research universities, singled out by Prime Minister Blair as a model both of academic excellence and independence from the government."[8]

In his speech Clinton covered a number of issues, including Third World debt relief, fighting infectious diseases such as AIDS, basic education rights, and the digital divide, which he summarized as the new development agenda for the 21st century. Clinton was accompanied by his wife Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton. During his visit, he planted a Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) sapling outside Senate House, the (then) university administration block.

The Warwick Agreement

The University of Warwick was the location for an important agreement between the Labour Party and the Trade Unions on Labour policy and trade union law, struck in July 2004. Subsequently the agreement has become popularly referred to as the Warwick Agreement. According to The Guardian, "it made peace between discontented elements in the unions and the government. It thereby averted the threat of mass disaffiliation from the party by the unions and helped to secure union support for Labour in the 2005 election."[9]

University legends and myths

  • The Cryfield Ghost. The current location of the Gibbet Hill Campus is on the site of a gallows and gibbet. While awaiting execution, it is said that prisoners would be kept in a gaol on the current site of the Cryfield Residences. Once executed, the prisoner's body would be returned to the gaol and buried in the field behind. The night-time cries of the spirits of the executed gave the field its name: The Cry-Field. Many students living in the Cryfield Residences have reported strange occurrences giving rise to the legend of the Cryfield Ghost.
  • The Swedish Women's Prison Hall of Residence. It is a common myth that the Cryfield Halls of Residence are modelled on a Swedish women's prison. The small room size and narrow corridors do much to maintain the potency of this myth.[3]
  • Several of the early inhabitants of campus were struck by tiles from falling buildings. Although tiles did start falling off the buildings a year after they were built, it is not believed that anyone was actually hit. The law suit between the University and the builders continued well into the 1980s, and even today Rootes Residences, Rootes Social Building, the Library and the Science Building all still have their protective cladding over the tiles from the first floor upwards. The only building still in its original state is Humanities, which was constructed later and had the tiles affixed by a different method.
  • Radio Warwick was closed by the Ministry of Defence because it was being picked up by submarines on exercises in the North Sea. This is true, and happened when Simon Mayo (History and Politics, 1977-80) was a DJ on the campus radio. Probably the nearest the University came to causing an incident in the Cold war.
  • There was once an official University Cat. In the late 1980s, a large black cat called Kevin took up residence on campus. He was eventually adopted by a University administrator and taken home to live with her.

Alumni

Famous people to have attended the University of Warwick include:

Politicians

Civil servants

Mathematicians

Science

Journalists

  • Jennie Bond (French and European Literature, grad. 1968) – former BBC Royal Correspondent
  • Brian Deer (Philosophy) – The Sunday Times; Channel 4

Writers

Media presenters / Media people

Actors / Directors

Musicians

Entrepreneurs

References

  1. ^ The compromise was proposed by Geoffrey Templeman, Deputy Chairman of the university's Planning Committee. He subsequently became the first Chancellor of the university on the border between the City of Canterbury and the county of Kent which faced a similar naming dispute and adopted the name University of Kent at Canterbury. Graham Martin, From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury (1990) page 29n ISBN 0-904938-03-4
  2. ^ C. Saffrey and C. Williams, Campus drinks prices kept high, The Warwick Boar, January 25 2005
  3. ^ http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/about/warwickmagazine07/warwickmyths/
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