Anglia Ruskin University

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Anglia Ruskin University


Established	1858 (as Cambridge School of Art)
Vice-Chancellor	Prof. Michael Thorne
Students	30,693 ^[1]
Undergraduates	26,396 ^[1]
Postgraduates	4,297 ^[1]
Location	Cambridge and Chelmsford, England
Website	http://www.anglia.ac.uk

Anglia Ruskin University, formerly known as Anglia Polytechnic University, is a university in England, with campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford.

Anglia Ruskin University is the 13th largest university in the country.

1 History
2 John Ruskin
3 Anglia Ruskin University's structure
4 Recent developments
5 Links with Industry
6 Partner organisations
7 Trivia
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

It has its origins in a Cambridge Art School opened in 1858 by John Ruskin (the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology from 1960), and a further education college opened in Chelmsford in 1904 (the Essex Institute of Higher Education from 1984). They merged in 1989 as Anglia Higher Education College and this became a polytechnic in 1991 going by the name Anglia Polytechnic, which was then awarded university status in 1992.

It retained the word polytechnic in its title because of a pride in its history and inclusivity, although in 2000 there was some self-doubt about including the term polytechnic - it was the last university in the country to have done so. Wanting to keep the APU abbreviation, a suggestion put forward by the governors was 'Anglia Prior University' (after a former principal) - but shortly after the governors decided to keep polytechnic in the title. However, the University then considered another name change. From over two hundred suggestions and consultations with staff, students and local residents, communities and businesses, the University became Anglia Ruskin University, with the new name taking effect following the approval of the Privy Council on September 29, 2005.

[edit] John Ruskin

In 1858, John Ruskin opened a School of Art in Sidney Street, Cambridge, laying the foundation for the institution which grew to become the modern Anglia Ruskin University.

John Ruskin was the leading art critic of the nineteenth century. But he was far more than that. He was passionately concerned with social reform, as well as the relationship between human beings and society, nature, architecture, craftsmanship and ideas.

Ruskin’s ideas continue to shape our society, providing the social philosophical underpinnings for such features as free schools, free libraries and museums, free hospitals, a minimum wage and care for the elderly.

[edit] Anglia Ruskin University's structure

The revamped main entrance to Anglia Ruskin University on East Road, Cambridge.

There are five Faculties of study at Anglia Ruskin University, each led by a Dean. These are: Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, Ashcroft International Business School, Faculty of Education, Institute of Health and Social Care and Faculty of Science and Technology. Faculties are sub-divided into departments or divisions.

The university has a large proportion of mature students. This has led to the university also having a higher than average number of graduates that go on to start their own businesses or be self-employed.

HSHS – The former Homerton School of Health Studies was acquired by the University from the Trustees of Homerton College in 2005, after working closely in partnership for a number of years. The two organisations are currently in the process of full integration, and HSHS continues to maintain a close relationship with the University of Cambridge.

[edit] Recent developments

Over £60 million on new study facilities for students, as well as additional social and sports facilities.

Cambridge - a new Students' Union with bar, café, restaurant and 'The Academy' dinner hall [day]/club [night]. New Music and Arts Laboratory facilities and a CCTV-supported crime-scene facility for those interested in Forensics, also add interest to the student areas. The Library facilities have also been significantly expanded and improved over the last year.

Chelmsford - a new, multi-purpose sports hall, innovation centre, student centre and refectory to add to its existing list of impressive facilities. There is also an £8 million development on a new Institute of Health and Social Care building that will offer dedicated clinical space for nursing students, social workers, podiatrists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, from September 2007.

[edit] Links with Industry

Anglia Ruskin University has strong links with Commerce, Industry and Public Authorities. In recent times the British Government has encouraged universities to strengthen their links with and support for businesses and public authorities as a means of driving both economic growth and technological capacity. The intention is that both Knowledge Transfer, where university knowledge and skills are delivered into the commercial sector, and Technical Transfer, where new university ideas are jointly developed with industry, are fully exploited to the benefit of the national economy.

Anglia Ruskin is committed to and involved in these processes. The university has benefited from initiatives, delivered by the Higher Education Funding Council via the Higher Education Innovation Fund, to develop and support a wide range of activities that underpin this work. The establishment of a Research and Development Service operation, as a central support to the Anglia Ruskin teaching faculties, has provided a dedicated support team to enable all university academic staff to have the opportunity and incentive to engage with the business community. This activity is spear-headed by a team of Business Development Managers, each of whom is a sector specialist. There are links with the appropriate business and public authority sectors in all of the following faculties: Arts, Law and Social Sciences; Ashcroft International Business School; Education; Institute of Health and Social Care; and Science and Technology. These links are always at a local and regional level, frequently have a national dimension and often have an international context also.

[edit] Partner organisations

Anglia Ruskin's regional partners are: Braintree College, Cambridge Regional College, Cambridge Theological Federation, Chelmsford College, College of West Anglia, Epping Forest College, Harlow College, Huntingdonshire College, Norwich School of Art & Design, Peterborough Regional College, SEEVIC College, Suffolk Postgraduate and Research Centre and Thurrock & Basildon College.

[edit] Trivia

Alumni include Pink Floyd members Syd Barrett and David Gilmour. Other alumni include Patricia Scotland, Britain's first black woman QC, and Harry Potter illustrator Thomas Taylor.

Anglia Ruskin is partnered with Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia in a student exchange program. This allows credits earned at one university to count easily towards the other's degree programs. A similar system takes place with the Valparaiso University in the USA and University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Anglia Ruskin is the largest provider of face-to-face part time training in the country.

Stephen Fry was given an honorary degree, about which he said (comparing to his degree from the University of Cambridge) "Here at Anglia Ruskin University they have the advantage of not having all that pressure and not being surrounded by idiots who think they are in Brideshead Revisited but still have all the same architecture and facilities".

Other honoraries include Germaine Greer, Griff Rhys Jones, Geoff Hurst, John Peel, Kate Adie, and Terry Waite CBE.

Since the beginning of the 06/07 academic year, the university has introduced a new course structure, replacing the original three 10 credit modules per semester with two 15 credit modules.