| University of Canterbury | |
|---|---|
| Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | |
| Motto | Ergo tua rura manebunt |
| Motto in English | Therefore will your fields remain [yours] |
| Established | 1873 |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | John Wood |
| Vice-Chancellor | Rod Carr |
| Academic staff | 784 (as of 2010[update])[1] |
| Students | 18,764 (as of 2010[update])[1] |
| Undergraduates | 13,590 (as of 2010[update])[1] |
| Postgraduates | 2,083 (as of 2010[update])[1] |
| Location | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.canterbury.ac.nz |
The University of Canterbury (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation Cantuar. or Cant. for Cantuariensis, the Latin name for Canterbury) was initiated and founded by some scholars from the University of Oxford in 1873 and is New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It offers degrees in Arts, Commerce, Education (physical education), Engineering, Fine Arts, Forestry, Law, Music, Social Work, Speech and Language Therapy, Science, Sports Coaching and Teaching.
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The University has a main campus of 76 hectares at Ilam, a suburb of Christchurch: about 5 km from the centre of the city. Adjacent to the main campus stands the University's College of Education, with its own sports-fields and grounds. The University maintains five libraries, with the Central Library (Māori: Te Puna Mātauraka o Waitaha) housed in the tallest building on campus, the 11-storey James Hight building.
The University's College of Education maintains additional small campuses in Nelson, Tauranga and Timaru, and "teaching centres" in Greymouth, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Timaru. The University has staff in regional information offices in Nelson, Timaru, and Auckland.
Canterbury University has six halls of residence housing around 1800 students. The largest of these are Ilam Apartments and University Hall with 850 residents and 550 residents, respectively. Three of these halls (Ilam Apartments, University Hall and Sonoda Christchurch Campus) are managed by UC Accommodation, a subsidiary of Campus Living Villages, while the university maintains ownership of the property and buildings. Sonoda Christchurch Campus has a close relationship with Sonoda Womans university in Amagasaki, Japan. Bishop Julius, College House and Rochester & Rutherford are run independently.
The six Halls of Residence are:
The Field Facilities Centre[3] administers four field-stations:
The University and its project-partners also operate an additional field-station in the Nigerian Montane Forests Project[8] - this field station stands on the Ngel Nyaki forest edge in Nigeria.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy runs its own field laboratories:
The Department of Physics and Astronomy also has involvement in the Southern African Large Telescope.
Professor Roy Sharp assumed the position of Vice-Chancellor on 1 March 2003.[9] In May 2008 he announced his imminent resignation from the position, following his acceptance of the chief executive position at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC[10]),[11] which he took up on 4 August 2008.[12] The then current Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Town, assumed the role of acting Vice-Chancellor on 1 July 2008. On 15 October 2008 the University announced that Dr Rod Carr would begin a five-year appointment as Vice-Chancellor on 1 February 2009.[13]
The Chancellor chairs the governing body of the University, the Council. Council member and former Pro-Chancellor, Mr Rex Williams, became chancellor in 2008. Council Member John Wood became the new Pro-Chancellor.
The Council includes representatives from the faculties, students and general staff, as well as local industry, employer and trade union representatives.[14]
In 2004 the University underwent restructuring into four Colleges and a School of Law, administering a number of schools and departments (though a number of departments have involvement in cross-teaching in numerous academic faculties). 2007 saw the addition of a fifth College with the merging of the Christchurch College of Education into the University. The main constituents of the university include:
The units listed above constitute administrative groups. Each College and the School of Law has as its head a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC), who answers to the Vice-Chancellor for all activities of the College/School. College Offices support the PVCs, providing financial, administrative, academic, and human-resources advice to each PVC. Each College also has a College Manager, who acts as the day-to-day manager of the College.
In addition to the administrative structure, the University has seven faculties:
Each faculty consists of the teaching-staff of the departments and schools who offer courses that may form part of the particular degree from that faculty. Student representatives participate in governing the various faculties.
The University receives funding from student fees, the New Zealand government (in partial support of domestic students, and via various research funding mechanisms), non-government research funding agencies, bequests and so on.
Together with the New Zealand government, the University formed the NZi3 ICT Innovation Institute in 2006 to commercialize research and to encourage local high-tech industry. The cluster of technology-companies around Christchurch has led to the name "Silicon Plains" for the area.
In 2010 QS World University Rankings[27] ranked the University of Canterbury 189th overall in the world, making it the third highest ranked university in New Zealand. Its individual global subject rankings were: 212th in Arts & Humanities, 110th in Engineering & IT, 242nd in Natural Sciences, and 152nd in Social Sciences. In 2011 the University of Canterbury slipped from 189th to 212th in these rankings.[28] As the 2011 results were released, the University of Canterbury launched an advertising campaign in which the VIce Chancellor Dr Rod Carr claims that it ranks among the top 2% of universities in the world but without elaborating on what basis this was assessed.[29] Further, the University has promoted itself as being the first university in New Zealand to have been granted five stars by QS Stars, a global university rating system.[30] Unlike the QS World University rankings, QS Stars ratings are only given to universities that pay a fee; the programme is designed to give "...those institutions that are not highly ranked or do not appear in the rankings an opportunity to reach out to their prospect students, to stand out and to be recognised for their excellence.[31]
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QS World University Rankings | 212nd[32] | 189th[33] | 188th[34] | 186th[35] | 188thrd[36] | 333rd[37] | 333rd[38] |
| Times Higher Education World University Rankings | 301-350th[39] | N/A |
As of 2009[update], the University had a total of 22,403 students, 1,881 of them post-graduates and 2,168 international students (students apart from New Zealand citizens or residents). The University employed 603 academic staff and 1069 general staff.[40] As the result of decreased student enrollments, attributable to the Christchurch earthquakes, the University announced in September 2011 that it might need to dismiss 350 or more of its staff.[41] The University eliminated over 100 jobs even prior to the earthquakes,[42] losing some prominent scholars. The suggestion has been made that staff eliminations are sometimes based on academic ideology rather than merit.[43] Resignations have occurred by staff who complained about restrictions on academic freedom.[44][45]
The University of Canterbury Students' Association (UCSA)[46] operates on campus with its own radio station (RDU) and magazine (Canta). The Association also runs two bars, the 430-seat Ngaio Marsh Theatre, and several cafes around campus. The popular on-campus bar, "The Foundry", known as "The Common Room" from 2005, has reverted to its former name as promised by 2008 USCA president, Michael Goldstein.
The University has over 100 academic, sporting, recreational and cultural societies and clubs. The most prominent of these include the University of Canterbury Engineering Society (ENSOC), the Law Society (LAWSOC), the Commerce Society (UCom), as well as the largest non-faculty clubs such as Motosoc (Motorsports Society), BYCSOC (Backyard Cricket Society), CUBA (Canterbury University Boardriders' Association), CurrySoc, The Gentlemen's Club, and KAOS (Killing As Organised Sport). The University of Canterbury Drama Society (Dramasoc) achieved fame for its 1942-1969 Shakespeare productions under Dame Ngaio Marsh, but regularly performs as an active student- and alumni-run arts fixture in the small Christchurch theatre-scene. The Musical Society, MuSoc,[47] engages in comparable activities.
One major student tradition, the Undie 500, involves an annual car-rally from Christchurch to Dunedin run by ENSOC. The rules require only the use of a road-legal car costing under $500 with a sober driver. The 2007 event gained international news coverage (including on CNN and BBC World) when it ended in rioting in the student quarter of Dunedin and in North East Valley. ENSOC cancelled the planned 2008 event: its future now seems murky.
The University originated in 1873 in the centre of Christchurch as Canterbury College, the first constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It became the second institution in New Zealand providing tertiary-level education (following the University of Otago, established in 1869), and the fourth in Australasia.
The Canterbury Museum and Library and Christ's College, dissatisfied with the state of higher education in Canterbury, had both worked towards setting up Canterbury College.[48] In 1933, the name changed from Canterbury College to Canterbury University College. In 1957 the name changed again to the present University of Canterbury.
Until 1961, the University formed part of the University of New Zealand (UNZ), and issued degrees in its name. That year saw the dissolution of the federal system of tertiary education in New Zealand, and the University of Canterbury became an independent University awarding its own degrees. Upon the UNZ's demise, Canterbury Agricultural College became a constituent college of the University of Canterbury, as Lincoln College.[49] Lincoln College became independent in 1990 as a full university in its own right.
Over the period from 1961 to 1974, the university campus relocated from the centre of the city to its much larger current site in the suburb of Ilam. The neo-gothic buildings of the old campus became the site of the Christchurch Arts Centre, a hub for arts, crafts and entertainment in Christchurch.
For many years the university worked closely with the Christchurch College of Education, leading to a full merger in 2007.[50]
The James Hight building suffered extensive damage during the 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
Following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on 22 February 2011, the university was temporarily closed to allow a full safety inspection of all its buildings.[51] A progressive re-start of the University began on 14 March with lectures delivered online, off-site, and in tents set up on campus.[52] In September 2011, plans were announced to demolish some University buildings.[53] Student numbers at the University of Canterbury have dropped at least 13 percent since the earthquakes began. The university has lost 25 percent of its first-year students and 8 per cent of continuing students. The number of international students, who pay much higher fees and are a major source of revenue, has dropped by 30 percent.[54][55]
Other New Zealand universities, apparently defying an informal agreement, have launched billboard and print advertising campaigns in the earthquake-ravaged city to recruit University of Canterbury students who are finding it difficult to study there.[56] As of October 2011, staff are being encouraged to take voluntary redundancies as the university scrambles to survive through a financial crisis.[57] The Vice Chancellor Dr Carr warned "There was 'no doubt' staff who were teaching a smaller number of students, researchers whose outputs were smaller and researchers who were not attracting grants would be at high risk of redundancy".[58] He described possible changes in university courses by stating “What we don't know, and we won't know, is where there are rationalisations of courses within programmes - where we may be able to, instead of having twelve flavours, have eight flavours. We may require staff to teach four courses instead of three courses. But the impact on the actual programmes we offer will be quite modest".[59]
With the dissolution of the University of New Zealand, the newly independent University of Canterbury devised its own coat of arms, blazoned:
This replaced the arms formerly used by Canterbury College — an unofficial, simplified version of the Canterbury Province coat of arms.
The fleece symbolises the pastoral, and the plough at the base the agricultural background of the province of Canterbury. The Bishop's Pall and the cross flory represent Canterbury's ecclesiastical connections, and the open book denotes scholarship.
As it relates to an institution of learning, the University's coat of arms does not have a helmet, crest or mantling on its bearings.
A more detailed history of the arms, including their formal heraldic description, appears on the University website.
The University was awarded the 2006 Cycle Friendly Award for the best cycle-friendly commitment by a public organisation in New Zealand.[60]
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