| Bangor University | |||||||||||||
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| Prifysgol Bangor | |||||||||||||
| Motto |
Welsh: Gorau Dawn Deall ("The Best Gift is Knowledge") Latin: Mortis felix et dominus |
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| Established | 1884 | ||||||||||||
| Type | Public | ||||||||||||
| President | Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM | ||||||||||||
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor John G Hughes | ||||||||||||
| Admin. staff | 2000 | ||||||||||||
| Students | 16,605[1] | ||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 8,460[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 2,055[1] | ||||||||||||
| Other students | 6,085 FE[1] | ||||||||||||
| Location | Bangor, Wales, UK | ||||||||||||
| Campus | Bangor | ||||||||||||
| Former names | University College of North Wales, University of Wales,Bangor | ||||||||||||
| Colours |
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| Nickname | Welsh: Y Coleg ar y Bryn ("The College on the Hill") | ||||||||||||
| Affiliations | EUA University of Wales Universities UK Association of Commonwealth Universities |
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| Website | http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ | ||||||||||||
Bangor University (Welsh: Prifysgol Bangor) is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales.
It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales ("UCNW", Coleg Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru in Welsh). From 1995 until 31 August 2007 the University was known as University of Wales, Bangor ("UWB") and Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor ("PCB").
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The University was founded as the "University College of North Wales" (UCNW) on 18 October 1884 with an inaugural address by the Earl of Powis, the College's first President, in Penrhyn Hall.[2] There was then a procession to the college with 3,000 quarryman (quarrymen from Penrhyn Quarry and other quarries had subscribed over £1200 to the university).[3] The result of a campaign for better higher education provision in Wales,and following some rivalry between North Wales towns as to which was to be the base of the new college, it was incorporated by charter a year later.[2]
Its students received degrees from the University of London until 1893 when UCNW became a founding constituent institution of the federal University of Wales.
During the Second World War, paintings from national arts galleries were located at the Prichard-Jones Hall to protect them from enemy bombing; they were later moved to slate mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog.[2] Students from University College, London were evacuated to continue their studies in a safer environment at Bangor.[2]
During the 1960s, the University shared in the general expansion of Higher Education in the UK following the Robbins Report, with a number of new departments being created and new buildings built.[2] On 22 November 1965, during construction of the extension to the Department of Electronic Engineering in Dean Street, a crane collapsed on the building. The three ton counterweight hit the second floor lecture theatre of the original building about thirty minutes before it would have been occupied by about 80 first year students. The counterweight went through to the ground floor.[4]
In 1967, the Bangor Normal College, now part of the University, was the venue for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's lectures in Transcendental Meditation, at which The Beatles learnt of the death of their manager, Brian Epstein.[5]
Student protest in the 1970s focused mainly on the role of the Welsh language at the University, with many calling for Welsh-medium teaching and a more thorough approach to bilingualism at the institution.[2] Around this time, too consideration began of mergers with two Bangor colleges of education - St. Mary's College, a college for women student-teachers and the larger and older Normal College/Coleg Normal. The merger of St. Mary's was concluded in 1977, but the Coleg Normal merger fell through. Ultimately, Coleg Normal merged with the University in 1996.
The change of name to Bangor University or Prifysgol Bangor was instigated by the University following the decision of the University of Wales to change from a federal university to a confederal, non-membership organisation, and the granting of degree awarding powers to Bangor University itself. The University has decided to take advantage of these powers, and every student starting 2009 will have a degree from Bangor University, whereas any student who started prior to 2009 has the option to choose Bangor University or University of Wales Bangor to have on their final graduation certificate.[6]
The University occupies a substantial proportion of the city and also has some departments in Wrexham. One of the University's key selling-points is its location between Snowdonia and the island of Anglesey.
The University was originally based in an old coaching inn called the Penrhyn Arms Hotel (which housed its 58 students and 12 teaching staff), but in 1911 it moved to a much larger new building which is now the old part of the Main Arts Building. This building, designed by Henry Hare, had its foundation stone laid by King Edward VII on 9 July 1907, and was formally opened by King George V in 1911. This iconic building in a visible position overlooking the city, gave the college its Welsh nickname Y Coleg ar y Bryn ("The College on the Hill"). The building included the large Prichard-Jones Hall, named after Sir John Prichard-Jones a local man who became a partner of London department store Dickins & Jones and who had been a substantial benefactor of the building.[2]
The building became a Grade 1 listed building in 1949.[7]
A modern extension, completing a quadrangle on the College Road side of the building, was completed in 1969.
This is now known as the Main Arts Building.
The story of the halls of residence is complicated by the changes of name associated with particular buildings.
The red-brick 'University Hall', built in a Queen Anne style, was the first substantial block, opened in 1897.[8] This building was to become the Welsh language hall 'Neuadd John Morris-Jones' in 1974 (named after professor John Morris Jones[2] and is the current Neuadd Rathbone.
Neuadd Reichel, built on the Ffriddoedd farm site, designed in a neo-Georgian style by architect Percy Thomas, was opened in 1942 as a hostel for men students.[2][8]
Expansion in the 1960s led to the development of Plas Gwyn in 1963/64 and Neuadd Emrys Evans in 1965, both on the Ffriddoedd site, and Neuadd Rathbone at the top of Love Lane in 1965.[2] Neuadd Rathbone, designed by Colwyn Foulkes and named after the second President of the college, was originally for women students only.[8] The names of Neuadd Rathbone and Neuadd John Morris-Jones were later exchanged with each other. The building originally opened as Neuadd Rathbone is now known as Neuadd Garth.
Plas Gwyn and Neuadd Emrys Evans were demolished in 2008-2009 to make way for the present halls.
Accommodation is guaranteed for all single, undergraduate first year students at Bangor. There are over 2,000 rooms available in halls of residence, and all of the accommodation is within walking distance of the University.
All the sites are managed directly from the Halls Office. Support is available during the daytime from the Halls Office, University Security Staff and Student Services and out of hours and at weekend from the resident Senior Wardens. The University also employs a team of Student Wardens to live in every hall of residence.
There are four residential sites in current use:
The largest accommodation site is the Friddoedd Site in Upper Bangor about 10 minutes walk from Top College, the Science Site and city centre. This site has 11 new en-suite Halls completed in 2009, 6 other en-suite halls built in the 1990s and Neuadd Reichel built in the 1940s, and includes a coffee shop, launderettes, convenience shop, Bar Uno and Maes Glas Sports Hall.
Two of the en-suite Halls, Bryn Dinas and Tegfan, now incorporate the new Neuadd John Morris Jones which started its life in 1974 in College road and has, along with its equivalent Neuadd Pantycelyn in Aberystwyth, became a hub of Welsh identity. It is also the main focal point of Welsh language activities of the University and is an integral part of UMCB, which is the Welsh Students' Union, part of the main Students' Union body. The hall itself is affectionately known as 'JMJ' to all its students and alumni.
The Halls on "Ffridd" (pron. frith) site include: Cefn y Coed, Y Glyder, Y Borth, Elidir, JMJ Bryn Dinas and JMJ Tegfan, all of which were built in the early 1990s, Adda, Alaw, Braint, Crafnant, Enlli, Peris, Glaslyn, Llanddwyn, Ffraw, Idwal and Gwynant, which were all built in the late 2000s and the newly refurbished Neuadd Reichel, built in the 1940s.
"Ffridd" is the Welsh word for mountain pasture or sheep path; "ffriddoedd" is its plural form.
The Normal Site is situated on the shores of the Menai Strait next to the School of Education and School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences and the closest residences to the School of Ocean Sciences in Menai Bridge. The site has two self-catered halls: Neuadd Seiriol and Neuadd Arfon.
The site is named after the former Bangor Normal College, which has since been incorporated into the University (see History above), and was established for the training of teachers (see Normal School).
Bryn Eithin overlooks the centre of Bangor and is close to the Science Departments and School of Informatics. This is a Postgraduate site and has three blocks accommodating ninety six students.
In Welsh, "Bryn" means "hill," and "Eithin" means "gorse."
College Road has one hall situated there, Neuadd Garth (formerly Neuadd John Morris Jones, before that Neuadd Rathbone), this is the only catered hall. The site is located a stone's throw from the Main Arts building in Upper Bangor, and departments such as Psychology, Music and the College of Business, Social Sciences and Law. Neuadd Rathbone (formerly Neuadd John Morris Jones, before that University Hall) which is located on the site, was previously a Hall of Residence but will be remodeled during the academic year 2011-2012, to accommodate Student Services and will no longer be occupied by students as a Hall of Residence.
A private hall of residence called 'Neuadd Willis' (named after a well-liked and respected architect) has been built (2006), incorporating the old listed British Hotel with a new build extension to the rear and a further Hall on the site of the old Plaza cinema. This is not a University owned or managed hall.
The Students' Union building until 2010 was situated on Deiniol Road at one end of College Park below the Main Arts building. The Refectory and Curved Lounge were built in 1963[9] and the main administrative building was added in 1969. The building was known as Steve Biko House in the 1970s to early 1990s,[2][10] named after student activist Steve Biko who had been killed in anti-apartheid protests in South Africa. The buildings were renovated in 1997 to create an 1100-capacity nightclub, Amser/Time, where the previous refectory space was. In 2004, the student-only venue located in the main admin building, Main Bar, was renovated to become the 700-capacity Academi. The overall complex also consisted of two catering venues, Student Services department and the Students' Union offices. Demolition of the Union buildings and Theatr Gwynedd began in July 2010 to make room for the proposed Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre.[11] The Centre will include a theatre with a capacity of between 450-550 seats, cinema space, a studio theatre, and an outdoor amphitheatre, all accompanied by new social facilities including bars, dining and park areas in a family-friendly environment.
More than half of the academic departments at Bangor received an "Excellent" rating for the quality of teaching, and several departments scored very highly in the 2007 National Student Survey, with the School of Music occupying the top slot in the UK.[12] The University recently doubled its number of research contracts won, bringing Bangor's research contract income to £20M.
Following a reshuffle in August 2006, the University is divided into six Colleges. These are then broken down into Schools and Research Institutes. One of the departments that closed as a result of the reorganisation was Mathematics. The Guardian league table placed Bangor fifth in the UK for maths despite the University no longer admitting students.[13]
Bangor's Colleges, and their constituent Schools and Research Institutes, are:
College of Arts, Education and Humanities
College of Business, Social Sciences and Law
College of Lifelong Learning
College of Natural Sciences
College of Health and Behavioural Sciences
College of Physical and Applied Sciences
The Students’ Union provides services, support, activities and entertainment for students. All Bangor University students automatically become members of the Students' Union and officers have seats on all major University committees.
Paid sabbatical posts are held by (2011/12)
There are over 100 clubs and societies on offer varying from academic societies such as the Geographical Society, archaeology, and Psychology to the more fun societies such as film, photography, drama, to sport clubs such as canoeing, football, surfing and gymnastics.
Student Volunteering Bangor is a student-led charity that’s involved with projects with the young, the elderly and the disabled amongst others.
Nightline is a voluntarily run, confidential and anonymous information and listening service, run by university students for university students. It is part of the National Nightline Association (National Nightline website) and is a society at Bangor University. In May 2010 Bangor Nightline won the Achievement of the Year award, and was runner up for the Society of the Year award at the Student Union Society awards. Later that year, it was also the first Nightline to achieve the Good Practice Guidelines accreditation and to be awarded the National Nightline Best Practice Award in all of the UK.
In 1974 Bangor University opened the tenth Nightline in the UK, and it is still going strong today. Bangor Nightline has developed a lot in its 37 years of service. It has gone from a handful of student volunteers to almost 70 volunteers who donate more than 5000 hours a year to support and assist almost 1000 callers a year. It has regular recruitment and training sessions with valuable sessions from the School of Lifelong Learning, the Samaritans, and other national support agencies. Its opening times have been extended over the years and it now offers the service from 8pm-8am every night of term.
You can learn more about Nightline and how to volunteer with the service or more about what it can offer you on the website at Bangor University Nightline and on this article on the bangor university webpage Nightline You can also find Nightline (Bangor Nightline) and their mascot Dafydd (Dafydd Nightline) on facebook.
| Broadcast area | Bangor |
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| Frequency | 87.7 MHz |
| First air date | 19th March 2003 |
| Format | Bangor's Student Sound |
| Owner | Bangor University Students' Union |
Storm FM is the official student radio station for Bangor University and is one of only three student radio stations in the UK to have a long term FM license. The station is broadcast on 87.7FM from a low powered FM transmitter based on the Ffriddoedd Site. Storm is run on a voluntary basis by around 90 students at the university. Unfortunately, the FM licence only allows for broadcast to a very small area of Bangor - namely the Ffriddoed Road Halls of Residence. On March 1, 2009, Storm FM officially went online, with the service being available to anyone who accesses the Storm website [1].
Bangor Rag Radio Stereo FM started in 1972 by a number of Dean Street (Electronics Engineering) students, initially just for Rag Week. This was a pirate radio station, possibly the first University stereo FM station in the UK. The FM transmitter was moved around Bangor to avoid capture by the GPO, often with a microwave link line-of-sight from the Student's Union building roof to provide live studio radio programmes.Its predecessor was on Medium Wave only, and was started shortly after World War II. Rag Radio later spawned BRBS the Bangor Rag Broadcasting System, which ran until 1991.
Storm FM was set up in October 2001 by the then president of the Students' Union, Niall Duffy. The first show was broadcast at 13:00 on March 19, 2003.
In 2005, two presenters received nominations at the Student Radio Awards; Emma Gascoigne for Best Female, and Spencer George for Best Newcomer. The station was also nominated for Best Station Sound at the Student Radio Awards 2004.
Following considerable time off-air, the 2006/07 academic year saw a totally re-branded Storm FM relocate to a new studio in the Students' Union building, directly under the control of the Students' Union. Until that point, broadcasts were made from the University's Media Centre in upper Bangor.
In October 2007, Storm FM received two nominations at the Student Radio Awards for Best Marketing & Branding and Best Live Event/Outside Broadcast, the latter receiving a Bronze Award at the 2007 SRA ceremony for its local coverage of the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007.[2]
The University has had a total of seven Principals/Vice-Chancellors:
According to Helen Fielding's 1996 novel "Bridget Jones's Diary", the title character attended Bangor University.
Probably the most active is the LinkedIn Alumni, which is a worldwide professional community of Bangor Alumni. See University of Wales - Bangor ALUMNI.
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