University of Roehampton

University of Roehampton
Established	1841 – establishment of Whitelands College
Type	Public
Chancellor	Dame Jacqueline Wilson
Vice-Chancellor	Paul O'Prey
Students	8,535[1]
Undergraduates	6,720[1]
Postgraduates	1,810[1]
Location	Roehampton, London, England, UK
Affiliations	The Cathedrals Group; Compostela Group of Universities; European University Association; School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE, Greece); Universities UK
Website	www.roehampton.ac.uk

The University of Roehampton is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, south-west London.

History

The university has its roots in the traditions of its four constituent colleges, all of which were founded in the 19th century as teacher training colleges:

• Whitelands College – Founded in 1841, the college is one of the five oldest institutions for training educators in England. A flagship women's college of the Church of England, it was the first college of higher education in the UK to admit women. It occupies a 14-acre site overlooking Richmond Park.
• Southlands College – Founded in 1872, the college derives it ethos from its Methodist foundation. It offers an open and valuable community for all of its members, and regularly organises a range of events and activities to help build and support the community.
• Digby Stuart College – Established in 1874 as a teacher training college for Roman Catholic women. The college owes its existence to the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose members continue to support the college and the university.
• Froebel College – Founded in 1892, the college was established to further the values of Friedrich Fröbel, the German educationalist who pioneered a holistic view of child development. It is one of the UK’s major centres for initial teacher training.

All four colleges were founded to address the need to educate poor and disadvantaged children. In 1975, the four colleges joined to form the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education.

Roehampton was formerly an equal partner in the now-dissolved Federal University of Surrey (along with the original University of Surrey in Guildford). Since 1 August 2004, the University of Surrey Roehampton became Roehampton University.

Since 2011, the university has been branded University of Roehampton. However, its legal name remains Roehampton University.^[2]

Dame Jacqueline Wilson was appointed Chancellor of the University in August 2014, succeeding the first Chancellor John Simpson.^[3]

Facilities

Sports

The University is equipped with a state-of-the-art fitness centre, grass football pitches, a multi-use games area, studio facilities and a sports hall for indoor sports and classes. Teams also have access to excellent nearby facilities, including the Roehampton Club and the National Tennis Centre. Sports are managed by Sport Roehampton, and the options available to students range from football and cricket to ultimate and Zumba.

Library

The University Library is open seven days a week during term time, with the PC suites open 24/7 nearly every day of the year. The library has more than 350,000 books, as well as a collection of e-books and electronic journals. The library houses the Jewish Resource Centre Collection, which consists of theological, historical and pedagogical texts on Judaism and Jewish education and culture,^[4]and the Richmal Crompton Collection of books and archive material accumulated during the lifetime of the author Richmal Crompton (1890–1969).^[5] The University is currently implementing a project that will see a new purpose-built Library, and new student accommodation, built on campus by 2016. This is alongside a development that has already started to build student accommodation on its Downshire House site.

Accommodation

Roehampton consists of four colleges around which accommodation is centred. Since 2014 it has also offered accommodation in central London at the Spring Mews development in Vauxhall, central London. In September 2015, it will open Chadwick Halls.

Digby Stuart College

• Bede House
• Lee House
• Newman House
• Shaw House

Froebel College

• Aspen House
• Linden House
• Willow House
• Lawrence
• Garden Court
• New Court
• Old Court
• Mount Clare

Southlands College

• Aldersgate and Epworth Court
• Wesley Hall

Whitelands College

• Beverley and Cheltenham
• Durham and Gilesgate
• Kings and Melrose
• Sutherland and Walpole

Transport

The University is in TfL Zone 3. The nearest overland train station is Barnes railway station.

Academic departments

• Department of Dance
• Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance
• Department of Education
• Department of English and Creative Writing
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Life Sciences
• Department of Media, Culture and Language
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Social Sciences
• Roehampton University Business School

Reputation and standing

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), Roehampton University was ranked first in the country for Dance and Biological Anthropology, and a total of 10 out of the 15 subjects that submitted work produced a proportion of research judged to be world-leading in terms of its originality and significance.

78% of all research undertaken at the university was of an international standard. This has led to the university having "one of the strongest research profiles among modern universities".^[6]

In December 2014, according to Higher Education Funding Council for England, the University is the most research-intensive modern university in the UK. Roehampton submitted work by more than two thirds of its academic staff, in 13 subject areas, to Hefce's Research Excellence Framework programme. This is the highest proportion of any modern university. Overall, 66 per cent Roehampton's research was judged either world leading or internationally excellent.^[7]

The University is the top post-92 university in London for students finding employment after they graduate.^[8]

Roehampton positions itself as a University which offers high levels of contact time between students and academic staff engaged in research and one in which students are involved in high-level decision making.

Roehampton Students' Union (RSU)

The RSU is the main organisation of student representation at the University. It is led by student officers elected by the student body, and aims to promote the interests and welfare of all those studying at Roehampton. It is also a focal point for social activities, and is responsible for organising events like the Summer Ball and nights out in London. The Union itself has 12 different bars, cafes and restaurants spread around the campus.^[9]

In September 2013 Roehampton Students' Union was awarded £226,900 from NUS Students' Green Fund for a sustainability initiative with a focus on urban food growing. The project is called Growhampton^[10]

Notable alumni

Amongst the alumni of the University of Roehampton, and other institutions that fall under that banner are:

• Toby Anstis, radio DJ
• Joey Barton, footballer
• Lyn Brown, politician
• Jon Gilbert, bibliographer
• Jon Goodman, footballer
• Allyson Jule, professor/author
• Daniel Kitson, comedian
• Samira Makhmalbaf, filmmaker
• Helen Metcalf, educator/politician
• Danielle Perez, former Miss Gibraltar
• Ben Roberts, football coach
• David Rossdale, Bishop of Grimsby
• Djoumin Sangaré, footballer
• Darren Shan, author
• Lamorna Watts, actress
• Joe Tillen, footballer
• Chris Robshaw, Harlequins and England rugby captain
• Tim Woolcock, painter
• Deepak Tripathi, historian

References

External links

• Roehampton University – official website
• Roehampton University Students' Union

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Coordinates: 51°27′24″N 0°14′35″W / 51.4566°N 0.2431°W / 51.4566; -0.2431