ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

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

Contents

History

Organisation

Profile and reputation

Partner organisations

Notable alumni

References

External links

History

Anglia Ruskin University has its origins in the ''Cambridge School of Art'' opened in 1858 by John Ruskin, which became the ''Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology'' (CCAT) from 1960. This merged with the ''Essex Institute of Higher Education'' in 1989 to form the ''Anglia Higher Education College''. The merged college became a polytechnic in 1991, going by the name ''Anglia Polytechnic'', which was then awarded university status in 1992.
Initially ''Anglia Polytechnic University'' ("APU"), it retained the word ''polytechnic'' in its title because "the term ‘polytechnic’ still had value to students and their potential employers, symbolising as it did, the sort of education that [they] were known for – equipping students with effective practical skills for the world of work"^[2] 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 Chancellor), but the Governors decided to keep ''polytechnic'' in the title.
The University eventually reconsidered a name change, because "Nowadays, few remember the old polytechnics and technical colleges, and there [was] no longer any added value to students or faculty in retaining the word ‘polytechnic’ in [the] title. Indeed, it [was] sometimes seen as a hindrance, especially in non-vocational subject areas."^[3] From over two hundred suggestions and consultations with staff, students and local residents, communities and businesses, the University chose ''Anglia Ruskin University'', with the new name taking effect following the approval of the Privy Council on 29 September 2005.
Past lecturers include Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick who with James Watson, aided by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. Odile created the simple iconic image of DNA, as two intertwined ribbons linked by 10 rungs per turn of the double helix, that appeared in the scientific paper in the journal Nature announcing the discovery of the structure of DNA, and it has never been bettered since. The discovery of the "code for life" - the structure of DNA - was revealed to a few bemused drinkers at The Eagle pub in Benet Street in Cambridge in 1953 by Francis Crick and James Watson. Odile was a lecturer at CCAT, now Anglia Ruskin University [1]. The author Tom Sharpe was a lecturer in History at CCAT between 1963 and 1972 and Anne Campbell[2], the Labour MP for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005, was formerly a lecturer in Statistics at CCAT .

Organisation

There are five Faculties of study at Anglia Ruskin University:

★ Ashcroft International Business School

★ Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences

★ Faculty of Education

★ Faculty of Health and Social Care

★ Faculty of Science and Technology
Faculties are sub-divided into departments or divisions.
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, forming the new Faculty of Health and Social Care. HSHS continues to maintain a close relationship with the University of Cambridge.

Profile and reputation

Anglia Ruskin University is the 13th largest university in the United Kingdom, and the largest provider of face-to-face part-time training in the country.^[4] Research at the University was ranked 104th of 106 UK universities in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.^[5] However, only a limited number of programs were evaluated.
Anglia Ruskin's Cambridge Campus is home to one of only 5 Optometry schools in England (with there being only 8 in the whole of the UK) having its own Optometry Clinic offering free eye tests and a full range of optometric services to members of the public throughout the academic year. [3]
Anglia Ruskin's undergraduate course in English was rated third in the UK by ''The Guardian'' in 2006, behind Cambridge and Oxford.^[6] The University was, in June 2007, rated joint 8th in the first "Green League" of British universities, compiled by People and Planet for ''The THES''. Factors taken into account in the survey included carbon emissions and recycling rates.
Stephen Fry, on receiving an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin, compared the University favourably with Cambridge University where he had received his own undergraduate degree, saying ""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".^[7]

Partner organisations

Anglia Ruskin's regional partners are: Braintree College, Cambridge Regional College, Cambridge Theological Federation, Chelmsford College, The 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.
Anglia Ruskin is also partnered with Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia in a student exchange program. This allows credits earned at one university to count towards the other's degree programs. A similar agreement is in place with Valparaiso University in the United States and University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Notable alumni

Alumni include Pink Floyd members Syd Barrett and David Gilmour. Other alumni include Patricia Scotland, Britain's first black female QC, Ronald Searle (creator of St Trinian's), Harry Potter illustrator Thomas Taylor, and Michael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft. Kafeel Ahmed, a suspected terrorist in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, was a research student in computational fluid dynamics at Anglia Ruskin.^[8][9][10]

References

1. Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06
2. http://www.chopraconsultants.com/uk/aru/aru_why.htm
3. http://www.chopraconsultants.com/uk/aru/aru_why.htm
4. How Anglia Ruskin is taking learning to the people Lucy Hodges
5. A-Z Unis & Colleges: Anglia Ruskin University
6. http://browse.guardian.co.uk/education/2006?SearchBySubject=false&FirstRow=0&SortOrderDirection=&SortOrderColumn=GuardianTeachingScore&Subject=English&Go=Go
7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4459724.stm
8. Glasgow suspect moved to burns unit
9. Property searched in terror probe
10. Islamic charity linked to car bomb suspect

External links

★ Anglia Ruskin University – Official website