University of Birmingham

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Template:Infobox UniversityThe University of Birmingham is an English university in the city of Birmingham. It was founded in 1900 as a successor to Mason Science College, and is thus the earliest of the so-called "red brick" universities. A major research-led institution, it currently has over 18,000 undergraduate and over 11,000 postgraduate students.[1]

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About the University

The University's main campus, in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, is arranged around the 100-metre-high Chamberlain clock tower (nicknamed "Old Joe") commemorating Joseph Chamberlain, the University's first Chancellor. The Great Hall of the University is in the domed Aston Webb Building, which is named after one of its architects (the other was Ingress Bell).

The Aston Webb building, Chancellor's Court.

The University's Selly Oak campus is a short distance to the south of the main campus. It was the home of a federation of nine higher education colleges, mainly focused on theology and education, which were integrated into the University for teaching purposes in 1999. Among these was Westhill College (later the University of Birmingham, Westhill) which merged with the University's School of Education in 2001. On this campus the UK daytime television show Doctors is filmed. The University also operates on several other sites in the city.

Due to Birmingham's role as a centre of light engineering, the University traditionally had a special focus on science, engineering and commerce, as well as coal mining. It now teaches a full range of academic subjects and has five-star rating for teaching and research in several departments; additionally, it is widely regarded as making a prominent contribution to cancer studies.

The University of Birmingham operates the Lapworth Museum of Geology in the Aston Webb Building in Edgbaston. It is named after Charles Lapworth, a geologist who worked at Mason Science College.

History of the University

The earliest beginnings of the University can be traced back to the University of Birmingham Medical School which began life through the work of William Sands Cox in his aim of a Medical School along strictly Christian lines, unlike the London medical schools. The medical school was founded in 1828 but Cox began teaching in December 1825.[1]

On 23 February 1875, Sir Josiah Mason, the Birmingham industrialist and philanthropist, who made his fortune in making key rings, pens, pen nibs and electroplating, founded Mason Science College. It was this institution that would eventually form the nucleus of the University of Birmingham.

In 1882 their Departments of Chemistry, Botany and Physiology were transferred to Mason Science College, soon followed by the Departments of Physics and Comparative Anatomy. The transfer of the Medical School to Mason Science College gave considerable impetus to the growing importance of that College, and in 1896, a move to incorporate it as a University College was made. As the result of the Mason University College Act 1897 it became incorporated as Mason University College on 1 January 1898, with the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain MP becoming the President of its Court of Governors.

It was largely due to Chamberlain's tireless enthusiasm that the University was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria on 24 March 1900. The Calthorpe family offered twenty-five acres (10 hectares) of land on the Bournbrook side of their estate in July. The Court of Governors received the Birmingham University Act 1900, which put the Royal Charter into effect, on 31 May. The transfer of Mason University College to the new University of Birmingham, with Chamberlain as its first Chancellor and Sir Oliver Lodge as the first Principal, was complete. The University Charter of 1900 also included provision for a Faculty of Commerce, as was appropriate for a university itself founded by industrialists and based in a city with enormous business wealth. Consequently, the faculty, the first of its kind in Britain, was founded by Sir William Ashley in 1901, who from 1902 until 1923 served as first Professor of Commerce and Dean of the Faculty. In 1963, the University of Birmingham helped in the establishment of the faculty of medicine at the University of Rhodesia, now the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). UZ is now independent, however student exchange programs persist.

Birmingham also supported the creation of Keele (formerly University College of North Staffordshire) and Warwick University under the Chancellorship of Aitken who acted as 'Godfather to the University of Warwick' (Ives, 2000, p.342). The initial plan was for a university college at Coventry attached to Birmingham but Aitken advised an independent initiative to the University Grants Committee (Ives, 2000, p.343).

University league tables

The University ranked 33rd out of 109 higher education institutions in The Times 2007 Good University Guide, and came 16th in The Guardians 2006 rankings. It is ranked fifth nationally for Research Excellence.

Birmingham is rated equal 90th best university in the world in the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (IHE-SJTU) Academic Ranking of World Universities 2006.[2] In October 2006, the University was also ranked equal 90th best in the world by The Times Higher Education Supplement.

Year Times Ranking Guardian Ranking
2007 33/109 16/122
2006 33/109 16/122
2005 23/119 29/122
2004 23/119 22/109
Year World Ranking
2006 90/500
2005 98/500

The University's School of Biosciences and School of Sports and Exercise Sciences are ranked in the world's top ten in their respective fields.

Architecture of the University

"Old Joe", the University Clock Tower.

The University occupies a site some 3 miles south-west of Birmingham city centre. The original 25 acre site was given to the university in 1900 by Lord Calthorpe. The original buildings on the Edgbaston site were built at the turn of the twentieth century. The original semi-circle of red-brick domed buildings form Chancellor's Court, at the centre of which stands the clock tower and which sit on a 30 ft (9.1m) drop so the original architects placed their buildings on two tiers with a 16 ft drop between them.

The grand buildings were an outcome of the £50,000 given by steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to establish a "first class modern scientific college" on the model of Cornell University.

Affectionately known as 'Old Joe', as it is dedicated to the University's first chancellor Joseph Chamberlain, the design of the clock tower draws its inspiration from the that of the Torre del Mangia, the medieval clock tower forming part of the Town Hall in Siena, Italy and is made from Accrington Red Brick. When it was built it was described as 'the intellectual beacon of the Midlands' by the Birmingham Post. The clock tower was Birmingham's tallest building from the date of its construction in 1908 until 1969 and is still the third highest in the city.

The campus has a wide diversity in architectural types and architects. "What makes Birmingham so exceptional among the Red Brick universities is the deployment of so many other major Modernist practices: only Oxford and Cambridge boast greater selections" (Foster, 2005, p.242-3).

The statue on horseback fronting the entrance to the university and Barber Institute is a 1722 statue of George I rescued from Dublin in 1937. This was saved by Bodkin, a director of the National Gallery of Ireland and first director of the Barber Institute. The statue was commissioned by the Dublin Corporation from the Flemish sculptor Van Nost (Ives, 2000, p.230).

Chancellors of the University

Principal officers of the University

Guild of Students

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University Sport Birmingham

The University has many successful sports teams and has been consistently ranked in the top three of the BUSA (British Universities Sport Association) league table.[2] The recently re-branded University Sport Birmingham (USB) offers a wide range of competitive and participation sports, which is utilised by the student and local population of Birmingham.

Alongside fitness classes such as yoga and aerobics, USB offers over 40 different sport teams, including rowing, football, rugby, field hockey, American football, ice hockey (Birmingham Eagles), triathlon and many more. The wide selection has ensured the university has remained one of the country's most active and colourful campuses with over 2000 students participating in sport. The mens' football team currently plays in the Midland Combination Division One.

Off-campus establishments

Other items of interest

The University:

Facts about "Old Joe", the Chamberlain Tower:

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  • The four clock faces are each 17 ft 3 in. in diameter.
  • The minute hands are 13 ft 6 in. long.
  • At its widest part, the hour hand is 2 ft. across.
  • The hands are made out of sheet copper.
  • The frame is made of one solid casting and weighs half a ton.
  • The pendulum is 15 ft. long.
  • The largest of the four hour bells weighs 6.5 tons.
  • The whole weight of the clock and bells exceeds 20 tons.
  • The tower is 97 m tall and remains one of the tallest buildings in Birmingham and one of the top 50 tallest in the UK.[3]

Branding

The University's crest from the 1980s until 2005

In 2005 the University began rebranding itself as a less conservative institution, changing the logo from the simplified crest introduced in the 1980s to a more detailed design based on the crest as it appears on the University's original Royal Charter. Variations on this crest also feature in much of the original architecture on campus, including the ceiling of the Great Hall.

As it stands, the University now has two logos to represent a dual image. After a £320,000 research project into the image of the University, it was decided that the University was viewed as an older institution by companies and potential investors and as such an updated image was required to redefine the University as being modern and up-to-date. The marketing brand makes use of the letters U and B to bracket key words and achievements associated with the University. A new "word marque", using the Baskerville font in honour of the Birmingham printer John Baskerville, is used as the primary logo when trying to attract both prospective investors and students. It also features on all University vehicles. The crest, revised to more closely resemble that on the original University charter, appears on degree certificates and academic documents. The seating in the Great Hall has also been replaced with chairs embroidered with the new crest. The introduction of new signage throughout the campus (featuring the revised crest rather than the "U and B" logo) was completed at the end of 2006. The rebranding was not well received by many students and members of staff at the University, there having been little or no consultation prior to its introduction.[4]

Alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham

Nobel Prize recipients

Writers and Artists

Politicians

Armed Forces

Media and journalism

Actors/Directors

Musicians

Entrepreneurs and business

Law and order

  • Sir Michael Davies - one of the first judges to specifically handle defamation cases
  • Professor David Pearl - lawyer and member of the judicial appointments commission

Sport

Academia

Others

References

Foster, A. (2005) Birmingham, Pevsner Architectural Guides, Yale University Press: London. ISBN 0-300-10731-5

Ives, E. (2000) The First Civic University: Birmingham, 1880-1980 - An Introductory History, University of Birmingham Press: Birmingham. ISBN 1-902459-07-5

The Univesity of Birmingham Yearbook 2002-2003

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Template:Cite web
  2. ↑ The BUSA Championship Results 2005/2006 (July 6, 2006) BUSA

External links

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