University of Hull

This article is about the British university. For the university in Hull, Quebec, see Université du Québec en Outaouais.

The University of Hull

Motto	Lampada Ferens (Latin)
Motto in English	Bearing the Torch [of learning]
Established	1954 – University Status 1927 – University College Hull
Type	Public
Endowment	£ 12.5 million (2013)
Chancellor	Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone
Vice-Chancellor	Calie Pistorius
Visitor	The Lord President of the Council ex officio
Academic staff	970
Administrative staff	2,250
Students	22,275
Undergraduates	18,710
Postgraduates	3,565
Location	Kingston upon Hull 53.770263°N 0.367141°W / 53.770263; -0.367141 (Hull campus of University of Hull) and Scarborough Campus 54.264430°N 0.39650°W / 54.264430; -0.39650 (Scarborough campus of University of Hull), England
Campus	Urban area
Colours	Scarf colours, blue and gold Academic silk colour Turquoise blue
Affiliations	Global U8 (GU8), Utrecht Network
Website	www.hull.ac.uk

The University of Hull is a public university, founded in 1927, located in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The main university campus is located in Hull and there is a smaller campus in Scarborough on the North Yorkshire coast. The main campus is home to the Hull York Medical School, a joint initiative with the University of York. Students are served by Hull University Union.

The University's Brynmor Jones Library was the workplace of the poet Philip Larkin who served as its Head Librarian for over thirty years. The Philip Larkin Society organises activities in remembrance of Larkin including the Larkin 25 festival which was organised during 2010 in partnership with the University. The Library was also the workplace of former poet laureate Andrew Motion. Lord Wilberforce was chancellor of the University from 1978 until 1994. Robert Armstrong was the chancellor from 1994 to 2006. Virginia Bottomley was installed as the current chancellor in April 2006.

Alumni of the University of Hull are especially prominent in the fields of politics, academia, journalism and drama. They include former MP and later Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott (John Prescott), former MP and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Lord Hattersley (Roy Hattersley), politician and author Chris Mullin, social scientist Lord Giddens (Anthony Giddens), poet Roger McGough, journalist John McCarthy and film director, playwright and screenwriter Anthony Minghella.

History

University College

Thomas Ferens, the major benefactor financing the foundation of the University College of Hull

The Venn Building

"Moving Matter" by Joseph Hillier

The foundation stone of University College Hull, then an external college of the University of London, was laid in 1927 by Prince Albert, the Duke of York (who later became king as George VI). The college was built on land donated by Hull City Council and by two local benefactors, Thomas Ferens and G F Grant. A year later the first 14 departments, in pure sciences and the arts, opened with 39 students. The college at that time consisted of one building, now named the Venn building (after the mathematician John Venn, who was born in Hull). The building now houses the administrative centre of the university. Other early buildings include the Cohen Building, which originally housed the college library, and Staff House, built in 1948 as the Student's Union. Another early structure was the Chemistry Building, built in 1953. With the rapid expansion of student numbers which took place in the 1950s many many academic departments were housed in temporary buildings, colloquially known as 'huts,' which gave the campus the feel of an 'academic army camp.'

Though many of the buildings on Hull's campus are of red brick it is not a redbrick university in the strictest sense of the term, as it was not founded as part of the civic university movement of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hull, with its origins in the 1920s, has been categorised as a 'younger civic university' (also referred to as a "Whitetile university") and it is placed between the 'redbricks' and the 'plateglass universities' founded in the 1960s. The university's expansion in recent decades has seen the addition of a variety of building styles: from the traditional older buildings, through 1960s teaching blocks, to modern additions.

The first principal of the college was Arthur E. Morgan (1926–1935), the second was John H Nicholson (1935–1956), who also served as the university's first vice-chancellor when the college was granted university status.

Coat of Arms

The university coat of arms was designed by Sir Algernon Tudor-Craig in 1928. The symbols are the torch for learning, the rose for Yorkshire, the ducal coronet from the arms of the City of Hull, the fleur-de-lys for Lincolnshire and the dove, symbolising peace, from the arms of Thomas Ferens. These symbols were later reused to create the current university logo. The motto, Lampada Ferens (Bearing the Torch), incorporates the name of the university's founding father within a Latin pun.

Royal Charter

The college gained its Royal Charter in 1954, which empowered it to award degrees of its own, making it the third university in Yorkshire and the 14th in England. Within a year of the charter being granted applications to study at the new university had doubled, and in 1956 student numbers topped 1,000 for the first time.

The Mace

The academic authority and autonomy of the university is symbolically embodied in the ceremonial mace. Made of gilt silver, and incorporating devices from the Hull University coat of arms, the mace was presented to the university in December 1956 by the Lord Mayor of Hull. As a gift from the city it also reflects the close relationship between "town and gown" existing in Hull. The mace is carried in procession and displayed at all major university ceremonies.

Expansion in the 1950s and 1960s

Brynmor Jones Library

The Brynmor Jones Library, which houses more than a million volumes, was constructed in two phases: the first phase was fully completed in 1959, with a tower block extension officially opened in 1970. During the 1950s and 1960s a considerable number of academic buildings were built, including the Larkin and Wilberforce Buildings (originally given other names). The 'Martin Plan' of 1967, Sir Leslie Martin was the university architect, envisaged a campus with its tallest buildings in the centre surrounded by buildings diminishing in height towards the perimeter. In the course of the 1960s most of the departments housed in temporary structures were moved into new purpose-built premises. However, Biochemistry was still partially located in a 'hut' to the rear of the Venn building into the early 1980s. This early phase of expansion through building ended in 1974, after this year there was to be no further academic building construction on the campus until 1996. However, student numbers doubled in this period, with the university becoming highly efficient in using its existing building stock.

Liquid crystal technology

In 1972 George Gray and Ken Harrison created room-temperature stable liquid crystals in the university chemistry laboratories, which were an immediate success in the electronics industry and consumer products. This led to Hull becoming the first university to be awarded the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement for the joint-development of the long-lasting materials that made liquid crystal displays possible.

Expansion in the 21st century

In 2000 the university bought the site of University College Scarborough on Filey Road, Scarborough, plus two linked buildings on the same road. This became the University of Hull Scarborough Campus.

A further significant expansion took place in 2003, when the buildings of the University of Lincoln campus, which were situated immediately adjacent to Hull University's main campus, were purchased. The acquisition increased the size of the Cottingham Road campus by more than a third. It was the largest single act of expansion in the history of the university. Hull University fully occupied the newly acquired premises in the 2005 academic year; the area becoming the university's West Campus. The site now houses the Hull York Medical School and the relocated business school, which is located in three of the most prominent buildings – Wharfe, Derwent and Esk.

In 2012, the University began the ambitious refurbishment of the Brynmor Jones Library, a £27 million project which will transform the 7 storey former workplace of Philip Larkin, into a learning hub suitable for students for years to come. The project is due for completion in the summer of 2014.

Hull History Centre

The Hull History Centre, which opened in 2010, is located in a new building on Worship Street in Hull city centre. It unites the holdings of Hull City Library's Local Studies collections and Hull University's archives and is run in partnership between the City Library and University Library.

Campuses

The main campus is located in a residential district of North Hull on Cottingham Road. The University has a smaller campus in Scarborough on the North Yorkshire coast.

Main Campus (Hull)

Hull University is a campus university; though situated in a city, its main campus is in a suburban rather than urban district. The main campus occupies a single, clearly defined site and is self-contained in regard to catering and entertainment for students and staff. Most of the major features of the campus are described in the 'history' section above; in addition, the campus has a large Students' Union building, which is often described as one of the finest in the country, and extensive playing fields and other sports facilities. The large village of Cottingham on Hull's north-western outskirts houses most of the university-owned student accommodation.

Scarborough Campus

Scarborough Campus

The University of Hull: Scarborough Campus is the satellite campus of the university located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, attended by approximately 2,000 students. Formerly University College Scarborough, a higher education institution offering BSc and BA degrees, the building was acquired by the University of Hull in 2000. Scarborough Campus remains true to its teacher training roots by being best known for its Education courses, particularly at a primary level. Undergraduate degrees on offer also include Marine Biology, Digital Media, Music Technology, Theatre Studies, Tourism Management, and a number of Business and English courses.

Scarborough runs somewhat independently of the main campus in Hull, with its own branch of the Hull University Union. Being much smaller than the main campus, there are approximately 2,000 students attending courses at Scarborough per academic year, with graduation ceremonies taking place within Scarborough's historic Spa Complex. It is home to the newly refurbished "Keith Donaldson Library", and "Calvino's" cafe and bar, which was refurbished in 2007, and reopened by The Bar Wizards of Britain's Got Talent fame. The campus also contains basic amenities for study, such as computer labs,performance studios for students of Theatre and Dance related courses as well as dedicated music suites in the "Filey Road Studios" building opposite the campus.

In recent years, efforts have been made to improve Scarborough students' accessibility to Hull's resources, such as the ability to request library books from Hull's much larger Brynmor Jones Library, and a developing coach service between the two campuses.

History

The university building started out as Orleton Boys' School and included facilities such as a swimming pool and a gym. The main building also contained dormitories for the boys. "Cayley Halls", named after the aeronautical engineer Sir George Cayley, was built when demand for office space meant that students could no longer reside within the main building, and continues its use at present for the students of the university.

In 1947, the building became the North Riding College, used for teacher training. However, a downturn in numbers of trainee teachers in the early 1990s led to an expansion into undergraduate degrees, and the college became known as University College Scarborough, offering BSc and BA degree-level courses in an effort to avert closure. The building was obtained by the University of Hull in 2000, giving it its current name.

Academic profile

Faculty of Science and Engineering (FoSE)

Lecture theatres attached to the Applied Sciences Building

• Dean: Stephen M Kelly
• Departments: School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Centre for Environmental and Marine Sciences (Scarborough Campus), Geography, Physics and Mathematics, Psychology, Sports Science, Healthcare Science & Exercise Science

Until recently, there were two faculties, the 'Faculty of Applied Science & Technology' and the 'Faculty of Science & the Environment', before becoming the 'Faculty of Science' and later being renamed to the 'Faculty of Science and Engineering'.

Notable sub-departments include the Hull Immersive Visualisation Environment (HIVE), the Institute for Estuarine and Coastal Studies (IECS). The Chemistry department is noted for its research record, and the Computer Science department is noted for its Computer Science and Video Game development degrees.

A new biomedical research facility will bring academics from biology and chemistry together and will include Positron Emission Tomography with CT scanning (PET-CT) and two mini cyclotrons. Two new research groups will be based at the facility, called the Allam building: one focusing on cardiovascular and metabolic research and the other on cancer.

Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

Wilberforce Building – entrance

• Dean: Professor Brigitte Resl
• Departments: Criminology & Social Sciences (including social work), Drama & Music, English, Gender Studies, History, Humanities, Law school, School of Languages, Linguistics & Cultures (American Studies, French, German, Chinese, Italian and Spanish), School of Politics, Philosophy & International Studies, School of Arts & New Media, Social Work

Most social science and law-related department housed in the refurbished Wilberforce Building. Includes the School of Arts and New Media at Scarborough, formed in August 2006. Drama is taught in the Gulbenkian Centre, including the Donald Roy Theatre. History, English, Languages and Music are in the Larkin Building.

Health and Social Care (FHSC)

• Dean: Professor Julie Jomeen (Acting)
• Departments: Department of Nursing, Department of Midwifery and Child Health, Department of Health Technology and Perioperative Practice, Department of Psychological Health and Wellbeing

Based in the Calder, Aire and Dearne buildings in the west campus (former campus of universities of Humberside, then finally Lincoln). The Leven building contains mock clinical areas, wards, an operating theatre and a midwifery suite, within a simulated environment.

The FHSC is running a new degree programme, BSc Global Health and Disease (International Health, Development and Humanitarian Relief).

Faculty of Education (FoE)

• Dean: Dina Lewis
• Centres: Educational Studies, Lifelong Learning, Scarborough School of Education And includes the Scarborough School of Education, a former teacher training college – the North Riding College. This became University College Scarborough, then the Scarborough campus.

Hull York Medical School (HYMS)

Loxley Building, Hull York Medical School.

Main article: Hull York Medical School

• Dean: Professor Trevor Sheldon

Teaching of medicine began in October 2003 on the west campus. Medical students receive joint degrees from the universities of Hull and York. The school includes the 'International Society for the Study of Cough' based at Castle Hill hospital on Castle Road in Cottingham. Third and fourth year students train also at hospitals in Scunthorpe, Grimsby, and Scarborough.

Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI)

• Director: Nicholas D. Stafford

Established in 1994, one of the PGMI's sections is the Yorkshire Cancer Research-funded Centre for Magnetic Resonance Investigations which, under the directorship of Lindsay W. Turnbull, is actively engaged in researching the application of magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques to cancer research.

Hull University Business School (HUBS)

The Esk Building – part of the Business School

• Dean: Terry Williams

Established in August 1999, Hull University Business School has around 3,500 students from over 100 countries. Students are taught at the Hull and Scarborough campuses, with additional MBA students taught overseas. On the Hull campus, the school occupies refurbished listed buildings on the West Campus which were opened in 2005. The Logistics Institute was completed in September 2007, and officially launched in March 2008.

In 2011, following accreditation by the AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB, the Business School became the first in Yorkshire, and the 13th in the UK, to achieve "triple crown accreditation" status.

Wilberforce Institute (WISE)

• Director: John Oldfield

The Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE) is located in Oriel Chambers on the High Street in Hull's Old Town, adjacent to Wilberforce House. It undertakes graduate research in the field of slavery and human rights and offers an MA in Slavery Studies. WISE draws upon the university's academic expertise in history, law, social sciences and English. The institute's patron is Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Maritime Historical Studies Centre

• Director: David J Starkey

The University's Maritime Historical Studies Centre provides a BA in History and Maritime History, an online Diploma in Maritime History and PhD research in maritime history. The Centre is located in the Hull's Old Town in Blaydes House.

Rankings

QS (2014/15, national)	53
QS (2014/15, world)	551-600
Complete (2016, national)	63
The Guardian (2016, national)	54
Times/Sunday Times (2015, national)	58

Rankings

National rankings are summarised

in the box to the right.

Student life

Students' Union

Hull University Union

Main article: Hull University Union

Hull University Union is the main provider of student catering, services and entertainment on the university campus. It has over 100 student societies affiliated to it, and also runs a volunteering and charity hub. Approximately 50 sports clubs are affiliated to the Students Union's Athletic Union, many of which compete in BUCS national university leagues. The University Union was voted Students' Union of the Year in July 2012.

The student union building comprises an on-site nightclub as well as a number of bars and catering outlets. The building also houses a shop, a Waterstones book shop, advice centre, and the university-run careers service.

There is a monthly student newspaper called The Hullfire, an online television station called Hullfire TV and a student radio station which broadcasts from the union building called Hullfire Radio.

Student accommodation

• 

  Downs Hall, The Lawns

• 

  Needler Hall

• 

  Thwaite Hall

The University of Hull's main student accommodation complex is The Lawns in the nearby village of Cottingham. It accommodates nearly 1,000 students across seven halls of residence: Ferens, Lambert, Nicholson, Morgan, Downs, Reckitt and Grant. Students from six of the halls rely on the communal Lawns Centre as a catering and social hub. Ferens Hall was built during the Second World War as a barracks for the US Air Force whilst the other six halls were purpose-built between 1963 and 1967.

Thwaite Hall is a traditional hall of residence also in Cottingham set in an 18th Century country house surrounded by its own parkland and lake. It has 187 rooms. The university's other accommodation in Cottingham is Needler Hall, also an 18th Century country house. It has 167 rooms.

There is on-campus accommodation at the Taylor Court flats, which comprise 288 self-contained, single study-bedrooms. Student housing is based primarily in the terraced streets around the university campus itself, as well as around the Newland Avenue and Beverley Road areas of the city.

Sports

Sports Centre

Hull University Rugby League

Competing in BUCS Northern Premier, the highest level of Student Rugby League in the country, Hull University Rugby League (HURL) are one of the University's most successful teams, and the only team representing the University of Hull at a national level, ranking 3rd best in England. In affiliation with Super League club, Hull FC, HURL are coached at Level 3 standard, resulting in their prominence in the BUCS Championships in recent years. HURL enter the Challenge Cup in Round One, only two rounds prior to the entry of Super League clubs. Since 2004, each year the "Old Boys" return to play the "Current Boys" for the Tim Brook Memorial Trophy, a game in memory of former HURL and BARLA player.

Notable achievements:

1983 - UCARLA Cup Winners; 1984 - Merit Finalists; 1985 - UAU Champions, UAU League Winners, UCARLA Cup Finalists; 1986 - UCARLA Runners Up; 1987 - UCARLA Cup Winners; 1988 - UCARLA Runners Up; 2010 - BUCS Trophy Knockout Runners Up; 2013 - Super 8 Semi-finalists; 2015 - BUCS Premier Semi-finalists.

UH Sharks

The UH Sharks are the University of Hull's American Football team. They are one of the biggest clubs in the AU and take pride in being one of the University's most successful teams.

Notable achievements include:

Playoff Appearances (11) 1987, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Division Championships (5) 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002

Conference Championships (5) 1987, 1988, 1989, 2002, 2013

BCAFL/BUAFL Championships (4) 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989

BUAFL Challenge Trophy Appearances (1) 2011

Hull Ice Hogs

The Hull Ice Hogs are a British ice hockey team that play in the Second Division North of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. The team plays its home games at the Hull Ice Arena, Kingston upon Hull, England. The Hull Ice Hogs are governed by the University of Hull Athletic Union and therefore are obligated to hold committee elections annually to vote the next season's committee.

Hull University Swimming Club

One of the university's biggest and most popular sports teams, the Swimming Club competes regularly in BUCS. There is a strong rivalry with the Universities of Keele and Lincoln. The club trains at the historic Beverley Road Baths, though they are campaigning for swimming facilities to be built on campus.

Notable academics

• Richard Beeman – American history (1976–77)
• Malcolm Bradbury – Adult education (1959–61), novelist and academic
• Jacob Bronowski – mathematics (1934–42)
• Arthur Geoffrey Dickens – historian on The English Reformation (1949–1962)
• George William Gray FRS (also a Hull alumnus, PhD 1953) – instrumental in developing the materials which made liquid crystal displays possible (1946–1990), awarded Kyoto Prize and Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society
• Sir Alister Hardy FRS – Marine biologist, the first Professor of Zoology at the University College of Hull (1928–1942)
• Clive Head – artist (1990–2000)
• Terence Wilmot Hutchison – Lecturer in Economics (1946–1947), influential as an economic methodologist and as a historian of economic thought
• Ludwig Lachmann – German economist and member of the Austrian School of economics (1943–1948)
• Chris Langton – developed an early detection system for osteoporosis utilising ultrasonic waves
• Philip Larkin – University Librarian (1955–1985), poet, jazz critic and novelist
• Kathleen Lennon – Ferens Chair in Philosophy (2009–), feminist philosopher
• Sir Leslie Martin – Head of Architecture (1934–?), leading architect and designer of the Royal Festival Hall
• Rob S. Miles – computer scientist, Microsoft MVP
• Sir Andrew Motion – Lecturer in English (1976–1980), Poet Laureate (1999–2009)
• Bernhard Neumann – Lecturer in Mathematics (1946–1948), leading figure in group theory
• Philip Norton, Baron Norton of Louth – professor of politics
• Stuart Palmer – responsible for breakthroughs in the field of ultrasound bone densitometry
• Michael Paraskos – writer and anarchist art historian (1994–2001)
• Bhikhu Parekh, Baron Parekh – professor of politics, specialist on the theory of multiculturalism (1964–2000)
• Barrie Pettman, lecturer in Industrial Relations in the Department of Social Administration; publisher and philanthropist.
• John Guest Phillips FRS – endocrinologist and gerontologist, Professor of Zoology at Hull (1967–1979), Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University (1986–1987).
• Eric Roll, Baron Roll of Ipsden – Professor of Economics and Commerce (1935–1946), economist, civil servant and banker
• John Saville – Professor of History, marxist historian
• Richard Swinburne – Christian philosopher of religion, later professor of philosophy at University of Oxford

Notable alumni

Main article: Alumni of the University of Hull

• Daniel Francis Annan – Former appeal court judge and speaker of the Parliament of Ghana
• Fred Kwasi Apaloo – Former Chief Justice of Ghana and Kenya
• Sir Hilary Beckles - Barbadian historian (1973-1980), Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of West Indies
• Georges Bégué MC - Special Operations Executive agent during World War II. Devised a system of coded communications via Radio Londres.
• Mark Charnock – Actor and star of ITV soap opera, Emmerdale
• Tracey Crouch – Member of Parliament for Chatham and Aylesford
• Jeremy Darroch – Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
• John Fallon (businessman) – British business executive. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Pearson PLC.
• Richard Douglas – Acting Permanent Secretary for the Department of Health
• Douglas Dunn - Scottish poet
• Robert Elstone – CEO of Everton F.C.
• Anthony Giddens – a British sociologist credited with the Third Way and policy adviser to both Tony Blair and Bill Clinton
• Helen Grant – Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald
• Lord Hattersley (Roy Hattersley) – Former Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
• Peter Kenny – Voice-over artist, actor, singer and designer
• Muhtar Kent – CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
• Monika Kinley – art dealer, collector and curator
• Nicholas Liverpool – High Court judge in Antigua and Montserrat and President of Dominica
• Sally Lindsay – Former Coronation Street actress and a member of Loose Women
• Jason Lo - Malaysian music artist, music producer, DJ and entrepreneur
• John McCarthy – Writer and former hostage
• Roger McGough – Poet and presenter
• Kevin McNamara – Politician and MP for a number of Hull constituencies, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• Anthony Minghella – BAFTA and Academy Award winning British film director, playwright and screenwriter
• Jenni Murray – Writer and Woman's Hour presenter
• Lord Prescott (John Prescott) – former MP and ex-Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Duncan Pritchard - Philosopher and Chair in Epistemology at the University of Edinburgh; Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
• Faisal al-Qassem - A leading British Syrian TV journalist with Al-Jazirah TV
• Sian Reese-Williams – Actor and star of ITV soap opera, Emmerdale
• Jimmy Smith – Guitarist for the indie rock band, Foals
• Sam Troughton – Actor
• Tracey Thorn – Singer, songwriter and one half of Everything But The Girl
• Tom Watson - Member of Parliament for West Bromwich East
• Jeremy Williams – Actor/writer/photographer

External links

• Official website
• Hull University Union