University of East Anglia

University of East Anglia
Shield from the arms of the University of East Anglia
Motto	Do Different
Established	29 September 1963
Type	Public
Endowment	£3.4 million[1]
Chancellor	Sir Brandon Gough[2]
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Edward Acton[3]
Visitor	The Lord President of the Council ex officio[4]
Staff	2,966[5]
Students	19,585[6]
Undergraduates	15,190[6]
Postgraduates	4,395[6]
Location	Norwich, Norfolk, England 52°37′18″N 1°14′30″E / 52.62167°N 1.24167°E / 52.62167; 1.24167Coordinates: 52°37′18″N 1°14′30″E / 52.62167°N 1.24167°E / 52.62167; 1.24167
Campus	320 acres (1.29km²)[7]
Colours	Black and Blue[8]
Affiliations	1994 Group ACU Universities UK
Website	www.uea.ac.uk

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England.^[9] It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.^[10] The University was ranked 20th in the The Times Good University Guide 2008,^[11] and joint first for student satisfaction among mainstream universities in the 2006 National Student Survey.^[12] The University was also ranked 57th in Europe, and one of the top 200 universities in the world, in the 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.^[13]

History

Earlham Hall, childhood home of Elizabeth Fry, now home to Norwich Law School

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UEA admitted its first students in 1963 in temporary accommodation in Earlham Hall, on the western edge of the city of Norwich about 3 miles from the city centre.^[14]

In the mid-1970s, extraction of gravel in the valley of the River Yare, which runs to the south of the campus, resulted in the university acquiring its own lake or "Broad" as it is sometimes referred to. At more or less the same time, a bequest of tribal art and 20th century painting and sculpture, by artists such as Francis Bacon and Henry Moore, from Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury resulted in the construction of the striking Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the western end of the main teaching wall, one of the first major works of architect Norman Foster.

Academic reputation

The university has a strong academic reputation and consistently places highly in national and international league tables. Internationally, in 2007 the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities placed UEA 57th in Europe and 151-200th in the world,^[22] while in the same year The G-Factor World Rankings placed UEA 239th in the world.^[21]

The university, which boasts one of the only new medical schools in the UK has recently been placed as the 6th best medical school in the United Kingdom by the Guardian Newspaper.^{[citation needed]}

The results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), published 18 December 2008, confirm that the University of East Anglia is one of the leading research institutions in the United Kingdom. Over 50% of the University’s research activity was deemed to be world leading or internationally excellent, with 87% in total being of international standing.^[23] The university's research in the domains of American and Anglophone Area Studies, Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, and finally Development Studies places its respective Schools within the top three nationally.^[24][25][26] UEA also boasts the highest percentage of national world leading research in History of Art, Design and Architecture.^[27] Research in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences along with Pharmacy places UEA within the top ten nationally.^[28][29] The previous 2001 RAE ranked the Schools of Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Environmental Sciences and History at 5*, the highest possible research ranking. The Schools of Architecture, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, English Language and Literature, History of Art, Law, Philosophy, Pure Mathematics and Social Work were ranked at 5.^[30]

The award-winning Zuckerman Institute for Connective Environmental Research low-carbon building.

The postgraduate Master of Arts in Creative Writing, founded by Sir Malcom Bradbury and Sir Angus Wilson in 1970 is regarded as the most respected in the United Kingdom, and admission to the programme is notoriously difficult.^[31] The course has gone on to produce a plethora of distinguished authors, including Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Anne Enright, Tash Aw, Andrew Miller, Owen Sheers, Tracy Chevalier, Trezza Azzopardi, Panos Karnezis, and Suzannah Dunn.The German émigré novelist W. G. Sebald also taught in the School of Literature and Creative Writing until his untimely death from a car accident, in 2001.^[32]

The Climatic Research Unit, founded in 1972 by Hubert Lamb in the School of Environmental Sciences^[33] and presently directed by Phil Jones, has been an early centre of work for climate change research. Publications include the recent study on anthropogenic polar warming. The School was also stated to be "the strongest in the world" by the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, Sir David King during a lecture at the John Innes Centre in 2005.^[34]

Two academics from UEA, Professor of Development Studies Katrina Brown and Professor of Economic Behaviour and Decision Theory Graham Loomes, are among six scholars in the UK to have recently received prestigious fellowships from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that will allow them to carry out cutting-edge research in social science.^[35] Professor Ian Diamond, ESRC Chief Executive, said "These fellowships are designed to support leading social scientists working in the UK. The scheme offers Fellows with an outstanding track record in research, the time and funding to pursue an exciting research agenda, and to carry out innovative and creative work that will have economic, social land policy impacts. Each of the six successful individuals has an international reputation as a leader in their respective fields." The four other fellowship recipients were academics from Cardiff University, the University of Essex, the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.^[36]

Faculties and Schools

The University offers over 300 courses across 4 Faculties and 23 Schools of Study.^[5] They are as follows:

Faculty of Arts and Humanities American Studies Film and Television Studies History Language, Linguistics and Translation Studies Literature and Creative Writing Music Philosophy Political, Social and International Studies School of World Art Studies and Museology Faculty of Health Allied Health Professions Medicine, Health Policy and Practice Nursing and Midwifery

The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts designed by Lord Norman Foster to house the art collection of Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury Faculty of Science Biological Sciences Chemical Sciences & Pharmacy Computing Sciences Environmental Sciences Mathematics Faculty of Social Sciences Economics Education and Lifelong Learning International Development Norwich Law School Norwich Business School Social Work and Psychology

Campus

Notable features of the UEA campus include Earlham Hall which is home to Norwich Law School, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the western end of the main teaching wall designed by Norman Foster to house the art collection of Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury, and "Sportspark", one of the biggest multi-sports facilities in the country, built in 2001 thanks to a £14.5 million grant from Sport England Lottery Fund.^[60] Other features include the large university lake or "broad" at the southern edge of campus, "The Square", a popular central outdoor meeting place at the heart of campus flanked by concrete steps.

Constable Terrace, one of the university's halls of residence

In terms of accommodation the university campus is home to 8 en-suite residences, namely Constable Terrace, Nelson Court, and Britten, Colman, Victory, Kett, Browne, and Paston Houses. The residences are named after Horatio Nelson, John Constable, Benjamin Britten, Jeremiah Colman, Horatio Nelson's ship HMS Victory, Robert Kett, Sir Thomas Browne and the Paston family who wrote the Paston Letters. The university also offers en-suite accommodation at the University Village, located adjacent to the university campus. There are also 4 non en-suite residences on campus, namely Norfolk and Suffolk terraces also known as the ziggurats, and Orwell and Wolfson Close. In addition the university manages Mary Chapman Court, a hall of residence located in Norwich city centre.^[61]

Facilities on campus include the "Union Pub and Bar", a concert and disco venue called the "The LCR", a canteen called "Zest", a cafe/coffee shop called "The Blend", a bar/coffee shop called "The Hive", a graduate bar called the "Graduate Students Club" and "The Street" which features a 24-hour launderette, the Union Food Outlet, Union Paper Shop, Union Post Office, an espresso bar called "DolcHe Vita", branches of NatWest and Barclays, and a Waterstone's book shop.

The campus is linked to the city centre and railway station by frequent buses, operated by First, via Unthank Road or Earlham Road. First also operate frequent buses from the campus to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and to Bowthorpe.

Union of UEA Students

The university's campus is home to many sculptural works, including a number of pieces by Henry Moore

The UEA Union has a selection of sports clubs and societies ranging from football and rugby clubs to the independent student newspaper Concrete. Nexus UTV, the campus television station, broadcasts news, comedy, documentaries and various other programmes, and is one of the oldest still-running student television stations in the country having been established in 1968.^[62] Livewire 1350AM, the award winning campus radio station, which transmits to air on 1350AM in the vicinity of the University as well as broadcasting on the internet, was established in 1989. A more recent society, 'The Campus Sustainability Initiative', founded The Sustainability Initiative Fund where UEA students each pay a £1 per year sustainability fee with the proceeds going towards sustainable projects on campus such as implementing renewable energies or energy conservation projects. The initiative was supported by UEA students in a campus referendum with a 78% majority, and the project was inspired by a similar initiaitve at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The UEA Student Union operates many of the services on the university campus which are open to all members of the university community and the general public. Connected to both "The Street" and "The Square" is one of the most popular Union venues, the "Union Pub and Bar" which underwent extension and refurbishment at the cost of £1.2 million in 2002. Other bars include "The Hive" (which, due to efforts from the Students' Union, was refurbished for the start of the 2004/05 academic year), and the "Graduate Students Club". In the same building is The LCR, known in full as either The Large ^[63] or Lower ^[64] Common Room. The LCR is home to weekly campus discos, as well as the many touring gigs. The students' union also run The Waterfront venue off campus in Norwich's King Street.

The UEA student body is one of the more politically active among UK universities, with turnout at ballots averaging around 20% (compared to a national average of around 15%).^[65] In 2007 the Union Council voted to oppose the National Union of Students' no-platform policy which bans extremists such as the BNP and Hizb-ut Tahrir from standing in NUS elections. A letter was sent to NUS president Gemma Tumelty to inform her of this. She later voiced her disagreement but said she 'looked forward to having the debate' with the union's delegates at next years annual conference. The no-platform issue will now be put to a referendum of all students.

Recent developments

UEA Drama Studio

In 2005 the university, in partnership with the University of Essex, and with the support of Suffolk County Council, the East of England Development Agency, Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk College, and the Learning and Skills Council, secured £15 million funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England for the creation of a new campus in the Waterfront area of Ipswich, called University Campus Suffolk or UCS.^[66] The campus opened in September 2007.^[66]

E-mail controversy

In November 2009 hackers broke into a server used by the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and accessed a large quantity of data, anonymously posting more than 1,000 emails and more than 2,000 other documents online.^[67][68] Some people assert that a number of the leaked e-mails are evidence that scientists had conspired to manipulate data to strengthen the evidence for anthropogenic climate change^[69] and to keep scientists who have contrary views out of peer-review literature, though the first of these accusations has been denied.^[70] The CRU's researchers stated that the e-mails had been taken out of context and merely reflected an honest exchange of ideas.^[71] Phil Jones, Director of the Climatic Research Unit, called the charges that the emails involve any "untoward" activity "ludicrous."^[72]

Low Carbon Campus

In October 2008 the University laid the foundations for a new biomass power station, which aims to cut the university's carbon emissions by 34% within 2 years. The power station, which will use locally-sourced wood chips from sustainable plantations close to the campus, will become the first of its kind in England. The university has been ahead of the energy game for some time. It has constructed a number of low-energy buildings which are known around the globe for their energy efficiency, and already generates 60 per cent of its own electrical power on site. This is done in the most efficient way possible, via combined heat and power (CHP), heating buildings by using the normal waste heat from power generation.

People

Notable alumni

Baroness Amos served as Leader of the House of Lords from 2003-2007.

Sir Paul Nurse was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2001, and is currently President of Rockefeller University.

Ian McEwan was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 1998.

Kazuo Ishiguro was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 1989 for his novel The Remains of the Day.

Notable academics

See also Category:Academics of the University of East Anglia

Chancellors

• The Rt Hon The Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax (1962–1964)
• The Rt Hon The Lord Franks of Headington (1965–1984)
• Sir Owen Chadwick (1984–1994)
• Sir Geoffrey Allen (1994–2003)
• Sir Brandon Gough (2003– )

Vice Chancellors

• Frank Thistlethwaite (1961–1980)
• Sir Michael Thompson (1980–1986)
• Derek Burke (1987–1995)
• Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll (1995–1997)
• Vincent Watts (1997–2002)
• David Eastwood (2002–2006)
• Bill MacMillan (2006–2009)
• Edward Acton (2009– )

Facts & Figures

• According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), in 2004 the proportion of students admitted to the University from independent schools was 11.6%.^[73]

References

Further reading

Dormer, P. and Muthesius, S. (2002) Architecture at the University of East Anglia, 1962-2000. Unicorn Press.
Sanderson, M. (2002) The History of the University of East Anglia, Norwich. Hambledon Continuum.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: University of East Anglia

• University of East Anglia
• Union of UEA Students

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