University of Canterbury
This page is about the New Zealand University. The Universities in Canterbury, England are the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University.The
University of Canterbury, New Zealand's second-oldest university, is located in the
suburb of Ilam in the city of
Christchurch,
New Zealand. It offers degrees in
Arts,
Commerce,
Education,
Engineering,
Fine Arts,
Forestry,
Law,
Music,
Social Work,
Speech and Language Therapy and
Science.
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The James Hight building at the University of Canterbury |
The University has a 760,000 square metre site at
Ilam, a suburb of Christchurch about 7 km from the city centre. There are five
libraries, with the Central Library housed in the tallest building on campus, the 11-storey James Hight building. Also of note is the Rutherford Building, which houses the
Physics &
Astronomy and
Chemistry departments.
There are four
Halls of residence:
Bishop Julius Hall,
College House,
Rochester and Rutherford Hall, and
University Hall.
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The Science Lecture Theatre complex with the top of the Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry building in the background |
There are four field stations that are administered by the
Field Facilities Centre:
*
Cass Field Station - Provides a wide range of environments - montane grasslands, scrub, riverbed, scree, beech forest, swamp, bog, lake, stream and alpine habitats can all be reached by day trips on foot
*
Kaikoura Field Station - Provides a wide range of environments - diverse marine habitats, alpine habitats, Kanuka forests, rivers, lakes
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Harihari Field Station - Access to native forests, streams
*
Westport Field Station - study of the
West Coast of New Zealand in particular mining
There is also an additional field Station run primarily by the University and its project partners in the
Nigerian Montane Forests Project - this field station is on the Ngel Nyaki forest edge in Nigeria.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy run their own field laboratory:
*
Mount John University Observatory at
Tekapo for optical astronomical research
*
Birdling's Flat radar facility
*
Scott Base radar facility
*
Cracroft Caverns ring
laser facility
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is also involved in the
Southern African Large Telescope.
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University of Canterbury logo |
The
Vice-Chancellor is Professor
Roy Sharp, who has held this position since 2003. The governing body of the University is the Council. The Council Chair is the Chancellor, who in 2005 is
Dr Robin Mann. Also on the council are representatives from the faculties, students and general staff.
The University was restructured in 2004 into four Colleges and a School of Law, administering a number of schools and departments (though a number of departments are involved in cross teaching in numerous academic faculties). The main constituents of the university structure are:
*
College of Arts, administering:
** School of Classics and Linguistics
** School of Culture, Literature and Society, School of Education
** School of Fine Arts
** School of History
** School of Languages and Cultures
** School of Maori and Indigenous Studies
** Centre for Music and Theatre & Film Studies
** School of Philosophy and Religious Studies
** School of Political Science and Communication
** Social Work
** School of Sociology and Anthropology
*
College of Business and Economics, administering:
** Accounting, Finance, and Information Systems
** Economics
** Management
** Management Science
*
College of Engineering, administering:
** Civil Engineering
** Chemical and Process Engineering
** Computer Science and Software Engineering
** Electrical and Computer Engineering
** Mathematics and Statistics
** Mechanical Engineering
** Mechatronics Engineering
** School of Forestry
*
College of Science, administering:
** School of Biological Sciences
** Chemistry
** Communication Disorders (formerly Speech and Language Therapy)
** Geography
** Geological Sciences
** Physics and Astronomy
** Psychology
*
School of LawThe above are administrative groups - Each College and the School of Law is headed by a
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC), who is responsible to the
Vice-Chancellor for all activities of the Colleges/School. The PVCs are supported by a College Office providing financial, administrative, academic, and human resources advice to the PVC. Each College also has a College Manager, who acts as the day to day manager of the College.
It is proposed currently that the neighbouring
Christchurch College of Education be merged with the University at the beginning of 2007.
In addition to the administrative structure, there are six faculties in the University: Humanities and Social Sciences, Commerce , Engineering and Forestry, Science, Visual and Performing Arts, and Law. Each faculty consists of the teaching staff of the departments and schools which offer courses that may be part of the particular degree from that faculty. There are also student representatives on the various faculties.
The University is state funded.
As of 2005, there were a total of 13,555 students, with 1,855 being Post-Graduates and 2,453 being international students (students who are not New Zealand
citizens or residents). There were 680 academic staff and 957 general staff.
The
University of Canterbury Student Association (
UCSA) is active on campus with its own radio station
RDU and magazine
Canta. They also run two bars, the 430 seat
Ngaio Marsh Theatre, and several cafes around campus. The most popular on-campus bar is The Common Room (known as The Foundry until 2005).
There are several academic, sporting, recreational and cultural societies and clubs. The most prominent of these are the
Canterbury University Engineering Society (ENSOC), the Law Society (LAWSOC), the Commerce Society (UCom), as well as the largest non-faculty clubs such as CUBA (Canterbury University Boardriders' Association), CurrySoc, and the Gentleman's Club. The
University of Canterbury Drama Society (Dramasoc) is famous for its 1942-1969 Shakespeare productions under Dame
Ngaio Marsh, but regularly performs as an active student and alumni run Arts fixture in the small Christchurch theatre scene. There is also a similarly active
Musical Society, MuSoc.
One of the biggest student traditions is the
Undie 500. This is an annual car rally from Christchurch to
Dunedin run by ENSOC. The only stipulations are that the car must cost under
$500, have a sober driver, and be road legal.
The university was established in
1873 in the centre of
Christchurch as Canterbury College, the first constituent
college of the
University of New Zealand. It was the second institution in
New Zealand providing tertiary level
education, following the
University of Otago which was established in
1869, and the fourth in
Australasia.
It was created partly out of the efforts of the Canterbury Museum and Library and
Christ's College, which were dissatisfied with the state of higher education in Canterbury.[
1] In
1933, the name changed from
Canterbury College to
Canterbury University College. In
1957 its name was changed again to the present
University of Canterbury.
Until
1961, the University had been part of the
University of New Zealand, and issued degrees in its name. In that year the federal system was dissolved and the University of Canterbury became an independent University issuing its own degrees. Upon the UNZ's demise,
Canterbury Agricultural College became a constituent college of the University of Canterbury, becoming
Lincoln College.
PDF Lincoln College was made independent in
1990, becoming a full university.
Over the period
1961 -
1974, the university campus relocated from the centre of the city to its much larger current site in the suburb of Ilam. The
neo-gothic buildings of the old campus are now the site of the
Christchurch Arts Centre, a hub for arts, crafts and entertainment in Christchurch.
The University inherited the arms of the former Canterbury College.
The "dead sheep" (actually a silver fleece) symbolises the pastoral pursuits of the province of Canterbury, while the plough on the base of the shield symbolises agriculture. The symbols from the at the top are (from left to right) Bishop's
pall, an open book and a
cross flory. The two crosses represent Canterbury's
ecclesiastical connections. As it is an institution of learning, the University's coat of arms does not have a helmet, crest or mantling on its armorial bearings.
*
Rita Angus - Painter
*
Rosemary Banks - Ambassador to the
United Nations* Dr
Don Brash -
Leader of the Opposition and former Governor of the
Reserve Bank of New Zealand*
Jack Copeland - Philosopher
*
Michael Cullen - Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Leader of the House of Representatives, Minister of Finance, Minister of Tertiary Education
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Denis Dutton - Philosopher
*
Jock Hobbs - New Zealand Rugby Union Chair and former All Black Captain
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Roy Kerr -
Mathematician, solved
Einstein's equations for a rotating
black hole*
Euan MacLeod - Painter
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Margaret Mahy - children's author
*
Sam Neill - Actor
*
Sir Apirana Ngata - Early
Māori politician
* Sir
William Pickering - Director of NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 22 years
* Sir
Karl Popper -
Philosopher of science, who lectured from
1937 to
1946*
Lord Rutherford of Nelson -
Nobel winning nuclear Physicist. Displays of Lord Rutherford can be seen at the Rutherford Birthplace, Nelson, and at the
Arts Centre* Dr
Nick Smith - Politician
*
Kevin Smith - Actor
*
Beatrice Tinsley - Astronomer, conducted significant research on
galaxies*
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology*
University of Canterbury website*
A website with information about the proposed merger with the Christchurch College of Education
