University of Southampton
The
University of Southampton is a
British university situated in the city of
Southampton, on the south coast of
Great Britain. The university has a world-wide reputation for high-quality research, and is a member of the
Russell Group of research-led
British universities. According to
The Sunday Times newspaper
league table, Southampton is perennially in the top ten for research (its primary focus), while in
2002 it came 3rd overall (out of around 200 British institutions). Southampton is a member of the
Worldwide Universities Network and has close links with
MIT in the
United States.
The University's main buildings are situated on a large site on the
Highfield Campus in
Highfield, but the university has other campuses elsewhere around the city: at
Boldrewood (biomedical sciences), New College (formerly La Sainte Union College),
Southampton General Hospital and on the waterfront at the
National Oceanography Centre. It also has a campus in the nearby city of
Winchester which is the home of the university's fine & performing arts departments (formerly the independent institution
Winchester School of Art, but now an integral part of the university). The
Avenue Campus houses most of the Humanities subjects taught at the University, including History, English, Philosophy and Modern Languages. The Centre for Language Study is based at Avenue Campus, but there is also an equally large and well-equipped branch at
New College Music is taught on the Highfield Campus.
Southampton is probably best known as an engineering, science and social science university. In the most recent RAE assessment (
2001), it has the only
engineering faculty in the country to receive the highest rating (5*) across all disciplines. According to the
Times Higher Educational Supplement, Southampton has the second largest research income among British universities for the
physical sciences and
mathematics, and the third largest research income for engineering and
technology. The university is also strong in other disciplines - in
archaeology, the first three professors produced by Southampton later became heads of archaeology at
Oxford,
Cambridge and
University College London. The music department is also renowned, benefiting from the Turner Sims concert hall, situated in the middle of the university's Highfield campus. In addition, the university is home to the
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (formerly Southampton Oceanography Centre), a leading research centre for
oceanography. The university places great emphasis on inter-disciplinary cooperation and on collaboration with industry. This is most evident in the University's Centre for Enterprise and Innovation, which is jointly run by Faculty of Engineering and the School of Management. This focus has recently been augmented by the establishment of a separate
Institiute for Entrepreneurship.
The University's Professor
David Payne FRS CBE invented the optical amplifier, without which fibre optic cables would not work. Professor Payne is also Chairman of
Photonics, a commercial company which is a spin-off of this research. Former head of the Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Professor
Tony Hey CBE, is now Corporate Vice-President of
Microsoft UK. Another Southampton Professor,
Martin Fleischmann, Professor of Electrochemistry, came to notoriety in 1989 when, along with a research collaborator, he claimed to have produced
cold fusion in a laboratory. Subsequent researchers were unable to substantiate his claims. In
2004, the inventor of the
World Wide Web, Sir
Tim Berners-Lee, accepted a part-time post as Professor of
Computer Science at the University.
*
Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics**
School of Chemistry**
School of Civil Engineering and the Environment (includes the center for
Environmental Sciences)
**
School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS)**
School of Engineering Sciences (includes Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Ship Science)
**
School of Geography**
School of Mathematics**
School of Ocean and Earth Science**
School of Physics and Astronomy**
Institute of Sound and Vibration Research**
Optoelectronics Research Centre**
Transportation Research Group**
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (home of the School of Ocean and Earth Science)
** Southampton
E-Science Centre
*
Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences**
School of Social Sciences**
School of Management - see below
**
School of Education**
School of Law**
School of Art (based at
Winchester School of Art)
**
School of Humanities**
Centre for research on aspects of Jewish History*
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences**
School of Biological Sciences **
School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences**
School of Medicine**
School of Nursing and Midwifery**
School of Psychology**
Health Care Innovation Unit*
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute*
ESRC National Centre for Research Methods |
The extension built on to the Professional Services building on Highfield Campus |
The School of Management (from 2008, the Lloyd's School of Management)
The City of London's insurance market, Lloyd's, will move its marine insurance and services operation to Southampton in 2008 (see press release -
Lloyd's move marine operations to Southampton). Lloyd's will share a new building with the University of Southampton's School of Management, which will itself be re-branded as the "Lloyd's School of Management" to recognise a financial gift from Lloyd's. The practice of corporations and business schools sharing resources and facilities is well established in some countries but this will be the first ‘professional campus' in the UK.
Lloyd's began as a business which registered and insured shipping interests in Edward Lloyd's London coffee shop in 1760. Lloyd's is not expected to move all of its business away from London: it will maintain its building at the heart of the City and the majority of its UK-based international insurance will continue to be run from there. The three parts of Lloyd's business that will move to Southampton are 1) marine insurance and ship registry, 2) executive education and training and 3) external business consulting. The research needs of these business functions, as well as those of Lloyd's other business operations, are expected to draw upon academic research produced by the University of Southampton. One of the primary attractions of the University of Southampton over other UK universities is that Southampton hosts the UK's national Centre for Risk Research. Cutting edge risk models are essential tools for insurers to assess risk accurately and thus set insurance premiums at appropriate levels. The executive education and training business will work closely with the School of Management. The two institutions will share teaching staff and facilities. The School of Management has an external consulting business of its own, which has provided management consulting services and tailored executive training to the defence, nuclear energy, electronics and motor vehicle industries, as well as with several large banks. The school also co-manages the university's Centre of Enterprise and Innovation (CEI) which helps academic researchers develop commercial products based on their research. In recent years the school has set up the Institute for Entrepreneurship.
In keeping with their tradition of operating from architecturally notable buildings, Lloyd's plan to erect a new flagship office in Southampton. This will be built on the Boldrewood campus which currently houses the University of Southampton's School of Biological Sciences.
The University of Southampton has its origin as the
Hartley Institution which was formed in
1862 from a benefaction by
Henry Robertson Hartley (1777-1850). Hartley was the son of a local wine merchant, and his ambition was to set up a harem
[Mann, John Edgar & Ashton, Peter (1998). Highfield, A Village Remembered. Halsgrove. ISBN 1-874448-91-4.]. On his death he left £103,000 to the
Southampton Corporation on condition that it was invested
in such manner as might best promote the study and advancement of the sciences of Natural History, Astronomy, Antiquities, Classical and Oriental Literature in the town, such as by forming a Public Library, Botanic Gardens, Observatory, and collections of objects with the above sciences.The city officials housed Hartley's books in a building in
Southampton's High Street, in the city centre. The Hartley Institution was borne out of this, and became a university college in 1902. In 1919 it was renamed Hartley University College, and subsequently University College Southampton. Before
1952, the college's degrees were awarded by the
University of London.
Having outgrown the High Street premises, the college was set to move to
greenfield land near
Highfield's Back Lane (now University Road). Although the new main building was formally opened on 20th June
1914, the outbreak of the
First World War occurred before any lectures could take place there. The buildings were handed over by the college authorities for use as a military hospital. In order to cope with the volume of casualties, wooden huts were erected at the rear of the building. The college continued to use these after the war, eventually replacing the makeshift extension with brick buildings. With the continuing expansion, an academic bookshop was built on the site of
Church Farm and the Students' Union complex and refectory were built on the site of
Sir Sidney Kimber's brickyard.
In
1952, the Queen granted the University of Southampton a
Royal Charter to award degrees in its own right. This conferred full university status and made Southampton independent of the
University of London. Despite being one of the last of the "civic" universities, it grew rapidly and gained a reputation for a strong academic approach. It expanded rapidly during the 1960s, when a number of new "plate glass" universities were springing up; such as the
University of Warwick,
University of York,
University of East Anglia and a number of others.
In
2005, a large fire destroyed part of the Mountbatten Building, holding
optical fibre research laboratories (the world-renowned Optoelectronics Research Centre, ORC) and the
microchip fabrication laboratories. It is estimated that the costs for rebuilding the centre and replacing the equipment will be around £70 million.
[2]
Architecture
The earliest buildings on the main (
Highfield) campus date back to the 1910s; however, the centre of the campus is dominated by two imposing 1930s buildings by
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - literally in red brick - while the original 1950s masterplan and the majority of the remaining buildings are by
Sir Basil Spence in a light,
Mies van der Rohe style. A new masterplan for the Highfield campus was drawn up in 1998 by renowned architect
Rick Mather who has also contributed some of the newer buildings. The campus has expanded rapidly over the last decade, with many notable new buildings including one designed by
Norman Foster. The campus retains an area of parkland in which are scattered 20th century sculptures by
Barbara Hepworth,
FE McWilliams,
Justin Knowles,
Nick Pope and
John Edwards.
Students' Union
The
University of Southampton Students' Union (SUSU), is sited in two buildings opposite the Hartley Library. One, the West Building, dates back to the 1940s in a red brick style, complementing the Hartley Library opposite; the main building was built in the 1960s in the Basil Spence masterplan. This was extended with new nightclub and cinema facilities in 2002. In May 2002 (after several attempts going back several years), it chose to disaffiliate itself from the
NUS, whom SUSU believed to be 'political time-wasters' and 'bureaucratic'. The multiple award winning student radio station,
Surge, broadcasts from new studios in the main Union building.
Surge broadcasts throughout the year on the 1287
AM and the internet and once a year on
FM. The student newspaper, originally
Wessex News, is now published once every three weeks as
Wessex Scene following a name change in 1996. Events are held in
The Cube, the Union's nightclub, and in the
Stag's Head, the Union bar. National touring bands play in the
Garden Court in the West Building.
Halls of Residence
The University provides accommodation for all first year students who require it. Places in halls are also available for international and postgraduate students. Accommodation may be catered, self catered, have ensuite facilities, a sink in the room, or access to communal bathroom facilities. Each of the large sites has a Junior Common Room system that runs social activites and events throughout the term and supervises the running of the onsite bars.
The main halls of residence are:
[http://www.accommodation.soton.ac.uk/university/halls_list.html]*Aubrey House
*Bencraft
*Chamberlain
*Chancellor Courts
*
Connaught Hall, Southampton*Erasmus Park
*Gateley Hall
*
Glen Eyre Halls *Gower Building
*Hartley Grove
*Montefiore
*Romero
*Shaftesbury
*South Hill
*St. Margaret´s House
*Tasman Court
*Terrace 2
*University Houses
*Wolfe House
*
Kevin Ashman (International Mastermind champion)
*
Laura Bailey (Model)
*
Liz Barker (Television presenter)
*
Guin &
Miriam Batten (Olympic Rowers)
*
Roger Black (Athlete)
*
Daniel Catán (Composer)
*
John Denham MP (Politician)
*
Sue Douglas (Journalist)
*
Edgar Feuchtwanger (Historian)
*
Guy Fordham (Hockey Star)
*
Sir Adrian Fulford (Judge of the
International Criminal Court)
*
Jeremy Hardy (Comedian)
*
Dr Phillip Hallam-Baker (Web pioneer, security)
*
Baroness Hooper (Politician)
*
John Inverdale (Sports Journalist)
*
Stuart Maister (CEO, Broadview Communications)
*
John Anthony McGuckin (Orthodox Christian priest, scholar, and poet)
*
Prof Ray Monk (Professor of philosophy)
*
John Nettles (Actor)
*
Adrian Newey (Technical Director, McLaren Formula One team)
*
Chris Packham (Wildlife presenter)
*
Dr Stanley Pons (Claimed to have discovered
Cold Fusion in 1989)
*
Jon Potter (Field Hockey Star)
*
Jon Sopel (Journalist)
*
Stella Tennant (Model)
*
George Thomas (Speaker of the House of Commons 1976 - 1983, later Viscount Tonypandy)
*
Dr Alan Whitehead (Politician)In addition,
Radio One DJ
Scott Mills, though not an alumnus, began his career on Southampton University's radio station,
SURGE.
Strenuis Ardua Cedunt (The Heights Yield to Endeavour)
"At the Cutting Edge of Innovation"
*
Boldrewood (Biomedical Science campus)
*
Southampton*
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton*
La Sainte Union*
Southampton Solent University*
University of Southampton website*
Southampton University Student's Union*
University of Southampton Electronics and Computer Science Society*
Southampton University Christian Union*
Southampton University Mathematics Society (SUMS)*
Surge - student radio station*
Wessex Scene - student newspaper*
University of Southampton Hillwalking Club*
University of Southampton Caving Club*
University of Southampton Kickboxing ClubNews articles
*
Southampton student union parts company with NUS*
Students demonstrate at university ball sponsored by BAE Systems*
"Fire destroys top research centre" BBC News, October 31, 2005
*
"Student anger over Boycott grows" BBC News, 28 April, 2006
