University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute, the university was subject to a series of merges, incorporations, and expansions with other local colleges, one of which occurred under the supervision of Prince George, Duke of Kent.
The university has four faculties comprising eighteen schools and institutes. It has students and currently offers over 380 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre, with secondary campuses at Springfield, Walsall, and Telford. There is an additional fifth campus in Wolverhampton at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park.
History
Technical college
The roots of the University of Wolverhampton lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute founded in 1827 and the 19th-century growth of the Wolverhampton Free Library, which developed technical, scientific, commercial and general evening classes. This grew into the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College in 1926.In 1931, Prince George laid the foundation stone for the new Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College. By 1945, the creation of the Music Department allowed the college to capitalise on the growing demand for a variety of subject areas. Enrolment in the first year totalled 135, and by 1950 HM Inspectors stated that "it was unique among technical colleges". The composer Vaughan Williams attended a performance of his Riders to the Sea in early 1950.
In 1951 it was renamed Wolverhampton and Staffordshire College of Technology and the work of the High School of Commerce was partially transferred to the college. In 1956 the Joint Education Committee of the college noted: "Research is an essential feature of any institution of higher learning. Very good work is being done in applied science, and mechanical engineering is bringing to fruition negotiation with a local firm for sponsored research into problems at heat exchangers". By 1957–58 the student numbers grew to 6,236. This included trainee teachers being enrolled into the college. Parallel developments with Wulfrun College set the foundations for the creation of the Faculty of Education created in 1977.
The first computers also arrived in 1957, the WITCH. The annual report for 1956–57 records: "Following a visit of a member of staff to Harwell, the college in competition with eight other colleges was offered the gift of an Electronic Digital Computer." A number of local firms donated sums of money to cover the cost of maintenance and operation. The WITCH is now considered to be the "oldest original functioning electronic stored program computer in the world" and from September 2009 began restoration at The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park.
By 1964, with the further expansion of higher education the college began to provide BA degrees with options in English, Geography, History, Music, and Economics among others. By 1965 the college was offering a degree in Computer Technology.
Polytechnic and gaining university status
The Wolverhampton School of Art was founded in 1851, becoming the Municipal School of Art in 1878, and finally Wolverhampton College of Art in 1950.The Wolverhampton College of Technology merged with Wolverhampton College of Art in 1969 to form The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton in 1969. The formal opening ceremony took place on 14 January 1970. Wolverhampton Polytechnic was operational by the creation of five faculties; Applied Science, Art and Design, Arts, Engineering and Social Sciences. The functional units were operated by committees such as the Academic Board, Faculty Boards, Planning and Standing Committees, Committee of Deans.
1969 saw the opening of the new School of Art and Design building, designed by architects Diamond Redfern and Partners and A. Chapman, and was opened by former student, Sir Charles Wheeler. Mergers with Teacher Training Colleges in Wolverhampton and Dudley in the 1970s added to the expansion of the Polytechnic, with additional growth in 1989 on Walsall Campus when the Polytechnic acquired the Teacher Training College site.
The Polytechnic changed its name to Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1988. In 1992 the Polytechnic was granted university status and became the University of Wolverhampton.
Expansion years
The university was further expanded by the construction of the Telford Campus, completed in 1994, which includes in its grounds the 18th Century, Grade II listed Priorslee Hall; the oldest building under the University of Wolverhampton's banner. Telford Campus opened its doors to students from the Business School and the Faculty of Science and Engineering.1994 also saw Wolverhampton become the first UK university to be awarded the Charter Mark for excellence in customer service.
In 1995 the Wolverhampton Science Park opened ; a collaboration between the university and the local council, with its main aim being to forge links between local businesses and the university's research departments. The Science Park housed The Creative Industries Centre, The Technology Centre, The Development Centre and other business and technology support services.
Also in 1995, two local nursing colleges – the United Midlands College for Nursing and Midwifery and the Sister Dora School of Nursing – amalgamated to form the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Walsall campus, formerly West Midlands College of Higher Education.
In 1997 the university was one of the first to establish a virtual learning environment: WOLF a system used by students and staff to support learning in most subject areas. It provides online space for tutors to make reference materials, notes, videos and documents related to a subject available. In 2008 an upgraded version "WOLF2" was launched.
Two new learning centres were opened at the Telford and City campuses in 1998. These learning centres were a fusion of traditional libraries with high-tech facilities, aimed at providing a greater range of accessible materials for students. The following year the university opened the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton on the City campus along with the new SC building in Telford.
Millennium to the present day
2000 saw the launch of a multimillion-pound refurbishment programme. From 2000 to 2010 £115 million was invested in campus developments. Highlights include the £26 million 'Millennium City' building opening by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown in February 2003.This was followed in 2004 by a teaching building called the 'Technology Centre', home of the School of Computing and IT. The same year a £4 million extension to the Harrison Learning Centre was completed.
In October 2005 Caroline Gipps became vice-chancellor – the university's first female vice chancellor.
In 2006 the City Campus North Administration and Teaching Building was erected, providing space for a 120-seat lecture theatre, 4 elliptical 35-seat learning pods and the bringing together of many administration departments to work all under the one roof. In 2007, a new building at Walsall Campus was established to accommodate over 1,100 students over four floors and providing a combination of specialist and open access IT facilities and office accommodation for the School of Education.
2009 saw the formation and launch of two new Schools: the School of Law, Social Sciences and Communications and the School of Health and Wellbeing, as well as the launch of the research group Centre for Developmental and Applied Research in Education.
The new School of Technology launched on 1 September 2010. In 2011, the university in partnership with Walsall College opened the Black Country University Technical College, one of the first University Technical Colleges in England.
Professor Geoff Layer joined the university as vice-chancellor on 1 August 2011. September 2011 saw the opening of the Performance Hub at Walsall Campus; a multimillion-pound teaching, learning, rehearsal and performance space for performing arts. Professor Layer retired from the university in 2021.
Plans for a further £45 million investment in City Campus were announced in December 2012, with redevelopments including a new Business School building opposite the Molineux Stadium. In 2013, the university celebrated its 21st anniversary since being granted university status on 17 June 1992.
In 2015, the university announced its biggest ever investment plan, 'Our Vision, Your Opportunity', to generate £250 million of investment by 2020 to enhance the student experience and help to drive economic growth in the region. Key projects include the new Rosalind Franklin Science Centre, the completion of the Lord Swraj Paul Building, £10 million investment in engineering at Telford Innovation Campus, a new courtyard and catering facilities at City Campus, and the development of the new Springfield Campus, a national centre for excellence for construction and the built environment.
In 2015, Lord Paul, the chancellor, donated £1m to the university which is the largest donation ever received.
On Wednesday 14 November 2018, the university went into partnership with the West Midlands Ambulance Service to form the UK's first University Ambulance Trust.
In May 2022, the university announced that it would stop recruiting students for 138 of its undergraduate and postgraduate courses from September of that year. This was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had driven up costs and lowered student applications.
Campuses
The University of Wolverhampton is located across four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire.City Campus
City Campus is the main site for the university and is situated in Wolverhampton city centre, opposite Molineux Stadium and approximately 16 miles from Birmingham. Divided into City Campus Wulfruna and City Campus Molineux, it is home to several academic schools/faculties; administration departments; the Students' Union and student support facilities. In addition, there are three separate Halls of Residence on this campus: North Road, Lomas Street and Randall Lines.The Millennium City Building, opened in 2003, provides over 10,000 square metres of teaching space, a 300-seat lecture theatre, exhibition gallery, campus restaurant, and an "informal Social Learning Space".
The Alan Turing Building contains an open plan workspace, as well as prototyping equipment and software packages for 3D modelling and product design. The Centre includes a TV studio with greenscreen capability, a radio studio, Newsroom and digital editing suites.
The Harrison Learning Centre has traditional and electronic-based library facilities over four floors. It provides electronic auto-service and online cataloguing facilities, and academic librarians manage, monitor and update the available information.
The Wolverhampton School of Art is housed in the George Wallis Building, which was formally opened by Sir Charles Wheeler in 1970. It provides specialist equipment, facilities and expertise for students studying one of the various art and design specialisms available to study at the School of Art.