University of Birmingham
Motto:	Per Ardua Ad Alta Through hard work, great things are achieved
Established:	1900
Type:	Public
Endowment:	£77 million [1]
Chancellor:	Sir Dominic Cadbury
Vice-Chancellor:	Professor Michael Sterling
Visitor:	The Lord President of the Council ex officio
Students:	30,415[2]
Undergraduates:	18,480[2]
Postgraduates:	11,935[2]
Location:	Birmingham, West Midlands, England (52°27′2″N 1°55′50″W / 52.45056, -1.93056Coordinates: 52°27′2″N 1°55′50″W / 52.45056, -1.93056)
Campus:	Urban/Suburban
Colours:
Affiliations:	Universitas 21, EUA, Russell Group
Website:	http://www.bham.ac.uk

The University of Birmingham is a British Red Brick university located in Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group The date of establishment or date of founding of an Institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point A public university is a University that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government as opposed to private universities. A financial endowment is a Transfer of Money or Property donated to an Institution, usually with the stipulation that it be invested The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. Sir Dominic Cadbury (born 12 May, 1940) is a British businessman and member of the Cadbury Chocolate manufacturing dynasty A Vice-Chancellor (commonly called the VC) of a University in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Professor Michael Sterling FREng (born 9 February 1946) is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham. For the Catholic equivalent see Canonical visitation, and for other uses see Visitor (disambiguation A Visitor, in United The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above C D E The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" In some Educational systems undergraduate education is Post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelor's degree. See also Postgraduate Training in Education Postgraduate education (synonymous in North America with graduate education, and sometimes described Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um The West Midlands is an official Region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. School colors are the Colors chosen by a School to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification Universitas 21 is an international network of Research -intensive universities, established as an "international reference point and resource for strategic thinking UserPolbot. --> Eua is a genus of Gastropod in the Partulidae family The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that receive two-thirds of universities' research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Founded in Edgbaston in 1900 as a successor to Mason Science College, and with origins dating back to the 1825 Birmingham Medical School,^[3] it was the first of the so-called Red Brick universities to receive a Royal Charter. Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own District committee. Mason Science College was founded by Josiah Mason in 1875 the buildings of which were opened in Edmund Street, Birmingham, England on 1 The University of Birmingham Medical School is one of Britain's largest and oldest Medical schools with a yearly undergraduate intake of about 400 students. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company ^[4]

The university is a member of the Russell Group of research universities and a founding member of Universitas 21. The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that receive two-thirds of universities' research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom Universitas 21 is an international network of Research -intensive universities, established as an "international reference point and resource for strategic thinking It currently has over 18,000 undergraduate and over 11,000 postgraduate students. In some Educational systems undergraduate education is Post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelor's degree. See also Postgraduate Training in Education Postgraduate education (synonymous in North America with graduate education, and sometimes described ^[2] It is one of three universities in Birmingham; the other two are Aston University and Birmingham City University. Aston University is a "plate glass" Campus university situated on a 40- Acre (0 Birmingham City University (formerly Birmingham Polytechnic and the University of Central England in Birmingham) is a University in the city The Times Higher Education Supplement placed the University 65th in its 2007 world university rankings table, and the university is ranked eleventh overall in the UK, as well as thirtieth in Europe^[5] in the Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The THES - QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings around the world published by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES The Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ’s Institute of Higher Education and includes major institutes of higher education ranked Shanghai Jiao Tong University ( abbreviated Jiao Da (交大 or SJTU) located in Shanghai, is one of the oldest and most influential universities It is rated as one of the top five British research institutions. ^[6]

Campuses

The Aston Webb building, Chancellor's Court. Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA, ( May 22 1849 - August 21 1930) was an English Architect, active in

Main campus

Original buildings

The university's main campus, in Edgbaston, is arranged around the 100 metres (330 ft) Chamberlain clock tower (nicknamed 'Old Joe'), commemorating Joseph Chamberlain, the University's first Chancellor. Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own District committee. The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower ( is a Campanile located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham in the West Midlands of Joseph Chamberlain ( 8 July 1836 &ndash 2 July 1914) was an influential British businessman politician and statesman A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. The University's Great Hall is in the domed Aston Webb Building, which is named after one of its architects - the other was Ingress Bell. Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA, ( May 22 1849 - August 21 1930) was an English Architect, active in Edward Ingress Bell (Greenhithe Kent 1837 - East Preston Sussex 1914 was an English architect of the late 19th and early 20th century who worked for many years in partnership

"Old Joe", the University Clock Tower.

The university's main campus occupies a site some 3 miles (4. 8 km) south-west of Birmingham city centre. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um The original 25 acre site was given to the university in 1900 by Lord Calthorpe. The original buildings on the Edgbaston site were built at the turn of the 20th century. The original semi-circle of red-brick domed buildings form Chancellor's Court, at the centre of which stands the clock tower and which sit on a 30 feet (9. 1 m) drop so the original architects placed their buildings on two tiers with a 16 feet (4. 9 m) drop between them. The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, affectionately known as 'Old Joe', is dedicated to the University's first chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain. The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower ( is a Campanile located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham in the West Midlands of Joseph Chamberlain ( 8 July 1836 &ndash 2 July 1914) was an influential British businessman politician and statesman The design of the clock tower draws its inspiration from the that of the Torre del Mangia, the medieval clock tower forming part of the Town Hall in Siena, Italy^[7] and is made from Accrington Red Brick. The Torre del Mangia is a Tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The Palazzo Pubblico ( town hall) is a palace in the city of Siena, located in the Tuscany region of Italy. Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Siena. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest When it was built, it was described as 'the intellectual beacon of the Midlands' by the Birmingham Post. The clock tower was Birmingham's tallest building at 100 metres from the date of its construction in 1908 until 1969; it is now the third highest in the city. It is one of the top 50 tallest buildings (and the tallest clock tower) in the UK. A clock tower is a Tower built with one or more (often four Clock faces. ^[8]

The clocktower has four clock faces are each 17 feet 3 inches (5. 3 m) in diameter. The minute hands are 13 feet 6 inches (4. 1 m) long. At its widest part, the hour hand is 2 feet (61 cm) across. The hands are made out of sheet copper and the frame is made of one solid casting, weighing 0. 5 short tons (450 kg). The pendulum is 15 feet (4. 6 m) long. The largest of the four hour bells weighs 13,619 pounds (6,177 kg). ^[9] The whole weight of the clock and bells exceeds 20 short tons (18,000 kg). There is a long held superstition that if an undergraduate walks under the tower while it is chiming, they will fail their degree.

The grand buildings were an outcome of the £50,000 given by steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to establish a "first class modern scientific college"^[10] on the model of Cornell University in the United States. Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[11] The University of Sydney in Australia was also modelled on Cornell. The University of Sydney (informally Sydney Uni or USyd) is the oldest university in Australia For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Funding was also provided by Sir Charles Holcroft. There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Holcroft, both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom and both for members of the same family ^[12]

The Law building

The campus has a wide diversity in architectural types and architects. "What makes Birmingham so exceptional among the Red Brick universities is the deployment of so many other major Modernist practices: only Oxford and Cambridge boast greater selections". ^[13] The Guild of Students original section facing King Edward School was designed by Birmingham inter-war architect Holland Hobbiss who also designed the King Edward school opposite. Holland W Hobbiss was an architect in the Birmingham area of England. It was described as "Redbrick Tudorish" by Nikolaus Pevsner. Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, ( January 30, 1902 &ndash August 18, 1983) was a German-born British scholar of ^[14]

The statue on horseback fronting the entrance to the university and Barber Institute of Fine Arts is a 1722 statue of George I rescued from Dublin in 1937. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an Art gallery and Concert hall in Birmingham, England. George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless This was saved by Bodkin, a director of the National Gallery of Ireland and first director of the Barber Institute. The statue was commissioned by the Dublin Corporation from the Flemish sculptor John van Nost. Dublin Corporation (Bardas Bhaile Átha Cliath known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative John Nost (d 1729 was a Flemish sculptor from Mechelen. He was employed by Arnold Quellin, and married his widow ^[15]

Final negotiations for part of what is now the Vale were only completed in March 1947. By then, properties which would have their names used for halls of residences such as Wyddrington and Maple Bank were under discussion and more land was obtained from the Calthorpe estate in 1948 and 1949 providing the setting for the Vale. ^[16] Construction on the Vale started in 1962 with the creation of a three acre artificial lake and the building of Ridge, High, Wyddrington and Lake Halls. The first, Ridge Hall, opened for 139 women in January 1964, with its counterpart High Hall (now Chamberlain Hall) admitting its first male residents the following October. ^[17]

1960s expansion

The university underwent a major expansion in the 1960s due to the production of a masterplan by Casson, Conder and Partners. The first of the major building to be constructed to a design by the firm was the Refectory and Staff House which was built in 1961 and 1962. The two buildings are connected by a bridge. The next major buildings to be constructed were the Wyddrington and Lake Halls and the Faculty of Commerce and Social Science, all completed in 1965. The Wyddrington and Lake Halls, on Edgbaston Park Road, were designed by H. T. Cadbury-Brown and contain three floors of student dwellings above a single floor of communal facilities.

Ceiling of Aston Webb building

The Faculty of Commerce and Social Science was designed by Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis and is a long, curving two storey block linked to a five storey whorl. The two storey block follows the curve of the road and has load bearing brick cross walls. It is faced in specially-made concrete blocks. The spiral is faced with faceted pre-cast concrete cladding panels. ^[18] It was statutorily listed in 1993. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance ^[19]

Chamberlain, Powell and Bon were commissioned to design the Physical Education Centre which was built in 1966. The main characteristic of the building is the roof of the changing rooms and small gymnasium which has hyperbolic paraboloid roof light shells and is completely paved in quarry tiles. The roof of the sports hall consists of eight conoidal 2½-inch think sprayed concrete shells springing from 80-foot (24 m) long pre-stressed valley beams. On the south elevation, the roof is supported on raking pre-cast columns and reversed shells form a cantilevered canopy. A cantilever is a beam supported on only one end The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and Shear stress. Also completed in 1966 was the Mining and Minerals Engineering and Physical Metallurgy Departments, which was designed by Philip Dowson of Arup Associates. Sir Philip Henry Manning Dowson (born 1924 is a leading British Architect. Arup is a professional services firm providing Engineering, Design, Planning, Project management and Consulting services for This complex consisted of four similar three-storey blocks linked at the corners. The frame is of pre-cast reinforced concrete with columns in groups of four and the whole is planned as a tartan grid, allowing services to be carried vertically and horizontally so that at no point in a room are services more than ten feet away. The building received the 1966 RIBA Architecture Award for the West Midlands. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA is a Professional body for Architects in the United Kingdom. ^[18] It was statutorily listed in 1993. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance ^[19] Taking the full five years from 1962 to 1967, Birmingham erected twelve buildings which each cost in excess of a quarter of a million pounds. ^[20]

The university's Learning Centre and Faraday sculpture

A year later, in 1967, Lucas House, a new hall of residence designed by The John Madin Design Group, was completed, providing 150 study bedrooms. John Madin is an English Architect. He was born in Moseley, Birmingham, circa 1925 It was constructed in the garden of a large house. The Medical School was extended in 1967 to a design by Leonard J. Multon and Partners. The two storey building was part of a complex which covers the southside of Metchley Fort, a Roman fort. Metchley Fort was a Roman Fort in what is now Birmingham, England. In 1968, the Institute for Education in the Department for Education was opened. This was another Casson, Conder and Partners-designed building. The complex consisted of a group of buildings centred around an eight storey block, containing study offices, laboratories and teaching rooms. The building has a reinforced concrete frame which is exposed internally and the external walls are of silver-grey rustic bricks. The roofs of the lecture halls, penthouse and Child Study wing are covered in copper. ^[18]

Arup Associates returned in the 1960s to design the Arts and Commerce Building, better known as Muirhead Tower. This was completed in 1969. ^[18] The 16 storey tower is currently undergoing a £42. 3 million refurbishment, designed by Associated Architects. Associated Architects is a firm of Architects based in Birmingham, England. It is estimated to be completed by August 2008. ^[21] The name, Muirhead Tower, came from that of the first philosophy professor of the University. ^[22] Upon completion, it will become the Schools of Social Sciences and Humanities as well as containing office space for Information Services. The podium will be remodelled around the existing Allardyce Nicol studio theatre providing additional rehearsal spaces and changing and technical facilities. ^[23]

Other features

Charles Lapworth, after whom the Lapworth Museum of Geology is named.

Located within the Edgbaston site of the university is the Winterbourne Botanic Garden, a 24,000 square metre (258,000 square foot) Edwardian Arts and crafts style garden. Winterbourne Botanic Garden is the Botanical garden of the University of Birmingham, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Class and society Socially the Edwardian era was a period during which the British Class system was very rigid Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's own hands and skill There has been much recent development on the western part of the campus. There are new academic buildings, including a learning resource centre and Computer Science department. The massive statue in the foreground was a gift to the University by its sculptor Sir Edward Paolozzi - the sculpture is named 'Faraday', and has an excerpt from the poem 'The Dry Salvages' by T. S. Eliot around its base. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic.

Since November 2007, the university has been holding a farmers' market on the campus. Farmers' markets, sometimes called greenmarkets, are Markets usually held out-of-doors in public spaces where Farmers can sell produce ^[24] Birmingham is the first university in the country to have an accredited farmers' market. ^[25]

The University of Birmingham operates the Lapworth Museum of Geology in the Aston Webb Building in Edgbaston. The Lapworth Museum of Geology is a major geological Museum run by the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own District committee. It is named after Charles Lapworth, a geologist who worked at Mason Science College. Charles Lapworth ( September 20, 1842 &ndash March 13, 1920) was an English geologist.

The considerable extent of the estate meant that by the end of the 1990s it was valued at £536 million. ^[26]

Selly Oak campus

The university's Selly Oak campus is a short distance to the south of the main campus. For the Selly Oak Parliamentary constituency see Birmingham Selly Oak (UK Parliament constituency. It was the home of a federation of nine higher education colleges, mainly focused on theology and education, which were integrated into the university for teaching in 1999. Among these was Westhill College (later the University of Birmingham, Westhill), which merged with the University's School of Education in 2001. The UK daytime television show Doctors is filmed on this campus. Daytime television is a genre of Television programming, traditionally aimed at viewers who would be home in the daytime hours (e Doctors is a British Daytime television Soap opera, which started in 2000 ^[27] The University also has buildings at several other sites in the city.

History

Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College

The earliest beginnings of the university can be traced back to the Birmingham Medical School which began life through the work of William Sands Cox in his aim of a medical school along strictly Christian lines, unlike the London medical schools. The University of Birmingham Medical School is one of Britain's largest and oldest Medical schools with a yearly undergraduate intake of about 400 students. William Sands Cox (1802 Birmingham – 23 December, 1875, Kenilworth) was a surgeon in Birmingham, England. The medical school was founded in 1828 but Cox began teaching in December 1825. Queen Victoria granted her patronage to the Clinical Hospital in Birmingham and allowed it to be styled "The Queen's Hospital". It was the first provincial teaching hospital in England. In 1843, the medical college became known as Queen's College. ^[28]

On February 23, 1875, Sir Josiah Mason, the Birmingham industrialist and philanthropist, who made his fortune in making key rings, pens, pen nibs and electroplating, founded Mason Science College. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Sir Josiah Mason ( February 23, 1795 - June 16, 1881) was an English pen-manufacturer A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Mason Science College was founded by Josiah Mason in 1875 the buildings of which were opened in Edmund Street, Birmingham, England on 1 It was this institution that would eventually form the nucleus of the University of Birmingham.

In 1882, the Departments of Chemistry, Botany and Physiology were transferred to Mason Science College, soon followed by the Departments of Physics and Comparative Anatomy. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the Anatomy of Organisms It is closely related to Evolutionary biology and Phylogeny The transfer of the Medical School to Mason Science College gave considerable impetus to the growing importance of that college and in 1896 a move to incorporate it as a university college was made. The term " university college " is used in a number of countries to denote institutions that provide Tertiary education but do not have full or independent As the result of the Mason University College Act 1897 it became incorporated as Mason University College on January 1, 1898, with the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain MP becoming the President of its Court of Governors. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Joseph Chamberlain ( 8 July 1836 &ndash 2 July 1914) was an influential British businessman politician and statesman

Royal Charter

View of "Old Joe" from the library entrance.

It was largely due to Chamberlain's tireless enthusiasm that the university was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria on March 24, 1900. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Calthorpe family offered twenty-five acres (10 hectares) of land on the Bournbrook side of their estate in July. The Gough-Calthorpe family is descended from ancient and notable families who both held lands in the area around Birmingham, England. Bournbrook is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is in the Selly Oak local council ward and also comes under the The Court of Governors received the Birmingham University Act 1900, which put the Royal Charter into effect, on May 31. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Birmingham was therefore arguably the first so-called red brick university, although several other universities claim this title, including the University of Manchester, since Manchester Victoria made significant developments towards the formation of a civic university proper in 1851, despite not gaining official status until 1903. The University of Manchester is a " red brick " civic University located in Manchester, England. The Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester) was a University in Manchester, England.

The transfer of Mason University College to the new University of Birmingham, with Chamberlain as its first Chancellor and Sir Oliver Lodge as the first Principal, was complete. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, FRS ( June 12, 1851 - August 22, 1940) born at Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent and educated The Principal is the Chief executive and the chief academic officer of a University or College in certain parts of the Commonwealth All that remained of Josiah Mason's legacy was his Mermaid in the sinister chief of the university shield and of his college, the double-headed lion in the dexter. ^[29] It became the first civic and campus university in England. A campus is traditionally the land on which a College or University and related institutional buildings are situated The University Charter of 1900 also included provision for a Faculty of Commerce, as was appropriate for a university itself founded by industrialists and based in a city with enormous business wealth. Consequently, the faculty, the first of its kind in Britain, was founded by Sir William Ashley in 1901, who from 1902 until 1923 served as first Professor of Commerce and Dean of the Faculty. Sir William James Ashley ( 25 February 1860 – 23 July 1927) was an influential English Economic historian, operating From 1905 to 1908, Edward Elgar held the position of Professor of Music at the university.

Expansion

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

In 1939, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, designed by Robert Atkinson, was opened. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an Art gallery and Concert hall in Birmingham, England. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an Art gallery and Concert hall in Birmingham, England. Atkinson is a Surname, and may refer to Al Atkinson, American football player Alan Atkinson, Australian Rules footballer In 1956, the first MSc programme in Geotechnical Engineering commenced under the title of "Foundation Engineering", and has been run annually at the University of Birmingham since. Geotechnical engineering is the branch of Civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials It was the first geotechnical post-graduate school in England. In 1957, Sir Hugh Casson and Neville Conder were asked by the university to prepare a masterplan on the site of the original 1900 buildings which were incomplete. Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson, KCVO, RA, RDI, ( 23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British Architect The university drafted in other architects to amend the masterplan produced by the group. During the 1960s, the university constructed numerous large buildings, expanding the campus. ^[18] In 1963, the University of Birmingham helped in the establishment of the faculty of medicine at the University of Rhodesia, now the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). The University of Zimbabwe (UZ, is the first and largest university in Zimbabwe. UZ is now independent; however, student exchange programs persist. In 1973, University (Birmingham) railway station, on the Cross-City Line, was opened to serve the university. University railway station is a Railway station serving the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the West Midlands The Cross-City Line is a Suburban Railway line in the West Midlands region of England. The university is the only university in Britain with its own railway station.

Birmingham also supported the creation of Keele (formerly University College of North Staffordshire) and Warwick Universities under the Vice-Chancellorship of Sir Robert Aitken who acted as 'Godfather to the University of Warwick'. Keele University is a research-intensive Campus university located near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The University of Warwick is a British Campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands, England and is ^[30] The initial plan was for a university college in Coventry attached to Birmingham but Aitken advised an independent initiative to the University Grants Committee. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. ^[31]

Achievements

The university has been involved in many important inventions and developments in science. The cavity magnetron was developed at the university by John Randall and Harry Boot. A cavity magnetron is a high-powered Vacuum tube that generates coherent Microwaves They are commonly found in Microwave ovens as well as various Sir John Randall, FRSE, ( March 23, 1905 &ndash June 16, 1984) was a British Physicist, credited with radical Henry Albert Howard "Harry" Boot ( 29 July, 1917 - 8 February, 1983) was an English physicist who with Sir John Randall This was vital to the Allied victory in World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In 1940, the Frisch-Peierls memorandum, a document which demonstrated that the atomic bomb was more than simply theoretically possible, was written. The Frisch-Peierls memorandum was written by Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls while they were both working at Birmingham University, England and given A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The university also hosted early work on Gaseous diffusion in the Chemistry department when it was located in the Hills building. Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce Enriched uranium by forcing gaseous Uranium hexafluoride, UF6 through semi-permeable membranes Many windows in the Aston Webb building overlooking the former fume cupboards were opaque from being attacked by hydrofluoric acid well into recent years. Hydrofluoric acid is a Solution of Hydrogen fluoride in Water.

In 1943, Mark Oliphant made an early proposal for the construction of a photo-synchrotron, however he made no assurance that the machine would work. Sir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant AC, KBE ( October 8 1901 &ndash July 14, 2000) was an Australian A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic Particle accelerator in which the magnetic field (to turn the particles so they circulate and the electric field (to accelerate When phase stability was discovered in 1945, the proposal was resurrected and construction of a machine at the university that could surpass 1GeV. The university was aiming to construct the first machine to do this, however, funds were short and the machine did not start until 1953. They were beaten by the University of California Radiation Laboratory, who managed to start their Cosmotron in 1952, and get it fully working in 1953, before the University of Birmingham. The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( LBNL) is a U The Cosmotron was a Particle accelerator, specifically a Proton Synchrotron, at Brookhaven National Laboratory. ^[32]

Organisation

Academic departments

Being a large university Birmingham has departments covering a wide range of subjects, which are arranged into eight subject areas, which are Arts, Languages, Literature and History; Business; Education; Engineering (comprising Departments of Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Metallurgy & Materials); Law; Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences; Science; and Social Sciences, Government and Politics.

On August 1, 2008, the university will be restructured and will be composed of five 'colleges':

• Dentistry, Health Sciences and Medicine
• Life and Environmental Sciences (Biosciences, Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Psychology, Sport and Exercise Sciences)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences (Physical Sciences includes Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy)
• Arts and Law (Historical Studies, Humanities, Law)
• Social Sciences (Business, Education, Public Policy, Economics)

The university is home to a number of well-known research centres and schools, including the Birmingham Business School, the oldest business school in England, the University of Birmingham Medical School, which produces more medical doctors than any other university in Britain, the Institute of Local Government Studies, the Centre of West African Studies, the European Research Institute and the Shakespeare Institute. Birmingham Business School is the Business school of the University of Birmingham in England, located in University House, a former hall of residence The University of Birmingham Medical School is one of Britain's largest and oldest Medical schools with a yearly undergraduate intake of about 400 students. Inlogov is the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham in the United Centre of West African Studies (CWAS is a division of the School of Historical Studies at the University of Birmingham (UK The Shakespeare Institute is a centre for postgraduate study dedicated to the study of William Shakespeare and the Literature of the English Renaissance Between 1964 and 2002, the University of Birmingham was also home to the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, a leading research centre whose members' work came to be known as the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies. The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS was a research centre at the University of Birmingham, England. Despite being established by one of the key figures in the founding of Cultural Studies, Richard Hoggart, and being later directed by the renowned theorist Stuart Hall, the department was controversially closed down. Herbert Richard Hoggart (born 24 September 1918) is a British Academic and Public figure, whose career has covered the fields of

The University of Birmingham main library

Libraries and collections

The university's Library Services department operates 10 libraries across the Edgbaston campus, Selly Oak campus, Birmingham City Centre and Stratford-upon-Avon. The University of Birmingham also contains a number of collections of rare books and manuscripts. The library has a large number of pre-1850 books dating from 1471 with approximately 3 million manuscripts. ^[33] The library also contains the Chamberlain collection of papers from Neville Chamberlain, Joseph Chamberlain and Austen Chamberlain, the Avon Papers belonging to Antony Eden with material on the Suez Crisis, the Cadbury Papers relating to the Cadbury firm from 1900 to 1960, the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts, the Noel Coward Collection, the papers of Edward Elgar,^[34] the records of the English YMCA and the records of the Church Missionary Society. Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Joseph Chamberlain ( 8 July 1836 &ndash 2 July 1914) was an influential British businessman politician and statesman Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain KG ( 16 October 1863 &ndash 17 March 1937) was a British Statesman, Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh Cadbury plc () is a Confectionery and Beverage Sir Noël Peirce Coward ( 16 December 1899 26 March 1973) was an English Actor, Playwright The Church Mission Society, known as the Church Missionary Society in Australia and New Zealand is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Church

NHS hospitals

The University of Birmingham Medical School and Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The University of Birmingham's medical school is one of the largest in Europe with well over 450 medical students being trained in each of the clinical years and over 1,000 teaching, research, technical and administrative staff. The University of Birmingham Medical School is one of Britain's largest and oldest Medical schools with a yearly undergraduate intake of about 400 students. The school has centres of excellence in cancer, immunology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and endocrinology and renowned nationally and internationally for its research and developments in these fields. ^[35] The medical school has close links with the NHS and works closely with 15 teaching hospitals and 50 primary care training practices in the West Midlands. The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300

The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is the main teaching hospital in the West Midlands. The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust provides adult district general Hospital services for South Birmingham as well as specialist treatments for It is very successful and has been given three stars for the past four consecutive years. ^[36] The trust also hosts the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, based at Selly Oak Hospital, which provides medical support to military personnel such as military returned from fighting in the Iraq War. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign ^[37]

Off-campus establishments

A number of the university's centres, schools and institutes are located away from its two campuses in Edgbaston and Selly Oak:

• The School of Dentistry, in Birmingham City Centre
• The Shakespeare Institute, in Stratford-upon-Avon
• The Ironbridge Institute, in Telford, which offers postgraduate and professional development courses in heritage
• The Raymond Priestley Centre, near Coniston in the Lake District, which is used for outdoor pursuits and field work
• The University of Birmingham Foundation, USA^[38]

Chancellors

Birmingham has had six Chancellors since gaining its royal charter in 1900. The Shakespeare Institute is a centre for postgraduate study dedicated to the study of William Shakespeare and the Literature of the English Renaissance Stratford-upon-Avon (ˌstrætfɚd əpɒn ˈɛɪvən is a Market town and Civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. The Ironbridge Institute is a centre offering Postgraduate and professional development courses in Heritage, and is a partnership between the University of Birmingham Telford ( ˈtɛlfɚd is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, Cultural heritage ("national heritage" or just "heritage" is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or Society Coniston is a Village in the region of Furness, England. It is located in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. Outdoor activities usually mean activities done in nature away from civilization such as Hill walking, Trekking, Canoeing, Running This article is about the scientific method For the military term see Field fortifications under Fortification. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. The current Vice-Chancellor and Principal is Professor Michael Sterling. Professor Michael Sterling FREng (born 9 February 1946) is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham. The first Chancellor of Birmingham was Joseph Chamberlain, he was the first commoner in 240 years to hold the post of Chancellor of a British university, and the first such chancellor ever not to have been a member of the Established Church. Joseph Chamberlain ( 8 July 1836 &ndash 2 July 1914) was an influential British businessman politician and statesman An established church is a church officially sanctioned and supported by the government of a country e

Reputation

The university ranked 26th out of 113 higher education institutions in The Times 2008 Good University Guide,^[39] and came 18th in The Guardian's 2008 rankings. Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood CH, PC, QC ( 14 September 1864 &ndash 24 November Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC, FRS, FZS, ( September 14, 1909 – August 29, 1989 Sir Alexander Jarratt CB (born 19 January, 1924) is a British businessman and former senior civil servant Sir Dominic Cadbury (born 12 May, 1940) is a British businessman and member of the Cadbury Chocolate manufacturing dynasty The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ^[40] It is ranked fifth nationally for Research Excellence. ^[6]

Birmingham is rated equal 92nd best university in the world in the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (IHE-SJTU) Academic Ranking of World Universities 2007. Shanghai Jiao Tong University ( abbreviated Jiao Da (交大 or SJTU) located in Shanghai, is one of the oldest and most influential universities The Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ’s Institute of Higher Education and includes major institutes of higher education ranked ^[41] In October 2007, the University was also ranked equal 65th best in the world by The Times Higher Education Supplement. Times Higher Education ( THE) formerly The Times Higher Education Supplement ( THES) is a magazine based

Due to Birmingham's role as a centre of light engineering, the university traditionally had a special focus on science, engineering and commerce, as well as coal mining. Coal mining is the extraction or removal of Coal from the Earth by Mining. It now teaches a full range of academic subjects and has five-star rating for teaching and research in several departments; additionally, it is widely regarded as making a prominent contribution to cancer studies.

The university is particularly known for its research, with two thirds of its departments ranked nationally or internationally outstanding in the last Research Assessment Exercise in 2001. The Research Assessment Exercise ( RAE) is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK Higher education funding councils ( HEFCE ^[42] Languages, mathematics, biological sciences, physiotherapy, sociology and electrical and electronic engineering all recorded maximum points. ^[42] The Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) is ranked 4th in the UK and 22nd in the world in the Hix rankings of political science departments. ^[43]

League table rankings

Student life

Guild of Students

University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Main article: University of Birmingham Guild of Students

The University of Birmingham Guild of Students is the University's student union. The THES - QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings around the world published by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES The Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ’s Institute of Higher Education and includes major institutes of higher education ranked The University of Birmingham Guild of Students (informally Birmingham University Guild of Students; BUGS) is the officially recognised body which represents over The University of Birmingham Guild of Students (informally Birmingham University Guild of Students; BUGS) is the officially recognised body which represents over A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, or guild of students is a Student Organization Originally the Guild of Undergraduates, it is unclear when the Guild was formally established. It is also not certain why it is called the Guild of Students and not the Union of Students; it is widely thought among Guild officers and staff that the University imposed this name at the Guild's genesis in order to avoid socialist and working class connotations in favour of more professional ones. Indeed, the Guild shares its name with Liverpool Guild of Students. Liverpool Guild of Students ( LGoS) is the Student union of the University of Liverpool (not to be confused with the Liverpool Students' Union Both organisations subsequently founded the National Union of Students. The National Union of Students ( NUS) is the main confederation of Students' unions that exist inside the United Kingdom. The Union Building, the Guild's bricks and mortar presence, was designed by the architect Holland W. Hobbiss. Holland W Hobbiss was an architect in the Birmingham area of England.

The Guild's official purposes are to represent its members and provide a means of socialising, though societies and general amenities. The University provides the Guild with the Union Building effectively rent free, and provide a block grant. In 2005/6, this grant amounted to approximately £1. 2 million, roughly equivalent to £50 per student.

The Guild undertakes its representative function though its executive officers, seven of whom are full time, on sabbatical from their studies. Elections are held annually, conventionally every February, for the following academic year. These officers have regular contact with the University's officer-holders and managers. In theory, the Guild's officers are directed and kept to account over their year in office by Guild Council, a 500 seat pseudo-legislature. The Guild also supports the University "Student Reps" scheme, which aims to provide an effective channel of feedback from students on more of a departmental level. ^[59]

The Guild supports a variety of student societies, roughly around 180 at any one time. The Guild was the UK's first student union with a film studio, one of the first to broadcast its radio station BurnFM.com online, and one of the few to still publish its campus newspaper, Redbrick, on a weekly basis. BurnFMcom is a Radio station based at the University of Birmingham. Redbrick is the student newspaper of the University of Birmingham.

Another two of the Guild's long-standing societies are Student Advice and Niteline, which both provide peer-to-peer welfare support. The Guild complements these societies with professional staffed services, including its walk-in Advice and Representation Centre (ARC), JobZone, Student Mentors in halls, and Community Wardens around Bournbrook. Bournbrook is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is in the Selly Oak local council ward and also comes under the ^[60]

The Guild also runs several bars, eateries, social spaces and social events.

Housing

The university provides housing for most first year students, running a guarantee scheme for all those UK applicants who choose Birmingham as their firm UCAS choice. 90% of university-provided housing is inhabited by first year students. ^[61]

The university has spent the last few years re-organising their accommodation offering. The university still maintained gender-segregated halls until 1999 when Lake and Wyddrington "halls" (treated as two different halls, despite being physically one building) was reborn as Shackleton. University House was decommissioned as accommodation in order to house the expanding Business School, while Mason Hall has been demolished to be rebuilt. Shackleton is now the only hall providing catering, although other students are welcome to join its meal plan. In the summer of 2006 the university sold three of its most distant halls (Hunter Court, the Beeches and Queens Hospital Close) to private operators, while later in the year and during term time, the university was forced to urgently decommission both Chamberlain Tower and Manor House over fire safety inspection failures. The University has rebranded its halls offerings into three villages.

Vale Village

The Vale Village, overlooking Shackleton Hall

The Vale Village, includes Chamberlain Hall, Shackleton, Maple Bank, Tennis Court, Elgar Court, Aitken and Chelwood residences. A sixth hall of residence, Mason Hall, is due to re-open in October 2008. Approximately 1,900 students live in the village. ^[62]

Shackleton Hall underwent an £11 million refurbishment and was re-opened in Autumn 2004. There are 72 flats housing a total of 350 students. The majority of the units consist of six to eight bedrooms, together with a small number of one, two or three bedroom studio/apartments. ^[63] The redevelopment was designed by Birmingham-based Glancy Nicholls Architects. ^[64] Maple Bank was refurbished and opened in summer 2005. It consists of 87 five bedroom flats, housing 435 undergraduates. ^[65] The Elgar Court residence consists of 40 six bedroom flats, housing a total of 236 students. ^[66] It is the newest residence to be built, opening in September 2003. Tennis Court is a popular residence as it is close to the campus. It consists of 138 three, four and five bedroom flats and houses 697 students. ^[67] The Aitken wing is a small complex consisting of 24 six and eight bedroom flats. It houses 147 students. ^[68] Chelwood is situated at the top of the Vale village overlooking the lake, and comprises 50 en-suite bedrooms. ^[69]

Construction of Mason Hall commenced in June 2006. It has been designed by Aedas Architects who submitted the design in August 2005. Norwest Holst Ltd are the contractors, and Couch Perry Wilkes are the services engineers, DTA are the structural engineers, Faithful & Gould are the quantity surveyors and CDM are the planning supervisors. A general contractor is a group or individual that Contracts with another organization or individual (the owner for the Construction or Renovation Structural engineers analyze design plan and research structural components and Structural systems Their work takes account mainly of technical economic and environmental A quantity surveyor (QS or cost engineer is a professional person working within the Construction industry. The entire project is expected to cost £36. 75 million. ^[70]

The largest student-run event at the University, and indeed possibly in the UK, is also held on the Vale. The Vale Festival is a large annual music festival, attracting crowds of over 5,000 and boasting over forty bands across five stages and a multitude of other activities and events. The Vale Festival, commonly abbreviated to Valefest, is a music Festival that takes place on the campus of University of Birmingham, in Birmingham It raises over £30,000 a year for charities.

Pritchatts Park Village

The Pritchatts Park Village houses over 1,600 students in eight halls which include 'Ashcroft', 'The Spinney' and 'Oakley Court'. The Spinney is a small complex of six houses and twelve smaller flats, housing 104 students in total. ^[71] Ashcroft consists of four purpose built blocks of flats and houses 198 students. ^[72] The four storey Pritchatts House consists of 24 duplex units and houses 159 students. ^[73] Oakley Court consists of 21 individual purpose-built flats, ranging in size from five to thirteen bedrooms. Also included are 36 duplex units. A total of 213 students are housed in Oakley Court, made up of postgraduates and undergraduates. ^[74] Oakley Court was completed in 1993 at a cost of £2. 9 million. It was designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects. Associated Architects is a firm of Architects based in Birmingham, England. ^[75] Pritchatts Road is a group of four private houses that were converted into student residences. There is a maximum of 16 bedrooms per house. ^[76]

Self-catering student accommodation in and around Pritchatts Park Village^[77] include The Beeches, which is small with 48 flats housing 240 undergraduate students on the outskirts of the village. ^[78] Hunter Court, also located on the outskirts of the village, consists of 64 flats with five and some seven study bedrooms and houses 332 undergraduate students. ^[79] Queen's Hospital Close, located on the outskirts of the village near Broad Street, consists of 52 units of mainly six study bedrooms and some eight and ten bedroom flats. Broad Street is a major Thoroughfare in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. It houses 330 students. ^[80]

Selly Oak Village

Selly Oak Village consists of three residences; Jarratt Hall, Douper Hall and Victoria Hall. The term ‘Selly Oak Village’ is rather misleading here, for despite its name the halls themselves are actually located in Bournbrook rather than in Selly Oak. Bournbrook is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is in the Selly Oak local council ward and also comes under the For the Selly Oak Parliamentary constituency see Birmingham Selly Oak (UK Parliament constituency. The village has 637 bed spaces for students. ^[81] Douper Hall consists of 28 flats accommodating from two to six persons for 117 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Jarratt Hall is a large complex designed around a central courtyard and three landscaped areas. It houses a mixture of 620 undergraduate and postgraduate students. ^[82]

Non-University accommodation

Until recently, the university had not been served by many private halls; a sole Victoria Halls was built in 2001. However, alongside the former university halls of Hunter Court, the Beeches and Queens Hospital Close, a number of other private halls aimed at the University of Birmingham market opened for business in 2007, such as Opal 1 on Bristol Road and IQFive on Bath Row in Five Ways.

A large number of students cohabit in rented houses, mainly in the Bournbrook area. Bournbrook is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is in the Selly Oak local council ward and also comes under the However an increasingly large number of students are thought to be local, continuing to live in the family home.

Sports track in October 2006

Synthetic pitches covered in snow during January 2004

University Sport Birmingham

The university has many successful sports teams and has been consistently ranked in the top three of the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) league table. ^[83] The university's reputation for sport is a long-standing one, and indeed until 1968 there was compulsory exercise for students. ^[42]

The recently re-branded University Sport Birmingham (USB) offers a wide range of competitive and participation sports, which is utilised by the student and local population of Birmingham. Alongside fitness classes such as yoga and aerobics, USB offers over 40 different sport teams, including rowing, football, rugby union, field hockey, American football, ice hockey (Birmingham Eagles), triathlon and many more. GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Field hockey is a Team sport in which players attempt to score goals by hitting the Ball across the pitch with a stick American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. A triathlon is an endurance sports event consisting of Swimming, cycling and Running over various distances The wide selection has ensured the university has remained one of the country's most active and colourful campuses with over 2000 students participating in sport.

The university in literature and other media

David Lodge's novel Changing Places tells the story of exchange of professors between the universities of Rummidge and Euphoric State, Plotinus, thinly disguised fictional versions of Birmingham and UC Berkeley, which in the book both have replicas of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on campus. David Lodge is the name of David Lodge (actor (1921–2003 a British character actor David Lodge (voice actor The changing places Thought experiment was conceived of by Max Velmans, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of Rummidge is a fictional city used by David Lodge in some of his novels particularly Changing Places, Small World An Academic Romance The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa or simply The Tower of Pisa (it La Torre di Pisa is the Campanile, or freestanding bell tower of the ^[84]

The university campus has been used as a filming location for a number of film and television productions, particularly those of the BBC which has a presence at the university's Selly Oak campus, the BBC Drama Village. For the Selly Oak Parliamentary constituency see Birmingham Selly Oak (UK Parliament constituency. Scenes from the John Cleese film Clockwise were filmed at the campus' east entrance, while several episodes of the BBC detective series Dalziel and Pascoe,^[85] daytime soap Doctors^[86] and CBBC series Brum have been filmed in and around campus. John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer Clockwise is a 1986 British comedy Film starring John Cleese. Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television Crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill Doctors is a British Daytime television Soap opera, which started in 2000 CBBC ( Children's BBC) is the brand-name for the BBC 's Children's television programmes aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 years old Brum {pronounced Br-u-m} is the name of a children's TV programme about the adventures of a car of the same name Interior and exterior scenes for a BBC adaptation of Birmingham alumnus David Lodge's novel Nice Work and BBC comedy drama A Very Peculiar Practice were also shot in and around the University campus and halls of residence with a number of students appearing as extras. David Lodge is the name of David Lodge (actor (1921–2003 a British character actor David Lodge (voice actor Nice Work (1988 is a novel by British author David Lodge. It won the Sunday Express Book of the Year award in 1988 and was also shortlisted A Very Peculiar Practice was a BBC comedy-drama series first shown in 1986 ^[87] A trailer for the BBC's Red Nose Day 2007, featuring Lou and Andy from Little Britain, was filmed near the School of Biosciences. Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work often to relieve tension Louis 'Lou' Bob Todd and Andrew 'Andy' Pipkin are Fictional characters from the cult BBC TV and radio show Little Britain, played Little Britain is a character-based comedy Sketch show first appearing on BBC radio and then television ^[88]

Post punk band Joy Division played their final gig at the University High Hall on May 2, 1980, before the suicide of frontman, Ian Curtis. Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Ian Kevin Curtis ( 15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was the vocalist and lyricist as well as occasional guitarist and keyboardist of the band ^[89]

Branding

The University's crest from the 1980s until 2005

In 2005 the university began rebranding itself as a less traditional institution, changing the logo from the simplified shield introduced in the 1980s to a more detailed design based on the shield as it appears on the university's original Royal Charter. Variations on this coat of arms also feature in much of the original architecture on campus, including the ceiling of the Great Hall.

After a research project into the image of the university, it was decided that an updated image was required to redefine the university as being modern and up-to-date. The marketing brand makes use of the letters U and B to bracket key words and achievements associated with the University. A new "word marque", using the Baskerville font in honour of the Birmingham printer John Baskerville, is used as the primary logo when trying to attract both prospective investors and students. Baskerville is a transitional Serif Typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville (1706-1775 in Birmingham, England. John Baskerville ( January 28, 1706 - January 8, 1775) was born in the village of Wolverley, near Kidderminster in It also features on all university vehicles. The coat of arms, revised to more closely resemble that on the original university charter, appears on degree certificates and academic documents. The seating in the Great Hall has also been replaced with chairs embroidered with the new shield. The introduction of new signage throughout the campus (featuring the revised shield rather than the "U and B" logo) was completed at the end of 2006.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of University of Birmingham people

Birmingham's alumni include the politicians Neville Chamberlain, Baroness Amos and Chen Liangyu, General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly the most senior officer in the British Army, TV personality Chris Tarrant, Emmy Award-winning director Fielder Cook, actors Tamsin Greig, Norman Painting, Victoria Wood and Jane Wymark, the actor and musician Tim Curry, musician Simon Le Bon, sailor Lisa Clayton, athlete Allison Curbishley, triathlete Chrissie Wellington, zoologist Desmond Morris, theologian Robert Beckford, Chief Medical officer for England Sir Liam Donaldson, UN weapons inspector David Kelly, Chief Executive of Manchester United Football Club David Gill and co-founder Williams Formula One team Patrick Head. This is a list of notable Alumni and staff of the University of Birmingham: Staff The Rt Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Valerie Ann Amos Baroness Amos, PC (born 13 March 1954) is a British Labour Party Politician and Life peer, Chen Liangyu ( Simplified Chinese: 陈良宇 Traditional Chinese: 陳良宇 Pinyin: Chén Liángyǔ (born October 1946 is a Politician of General Sir Michael David "Mike" Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, DL, (born 21 March 1944) is a British The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. Christopher John Tarrant OBE (born 10 October 1946, Reading Berkshire) is an English Radio Broadcaster Fielder Cook ( March 9, 1923 - June 20, 2003) was an Emmy Award -winning American television and Film director Tamsin Greig (ˈtæmzɪn ˈgrεg (born 23 February 1967) is an Olivier Award -winning British stage and screen actress Norman Painting, OBE (Born April 23 1924 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire) is an Actor who has played Phil Archer Victoria Wood CBE (born 19 May 1953 in Prestwich, Lancashire) is a BAFTA award winning English Comedian Jane Wymark (born 31 October 1952) is an English actress. The daughter of well-known Actor Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946 is an English Actor, Singer, Voice actor, and Composer, as well as having a career as a Simon John Charles Le Bon (born October 27, 1958) is the lead singer and lyricist of the pop/rock band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia Lisa Lyttelton Dowager Viscountess Cobham (born c 1958 as Lisa Clayton) is the first British woman to sail single-handed and non-stop around Allison Curbishley (born 3 June 1976) was a British athlete. A play scheme in the summer holiday when she was ten years old got Curbishley interested in Christine Ann Wellington (born 18 February 1977) also known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English Triathlete who is the current For the Australian rugby league footballer coach and administrator see Des Morris Desmond John Morris (born 24 January 1928 Dr Robert Beckford is a British Academic Theologian and a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, whose documentaries for both the BBC Professor Sir Liam Donaldson is currently the Chief Medical Officer for England, United Kingdom. David Christopher Kelly CMG ( May 17, 1944 – July 17, 2003) was an employee of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence David A Gill (born 5 August 1957) is British football Executive, currently Chief Executive of Manchester United F Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 Patrick Head (born June 5, 1945) in Farnborough, England, is co-founder and Engineering Director of the

Several Nobel Prize Laureates are Birmingham alumni, including Francis Aston, Maurice Wilkins, Sir John Vane and Sir Paul Nurse. The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature This is a list of Nobel Prize Laureates awarded for their outstanding contributions to Humanitarian causes for Peace, work in Literature Francis William Aston ( September 1 1877 &ndash November 20 1945) was a British Chemist and Physicist who won the Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS ( 15 December 1916 – 5 October 2004) was a New Zealand -born British Sir John Robert Vane ( March 29, 1927 &ndash November 19, 2004) was a British Pharmacologist. Sir Paul Maxime Nurse, FRS (b January 25, 1949) is a British Biochemist.

Notes

References

• Foster, A. (2005). Birmingham (Pevsner Architectural Guides). London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10731-5.  
• Ives, E. (2000). The First Civic University: Birmingham, 1880–1980 – An Introductory History. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press. ISBN 1-902459-07-5.  
• The University of Birmingham Yearbook 2002–2003.  
• Cheesewright, M. (1975). Mirror to Mermaid. Birmingham: The University of Birmingham Press. ISBN 0-7044-0130-4.  
• Braithwaite, L. (1987). University of Birmingham Architectural Trail. Birmingham: The University of Birmingham Press. ISBN 0-7044-0890-2.  
• Hughes, A. (1950). The University of Birmingham : A Short History. Birmingham: The University of Birmingham Press.  

External links

• University of Birmingham
• Aerial photograph of the University from Google Maps
• University of Birmingham photographs