York St John University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| York St John University | |
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| Established: | 1841 (as the Diocesan College in York) |
| Type: | Public |
| Chancellor: | The Most Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr John Sentamu |
| Vice-Chancellor: | Professor Dianne Willcocks CBE |
| Staff: | 618[1]
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| Students: | 6,435[2] |
| Undergraduates: | 5,505[2] |
| Postgraduates: | 930[2] |
| Location: | York, North Yorkshire, England |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Website: | http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/ |
York St John University (formerly known variously as York St John University College (2004), York St John College (2001), Ripon and York St John: a College of the University of Leeds (c.1996), University College of Ripon and York St John (c.1990), College of Ripon and York St John (1974), St John's College, York (c.1900) and York Diocesan College (1841)) is located in York, England. It is one of several higher education institutions with a Church of England foundation, others include Canterbury Christ Church, University of Chester, University of Chichester, University of Cumbria, University of Winchester, and Bishop Grosseteste. It occupies an eight acre (32,000 m²) city centre campus on Lord Mayor's Walk, just a few hundred yards from York Minster. As of 2006, there were around 5,000 students, reading a wide variety of subjects, in four faculties: Arts; Education and Theology; Business and Communication and Health and Life Sciences.
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[edit] History and Development
The university descends from two Anglican teacher training colleges, which were founded in York in 1841 (for men) and 1846 (for women). In 1862, the women's college relocated to Ripon. Over the next century, the colleges gradually diversified their education programmes. The colleges merged in 1974 to form the College of Ripon and York St John.
In 1990 the combined institution formally became a college of the University of Leeds; this arrangement allowed it to award degrees in the name of the latter, while remaining in practice largely autonomous. Between 1999 and 2001, all activities were transferred to York and the college received the name York St John College.
In February 2006, the College was granted the right to award degrees in its own name and the right to call itself a University College. On 10 July 2006 the Privy Council approved a request from the college to become a fully-fledged University; the name became York St John University on 1 October 2006, and the first Chancellor (installed at a ceremony in York Minster on 7 March 2007) is the Archbishop of York John Sentamu.
[edit] Students' Union
Many activities are organised in association with the students' union and the university offers several sporting and other interest groups in which students can become members.
In 2002, a campaign entitled "SSHH - Silent Students Happy Homes" was initiated to combat local residents' fears of studentification . This has subsequently been adopted by other students' unions around the UK, although in many instances the expansion of the abbreviation has been dropped, leaving campaigns called "Shh", "Sshh", or variants.
In 2005, the Students' Union launched another community-friendly campaign called 'Pick It Up'. This campaign was designed to reduce litter levels on campus and in the surrounding community.
[edit] Courses
Students can study a range of subjects, including television and film production, literature, linguistics, psychology, sports science, Theology and education. Many others are available and the university prides itself on integrating students of varying disciplines. The university was recently awarded the right to call itself a 'centre of excellence' for performance and is a base for the government programme, Collaborating For Creativity (C4C).
[edit] Fountains Learning Centre
The Fountains Learning Centre, opened in 2004, is located at the Clarence Street entrance to the campus. It provides access to resources of all kinds including books, journals, DVDs and videos, media equipment, approximately 400 computers and a 200-seat lecture theatre.
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| York St John's football strip. |
[edit] Sports
The university's Students' Union has many sports clubs. The Football Club play soccer at Heworth Green: one team competes under the name York St John University in the York Football League (they are currently in the Premier Division of that league system); their reserve team also feature in Reserve Division A, which is the top reserve league. The Rowing Club was founded in 1852 and is the longest standing club of the university.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Geoff Cooke, former England rugby international.
- Peter Squires, former England rugby international.
- Alistair Griffin, Singer/ Songwriter
- Julia Davis, Actress, Writer
- The Right Rev. Peter D. Robinson, Suffragan Bishop, United Episcopal Church of North America
[edit] See also
G P McGregor (1991) A Church College for the 21st Century? 150 years of Ripon & York St John, 1841-1991: A study of policy and its absence. William Sessions Ltd, York, England. (ISBN 1-85072-079-7)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Facts, figures & corporate documents : Staff profile". York St John University official website. http://www2.yorksj.ac.uk/default.asp?Page_ID=358&Parent_ID=355. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
- ^ a b c "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
