Glasgow Caledonian University
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Glasgow Caledonian University
Oilthigh Ghlaschu Caledonach (Gaelic), Glesga Caledonian Varsitie (Scots)
Latin: Universitas Glasguensis Caledonian
Motto: For the common weal
Established: 1993
Type: public university
Staff: 1,500
Students: 17,0451
Undergraduates: 13,6701
Postgraduates: 3,3751
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Affiliations: EUA
WHO
Website: http://www.gcal.ac.uk/

Glasgow Caledonian University, (Gaelic: Oilthigh Ghlaschu Caledonach), (Scots: Glesga Caledonian Varsitie) is a university in Glasgow, Scotland.

Glasgow Caledonian began in 1875 as a small college with 110 students. Since then it has grown and diversified into one of the largest universities in Scotland with over 17,000 students as of 2007. Glasgow Caledonian University was constituted by an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1993 as a result of a merger between Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow.

The current Principal and Vice Chancellor is Professor Pamela Gillies, who has been in post since March 2006.

Magnus Magnusson was University Chancellor up until his death in January 2007. Baron Macdonald of Tradeston was installed as his successor in October 2007.

Contents

History

The Queen's College, Glasgow

The origins of The Queen's College, Glasgow date back as far as 1875 when the Glasgow School of Cookery was established. In 1908, the Glasgow School of Cookery merged with the West End School of Cookery, which had been established in 1878, to form the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, which was colloquially (but affectionately) referred to by Glaswegians as "The Dough School".

Glasgow Polytechnic

Glasgow Polytechnic was originally planned by the Corporation of Glasgow as two separate colleges on adjacent sites in central Glasgow: the College of Science and Technology and the College of Commerce. Before opening in 1971 a new polytechnic institution of higher education had been agreed and the Glasgow College of Technology opened to students with the objective of offering Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) degrees at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The Scottish Office and the local authority were both opposed to the creation of further Central Institutions in Scotland and the legislation enabling the creation of Polytechnics was specific to England and Wales. The new institution was constituted under a a set of Instruments and Articles of Governance derived from that of the Polytechnics but specific to Glasgow: it had an Academic Board and a Governing Council establishing considerable academic independence but ultimately answerable to the Corporation of Glasgow. The formal opening of the College took place in 1972.

The College was under the governance of Glasgow Corporation until 1975 when the newly created Strathclyde Regional Council became the funding body and a new constitution was put in place. In 1985, ownership passed from the Regional Council to an independent board of governors who received their funds directly from the Scottish Education Department. In subsequent years, the instituition changed its name three times for promotional purposes: Glasgow College (1987); 'Glasgow College - A Scottish Polytechnic; and Glasgow Polytechnic (1991).

Glasgow Caledonian University

In 1992, The Secretary of State for Scotland approved the merger of Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow to form Glasgow Caledonian University, which opened on 1 April 1993.

The aim of the new university was to offer non-elitist, high quality education and training to a wide and diverse range of students. It sought to collaborate with commercial and industrial organisations and other providers of education. The university initially offered more than 140 undergraduate and postgraduate courses within 3 faculties and 22 departments.


The original 3 faculty structure was made up of:

In 2002 the structure was changed and the following schools were established:

  • The School of Built and Natural Environment
  • Caledonian Business School, the largest business school in Scotland; consisting of six divisions: Accounting, Finance & Risk; Cultural Business; Fashion, Marketing & Retailing; People Management & Leadership; Public Policy; Strategy, Innovation & Enterprise.
  • The School of Engineering and Computing.2 As of summer 2007 the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and the School of Engineering, Science and Design merged into one school. The school has an affiliated college in Oman; the Caledonian College of Engineering.3 The School is made up of three divisions: Computing and Creative Technologies, Communication, Network and Electronic Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering.4
  • The School of Health and Social Care consists of five divisions; Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography and Social Work
  • The School of Life Sciences has three departments; Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Psychology and Vision Sciences. The Department of Vision Sciences is the home of the only Optometry and Dispensing Optics programme in Scotland.5
  • The School of Law and Social Sciences offers a variety programmes including the LLB, and is home to a number of research centres such as the Scottish Poverty Information Unit, Caledonian Heritage Futures Network and the Centre for Equality and Diversity.
  • The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health is one of the largest nursing education providers in Scotland, and is currently the designated Secretariat of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery Development.

Glasgow Caledonian University offers programmes in all of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) funding groups except medicine, dentistry and teacher education. In May 2002, it launched the first Scottish Centre for Work Based Learning.

Currently the university has approximately 15,000 students, 1,500 staff, 25% of students studying part-time, 66% of students over the age of 21, and more than 700 international students from over 70 countries.6

Campus

Glasgow Caledonian is located on a single campus site in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow. The university used to have three campuses: Park Campus located in Glasgow's West End, Southbrae Campus leased from and adjacent to Jordanhill College of Education, and the current City Campus. However, Park Campus was sold to the University of Glasgow in January 2001 and Southbrae was given back to Jordanhill after the lease had expired.

Caledonian College of Engineering in Muscat, Oman is affiliated to GCU and award GCU degrees.

The university is currently considering a move to the East End of the city, following the Commonwealth Games to be held in 20147.

Saltire Centre

The Saltire Centre is a £23m learning centre, situated in the heart of the university's campus. The futuristic award-winning8 building was opened in January 2006 aiming to integrate all learning and students services. It contains 1800 study places, 600 computers across four floors. The centre houses the university's library collection, a learning café, and the students' support services.9

Notable staff and alumni

Staff

Alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06". Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  2. ^ Glasgow Caledonian University: Engineering & Computing
  3. ^ http://www.caledonianoman.org/
  4. ^ url=http://www.gcal.ac.uk/the-university/schools/index.html
  5. ^ Vision Sciences: Life Sciences: Glasgow Caledonian University
  6. ^ Source: Glasgow Caledonian University
  7. ^ http://www.gcal.ac.uk/news/pressoffice/releases/010808.html
  8. ^ "The Lighting Design Awards 2007". Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
  9. ^ "The Guardian: It's a university, but not as we know it". Retrieved on 2007-05-01.

External links

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