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Bangor University

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University of Wales, Bangor
Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor
University of Wales, Bangor Shield
MottoGorau Dawn Deall
(The Best Gift is Understanding)
Established1884
ChancellorHRH the Prince of Wales
PresidentLord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM
Vice-ChancellorProfessor Merfyn Jones
Students12,670 [1]
Undergraduates8,225 [1]
Postgraduates1,835 [1]
Other students
2,615 FE[1]
Location
Bangor
,
Wales
,
UK
Colours
                       
AffiliationsUniversity of Wales
Websitehttp://www.bangor.ac.uk/

The University of Wales, Bangor (UWB; [Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor [PCB]‍] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) Other names is a constituent institution of the University of Wales based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales, United Kingdom.

The university occupies a substantial proportion of the city and also has some departments in Wrexham. One of the university's key selling-points is its location between Snowdonia and the island of Anglesey.

Naming

UWB was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales (UCNW, Coleg Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru in Welsh). It later became University College, Bangor (UCB, Coleg y Brifysgol, Bangor)—not to be confused with the University College of Bangor, which is a campus of the University of Maine at Augusta. The current names, University of Wales, Bangor (UWB) and Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor (PCB) were adopted in the mid-1990s.

It is has often been informally referred to as Bangor University (Prifysgol Bangor) throughout its history, and from September 2007 it should officially assume that name (although the university's decision to change the name is subject to approval by the Privy Council). This change has been instigated by the university following the decision of the University of Wales to change from a federal university to a confederal, non-membership organisation, and the granting of degree awarding powers to UWB itself. However, the university has decided to not take advantage of these powers and will continue to award degrees in the name of the University of Wales for now. [1]

History

The university was founded as the University College of North Wales in October 1884 as the result of a campaign for better higher education provision in Wales, and it was incorporated by charter a year later.

The university was originally based in an old coaching inn called the Penrhyn Arms (which housed its 58 students and 12 teaching staff), but in 1911 it moved to a much larger new building which is now the old part of the Main Arts Building (M) (see image below). This building was designed by Henry Hare and opened by King Edward VII.

Its students received degrees from the University of London until 1893 when UWB became a founding constituent institution of the federal University of Wales.

In 1898, the red-bricked Rathbone Accommodation Halls were built. They are named after Lady Rathbone, one of the early patrons of the University.

In 1967, UWB was the venue for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's lectures in Transcendental Meditation, at which The Beatles learnt of the death of their manager, Brian Epstein.

In 1996, Coleg Normal was merged with the university, which now has over 9000 students, as well as a franchise cooperation with Athens Metropolitan College located in Athens, Greece.

Main Arts and other UWB buildings from Bangor Mountain

The Principals (now Vice Chancellors)

The university has had a total of 6 principals/vice chancellors and they are as follows:

Harry Reichel - Principal 1884-1927

David Emrys Evans - Principal 1927-1958

Sir Charles Evans - Principal 1958-1984

Eric Sunderland - Principal (vice chancellor) 1984-1995

Professor Roy Evans - Vice chancellor 1995-2004

Professor Merfyn Jones

Famous alumni and staff

  • Tony Conran - poet and translator. Was Reader in English and Tutor until 1983. Conran has a large number of books in print and has been a published poet since the 1950s. Edited and translated the standard text of Welsh poetry in translation, 'Welsh Verse' (1967/1986).
  • Bill Fay - singer/musician and recording artist. Studied Electronics in 1960s.
  • Tony Gillam - musician and writer. Studied English and French.
  • Professor Ron Pethig - Carried out significant research in developing improved methods of cancer detection and treatment.
  • Professor Kennedy Orton - Physical Organic Chemist, leading ground-breaking work and making the Bangor Chemistry Department one of the most important in the UK in the years after the 1st World War (Chem. Soc. Reviews (1998) 27, 355 - 366). The main lecture theatre in the Chemistry Department at Bangor is now named after him.
  • John Sessions - actor, studied English (original name John Marshall)
  • Professor Mark Baird - Professor of Organic Chemistry who has written many papers and research documents
  • Philip Pullman - author is an honorary fellow (though he did not study at Bangor)

Departments

The University of Wales, Bangor has a long tradition of academic excellence which continues to this day. Over half of the academic departments at Bangor received an 'Excellent' rating for the quality of teaching, and the University's performance in the latest Research Assessment Exercise confirms their status as a world-class research institution. This is further highlighted by their recent success in doubling the number of research contracts won, bringing Bangor's research contract income to £20M.

As of 2007 following a reshuffle in August 2006, the University of Wales, Bangor is broken down into 6 colleges. These are then broken down into schools and research institutes. One of the departments that closed as a result was Mathematics. Ironically the The Guardian league table placed Bangor fifth in the UK for maths despite no longer admitting students [2].

College of Arts and Humanities: School of Engish. School of Welsh. School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology. School of Linguistics and English Language. School of Modern Languages. School of Music. School of Theology and Religious Studies. NIECI (National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries) ELCOS (English Language Centre for Overseas Students) WISCA (Welsh Institute for Social and Cultural Affairs)

College of Business, Social Sciences and Law: Bangor Business School. School of Law. School of Social Sciences.

College of Education and Lifelong Learning: School of Education. School of Lifelong Learning.

College of Natural Sciences: School of the Environment and Natural Resources. School of Biological Sciences. School of Ocean Sciences. Welsh Institute of Natural Resources.

College of Health and Behavioural Sciences: School of Healthcare Sciences. School of Psychology. School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences. Institute of Medical and Social Care Research.

College of Physical and Applied Sciences School of Chemistry. School of Computer Science. School of Electronic Engineering.

Halls of residence

Accommodation is guaranteed for all single, undergraduate first year students at Bangor. There are over 2,000 rooms available in halls of residence, and all of the accommodation is within easy walking distance of the University, and includes some 800 en-suite study rooms.

There are also a number of older halls buildings owned by the university that are no longer used and have become dilapidated due to maintenance costs.

The main types of accommodation are:

  • Catered accommodation
  • Self-Catered accommodation
  • En-suite accommodation
  • Shared-facilities accommodation

A recent application for a 48-room hall has been rejected by Gwynedd Council. [citation needed]

There are 4 residential sites in current use:

Normal Site

The Normal Site is situated on the shores of the Menai Strait next to the School of Education and School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences and the closest residences to the School of Ocean Sciences in Menai Bridge.

St. Mary's Site

Originally a convent, St Mary's Site has had a long and interesting past. Before 1976 it was not part of the university but was then incorporated into the university. Originally it was a college for women teachers. Since then, the site has been expanded and at one point even accommodated nearly 2000 students. Although in recent years the site has been falling into a state of disrepair (Barlows block was finally closed around 2003 due to asbestos issues) the Main block now accommodates over fifty students and there is accommodation for several families also on site. In 1997, Bryn Eithin was built and added an extra 96 rooms to the site. Situated just a few metres further up the hill, it is made up of three blocks and has fantastic views over the whole of Bangor and Snowdonia. Bryn Eithin, although managed by the university halls team, is in fact owned by a housing association and is leased to the university until 2027. Bryn Eithin is reliant on St. Mary's site for its services. Post and laundrette services are all located on the site just over the road. However, St. Mary's site is for sale and is due to be closed in the near future. Plans for Bryn Eithin when that does happen have not yet been released but it is believed that they will become either postgraduate accommodation or family accommodation. St. Mary's site is situated near the top of Lôn Pobty, overlooking the centre of Bangor, and very close to the Science Departments and School of Informatics. St. Mary's is also ideally situated for Bangor High Street's shops and nightlife.

College Road Site

The College Road Site is located a stone's throw from the original Top College building in Upper Bangor, and departments such as Psychology, Music and the School of Business and Regional Development. This site also has two accommodation halls - the Welsh speaking John Morris Jones, and the English speaking Rathbone halls. Neuadd John Morris Jones started its life in 1974 and has, along with its equivalent Neuadd Pantycelyn in Aberystwyth, became a hub of Welsh identity and Nationalism. It is also the main focal point of Welsh language activities of the University and is an integral part of UMCB, which is the Welsh Student Union, part of the main Student Union body. The hall itself is affectionately known as 'JMJ' to all its current students and alumni. John Morris Jones was named after the first professor of Welsh at the University.

Ffriddoedd Site

The largest accommodation site is the Friddoedd Site in Upper Bangor about 10 minutes walk from Top College, the Science Site and city centre. This site includes a coffee shop, laundrette, bar and 6 en-suite buildings (Bryn Dinas, Cefn y Coed, Elidir, Y Borth, Tegfan and Y Glyder) all constructed in the mid 1990s. It also houses the Maes Glas sports hall, which received National Lottery grant funding and is open to the community and students.

Neuadd Reichel opened in 1942 and was named after Sir Harry Rudolf Reichel, first principal of the university. A large extension was completed in 1950. Plas Gwyn opened during the early 1960s and Neuadd Emrys Evans opened in 1966 with Llys Tryfan which, along with the halls office is due to be demolished this summer to make way for new halls to be built in the summer holidays of 2008. These older halls have shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.

New University halls are currently being constructed on the Ffriddeodd site in two phases. Phase One began in October 2006, and when completed will be two new buildings constructed on what used to be the playing fields. Phase Two will see the demolition of the 1960s structures, and further new buildings erected in their place. Residents' main objections regard the height of the structures following the previous building project in the mid 1990s which included Bryn Dinas, a 7 storey building which can be seen from several miles in all directions and was found to be sinking into the ground due to poor foundations.

The new halls were named in July 2007 following a competition run by the University's Estates & Facilities department. The winner was Thomas Hecht (an Undergraduate in Electronic Engineering) and theme of water was chosen. The names chosen were: Crafnant (Llyn Crafnant), Llanddwyn (Ynys Llanddwyn), Glaslyn, Gwynant (Llyn Gwynant), Idwal (Llyn Idwal), Braint (Afon Braint), Alaw (Welsh - translates as water lily), Peris, Enlli (Ynys Enlli), Aberffraw

Private halls

A private hall of residence called 'Neuadd Willis' (named after a well liked and respected architect) has been built (2006), encorporating the old listed British Hotel with a new build extension to the rear. This project is run by Watkin Jones (a local building firm) and Carlton North Wales Ltd and is not a University owned or managed hall. Local residents have mixed feelings about such developments, some feel it will ease pressure on the housing stock in the city, whilst others fear that it will create too much of a concentration of students in a given area.

Carlton North Wales and Watkin Jones is currently in the middle of building another Halls of Residence. This was to be on the site of the old cinema. Plans for this build incorporated a main office from which both sites could be run. However, after the company demolished the cinema, planning permission was suddenly revoked because of the recent changes to the town centre road system. A new site was selected near Orme Road. This is due to open in September 2007.

Students' Union

The Students' Union is currently situated under main arts and is in some need of renovation. The Union's day to day operations are run by the SU exec of which five are full time paid positions.

Policy of the Union is decided by a council which is made up of 15 independent councillors, heads of standing committees, course reps, and JCR Heads. Council meets roughly once a month and takes reports from standing committees, decides policy and decides changes to the constitution.

Student radio

Storm 87.7 FM
Storm FM logo
Broadcast areaBangor
Frequency87.7 MHz
Programming
FormatBangor's Student Sound
Ownership
OwnerUniversity of Wales, Bangor (UWB) Students' Union
History
First air date
2001

Storm FM is the official student radio station for the University of Wales, Bangor and is one of only three student radio stations in the UK to have a long term FM license. The station is broadcast on 87.7FM from a low powered FM transmitter based on the Ffriddoedd Site. Storm is run on a voluntary basis by around 90 students at the university.

History

Storm FM was set up in October 2001 by the then president of the Students' Union, Niall Duffy. The first show was broadcast at 13:00 on March 19, 2003 and presented by staff members, Simon Owen and Malcolm Hanks, and the launch party was then hosted by student Laura Kennedy.

In 2005, two presenters received nominations at the Student Radio Awards; Emma Gascoigne for Best Female, and Spencer George for Best Newcomer. The station was also nominated for Best Station Sound at the Student Radio Awards 2004.

Following a number of disputes, and considerable time off-air, the 2006/07 academic year saw a totally re-branded Storm FM relocate to a brand new studio in the Bangor Students Union, directly under the control of the station members. Until that point, broadcasts were made from the University's Media Centre in upper Bangor.

Former station manager, Spencer George and former assistant manager Tom Giddings were both awarded lifetime membership of the Students Union for their services to Storm and their work in relocating the studio.

Executive

Storm FM's executive is made up of a station manager, an assistant manager, a secretary, a treasurer, a programme controller, a head of music, a head of production, a head of marketing, a head Of IT, a Welsh language officer and an events organiser. The current station manager is Mike Walsh.

Further reading

  • The University College of North Wales - Foundations 1884-1927, J Gwynn Williams, University of Wales Press 1985, ISBN 0708308937
  • Architectural History & Guide (University College of North Wales, Bangor), M L Clarke, Online (Bangor Civic Society)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06". Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  2. ^ Harries-Rees, Karen (2006). "A man for change". Chemistry World. 3 (2): 42–44.
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