Royal Agricultural University
Coordinates: 51 ° 42 ′ 34 " N , 1 ° 59 ′ 39" W.
| Royal Agricultural University | |
|---|---|
| motto |
Arvorum Cultus Pecorumque ; (from Virgil's Georgica) "For Field and Cattle" |
| founding | 1845 |
| Sponsorship | state |
| place | Cirencester , Gloucestershire , United Kingdom |
| Website | www.rau.ac.uk |
The Royal Agricultural University ( RAU ) is a university in Great Britain founded in 1845 by the Royal Agricultural Society of England as the Royal Agricultural College ( RAC ). The university is placed under the special sponsorship of the Crown through a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria I from the year it was founded. The university is registered in the UK as a company as Royal Agricultural University Enterprises Ltd.
In addition to academic degrees in agriculture, the university offers degrees in other skills required in agriculture, including business management , horse management , land management and tourism . For teaching purposes, extensive areas are maintained for farms.
history
The idea for an agricultural college was born in 1843 at the Fairford and Cirencester Farmers Club. Stimulated by the lack of government support for farmer education, Robert Jeffreys-Brown gathered interested parties to address this issue. Its declared aim was to incorporate scientific knowledge into the work of the farmers. A leaflet was published and money was raised with the help of wealthy landowners and without government support.
The Association's president, Lord Bathurst , rented land for the construction of a Victorian-style building which began in 1845. The builder Thomas Bridges from Cirencester built the building according to plans by Samuel Whitfield Daukes . In the same year Queen Victoria signed the Royal Charter for the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. The first 25 students were accepted in September. In 1846 the number of students increased to 108. Many of the early graduates did not work in English agriculture, but applied for positions in the colonial service of the Crown or in Her Majesty's diplomatic service.
Despite these numbers, the first few years were marked by financial difficulties. The president, Lord Bathurst, was dismissed for incompetence and several professors left college because of difficult circumstances. With the outbreak of World War I , many students and faculty volunteered for military service and the college closed its doors for eight years. It was reopened in 1923 in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary . The reopening was also supported by possibly the most famous former Lord Bledisloe , who later became the Governor General of New Zealand .
In 1932 Robert "Bobby" Boutflour took over the management of the college. Under his leadership the importance and effect grew to the present level. He expanded the student body from 50 to 800, raised the capital for substantial expansions and introduced academic degrees. His obituary described him as "... the most capable, colorful and forceful character that ever adorned the fields of agriculture" (... the most capable, colorful and powerful person who ever entered the field of agricultural sciences).
Despite the college's significant advances, the school was seized by the Royal Air Force in 1939 and used by them during World War II . In 1945 the school reopened with 80 new students on the 100th anniversary of its foundation. The number of students increased again, reaching 452 students in 1958, the year Boutflour retired from the presidency.
Boutflour followed Frank Garner as head and increased the requirements for the degrees. His successor, Sir Emrys Jones, had the Hosier Library and the Frank Parkinson Lecture Theater built. Vic Hughes, who succeeded Jones, again increased the requirements and introduced many courses still offered today. In 1979 the first female students were admitted. The first modern course was carried out in 1984 in collaboration with the University of Reading and led to a BSc in Rural Land Management. The RAC later asked the Privy Council for the right to independently award degrees.
Until 2001, the college remained independent of government contributions. The tuition fees of £ 5,000 to 6,000 were so high that few could afford to study at the RAC. From 2001, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) paid a contribution and made it possible for other students from different backgrounds to complete a degree.
The Privy Council awarded the college full university rank in 2013 when the student population surged over 1,000. The application for the designation “University” led to protests from alumni who feared a loss of reputation due to the name change.
literature
About the Royal Agricultural University
- Roger Sayce (1992) The history of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester: an independent college ;
- D. Verey (1970) The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 1 The Cotswolds , (1970), 183 (on the University's listed buildings)
Personalities
- Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe , later Governor General of New Zealand
- Mark Phillips
- Richard Benyon
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s unknown: History. In: RAU website. Royal Agricultural University, accessed December 16, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lorna Parker, archivist of the Royal Agricultural University: Royal Agricultural University archive. In: ArchivesHub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved December 16, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Sophia Money-Coutts: Inside Cirencester's Royal Agricultural University. It is a university like no other, teaching its often privileged students essential skills like land management and ensuring the food supply for future generations, but recently it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sophia Money-Coutts reports ... In: www.tattler.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019 .
- ↑ ROYAL AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. In: Historic England website with Listed Buildings. Retrieved December 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Emma Brockes: Cream of the crop. In: The Guardian's website. The Guardian , December 10, 2002, accessed December 16, 2019 .
- ↑ unknown: Protests over Royal Agricultural College name change. In: BBC website. British Broadcasting Corporation, June 25, 2012, accessed December 16, 2019 .