History of Chester University.
Tue, Dec 10th 2013 at 12:00 am - 2:00 pm
The Canon Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice Chancellor of The University of Chester spoke about the history of the University.
Stewards:- Richard Morgan-Wynne* Lead & David Morgan-Wynne(Speakers Report)
Vic Croxson introduced Canon Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice Chancellor of The University of Chester, who gave the following history of the university.
The University was founded as Chester Diocesan Training College in 1839,it is one of the oldest English higher education establishments of any kind, pre-dating all but Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham, and its original buildings in the ancient city of Chester were the first in the country to be purpose-built for the professional training of teachers. Education degrees are now just a small part of the 477 course combinations on offer.
In 2005, University College Chester was awarded full university status and became the University of Chester.[13] This was followed by the right to award its own research degrees in 2007, ending Chester's last validation arrangement with Liverpool.
The acquisition of technical colleges in Cheshire and the old County Hall has seen the development of well-respected courses in Health and Social Care, Humanities, Business and Management, Arts and Media, Social Science, Applied Sciences and Education and Children’s Services has further extended the University’s work and connections with industry, commerce and the professions. Many nurses and police officers in Cheshire receive their training and qualifications through the University.
The University of Chester now has some 16,800 students, drawn from the United Kingdom, Europe and overseas, particularly France, Germany, Spain, Finland, Australia, the United States, India, China, Nigeria, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Recently Shell UK has gifted the firm’s main UK research and development base in Thornton, near Chester, to the university enabling an engineering and technology faculty to be created on the 66-acre site. More than 20 businesses with high growth potential will be offered ‘incubator’ space and access to specialist knowledge, expertise, facilities and equipment at the former Shell Technology Centre.
