University of St Andrews: Difference between revisions

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413. It is situated in the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The university attracts students from over 100 countries. Independent school intake is high, but the university has an active widening participation policy. The modern library and many departments are in the town centre. The town's population of 16,000 is boosted considerably by the University's 7,000 students.

The University was founded in 1410 when a charter of incorporation was bestowed upon the Augustinian priory of St Andrews Cathedral. A Papal Bull was issued in 1413 by the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. The University grew in size quite rapidly; St Salvator's College was established in 1450, St Leonard's College in 1511, and St Mary's College in 1537. Some of the college buildings in use today date from this period as does St Salvator's Chapel. At this time, much of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral.

From the 17th to 19th centuries, the university underwent many changes. The distinctive red gowns, which are still in use today, were adopted in 1672. Toward the end of the seventeenth century, the university considered and eventually rejected a move to Perth. In 1747, St Salvator's and St Leonards's merged to form the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard.

During the 19th century, student numbers were very low and the university faced the possibility of closing. In the 1870s, the student population was fewer than 150, and perhaps partly in response to this, the university founded University College in Dundee in 1897, which became a centre of medical and scientific excellence. This affiliation ended in 1967 when the college, renamed Queen's College, became a separate and independent institution of the University of Dundee. The loss of teaching facilities for clinical medicine caused the university's Bute Medical School to form a new attachment with the University of Manchester. Today, the university is growing in international reputation, attracting more students than ever before, and is moving toward sound financial health.

As with the other Ancient universities of Scotland, governance is determined by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. This Act created three bodies: the General Council, University Court and Academic Senate (Senatus Academicus).

The General Council is a standing advisory body of all the graduates, academics and former academics of the University. It meets twice a year and appoints a Business Committee to transact business between these meetings. Its most important functions are to appoint two Assessors to the University Court and elect the University Chancellor.

The University Court is the body responsible for administrative and financial matters, and is in effect the governing body of the University. It is chaired by the Rector, who is elected by all the matriculated students of the University. Members are appointed by the General Council, Academic Senate and Fife Council. The President of the Students' Representative Council and Director of Representation are routinely co-opted onto the Court. Several lay members are also co-opted and must include a fixed number of alumni of the University.

The Academic Senate (in Latin Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the University. Its members include all of the Professors of the University, certain senior Readers, a number of Senior Lecturers and Lecturers, and two students. It is responsible for authorising degree programmes and issuing all degrees to graduates. Another function of the Senate is to discipline students. The President of the Senate is the University Principal.

The University is divided into four academic Faculties:

• Arts,
• Divinity,
• Medicine, and
• Science.

Each is governed by a Faculty Council and administered by a Dean. Students apply to become members of a particular faculty, as opposed to any particular school or department.

The Principal is the chief executive of the University and is assisted in that role by several key officers.

The current composition of the Office of the Principal is:

• The Principal: Dr Brian Lang
• Master of the United College and Deputy Principal: Professor Keith Brown
• Secretary and Registrar: Mark Butler
• Vice-Principal (Research): Professor Alan Miller
• Vice-Principal (Learning and Teaching): Professor Ronald Piper
• Vice-Principal (External Relations): Stephen Magee
• Quaestor and Factor: Derek Watson
• Assistant to the Principal: Hugh Martin

St Andrews is characterised amongst Scottish Universities as having a significant number of students in University operated accommodation. Residences include:

• Albany Park
• Andrew Melville Hall
• David Russell Apartments (built on the site of the now-demolished David Russell Hall)
• Deans Court
• Fife Park
• Gannochy House
• John Burnet Hall
• McIntosh Hall
• New Hall
• St Regulus Hall
• St Salvator's Hall
• Stanley Smith House & Angus House
• University Hall

In addition to the residences listed above, the University formerly also had the following residences:

• Hamilton Hall
• Hepburn Hall
• Kinnessburn Hall

• Gavin Douglas, poet and bishop
• William Dunbar, poet
• Robert Fergusson, poet
• Hazel Irvine, television presenter
• Sir David Lindsay, poet and diplomat
• Ian McDiarmid, actor
• Siobhan Redmond, actor
• John Suchet, newsreader
• Brian Taylor, journalist
• Fay Weldon, feminist and writer

• Sir Eric Anderson, academic
• Walter Perry, Lord Perry of Walton, first Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
• Dominic Sandbrook, historian and author

• Angie Bray, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament
• Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, diplomat
• Christopher Chope, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Barry Gardiner, Labour Party (UK) politician
• James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, royalist military commander
• John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee, Jacobite military commander, "Bonnie Dundee"
• Michael Fallon, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Mark Lazarowicz, Labour Party (UK) politician
• John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Lewis Moonie, Baron Moonie, Labour Party (UK) politician
• Madsen Pirie, founder, Adam Smith Institute
• Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair, scientist and Liberal politician
• George Reid, MSP (SNP) and Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
• Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party
• Alex Singleton, Director-General of the Globalisation Institute
• Catherine Stihler, Labour Party (UK) politician
• Desmond Swayne, Conservative and Unionist politician
• Hugo Swire, Conservative and Unionist politician
• James Wilson, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence

• David Beaton, Cardinal Archbishop of St. Andrews
• George Buchanan (humanist), scholar, theologian, and playwright
• Thomas Chalmers, theologian and leader of the Free Church of Scotland
• Patrick Hamilton (martyr), Protestant Reformer
• Alexander Henderson, theologian
• Andrew Melville, scholar and theologian
• John Witherspoon, theologian, President of Princeton University, and signatory of the US Declaration of Independence.

• James II of Scotland
• Prince William of Wales, known at university as William Wales
• Alexandra Romanoff, Princess Romanov

• James Black, Nobel prize winner in Medicine
• James Gregory, astronomer and mathematician
• Richard Kemp, chemist and manufacturer of illegal supply of LSD - arrested as a result of Operation Julie
• Walter Haworth, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
• Alan MacDiarmid, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
• John Napier, mathematician

• Alexander Berry, explorer, Australian pioneer/settler Coolangatta
• James Crichton, polymath, the original "Admirable Crichton"
• John Honey, student who rescued five men from a ship

In Scotland, the position of Rector exists in the four ancient universities - which are the Universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh - as well as in the University of Dundee. The post (officially Lord Rector, but by normal use Rector alone) was made an integral part of these universities by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889. The Rector chairs meetings of the University Court, the governing body of the university, and is elected at regular intervals by their matriculated student bodies. This role is considered by many students to be integral to their ability to shape the universities' agendas.

• Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves 1872-1874, Scottish theologian, jurist and evolution analyst
• John Marwood Cleese 1970-1973, English actor and comedian
• Joseph Rudyard Kipling 1922-1925, Nobel prize winner, British author and poet
• Andrew Carnegie 1901-1907, Scottish-born American businessman, philanthropist
• John Stuart Mill 1865-1868, English philosopher and political economist
• Douglas Haig, 1916-1919, Senior British Commander of World War I
• James Matthew Barrie, 1919-1922, Scottish author

see Rector of University of St Andrews for a more detailed list

The University has a strong link with the United States. Significant numbers of students matriculate from the United States (approximately 15% of university in 2005). Many important American figures have been associated with the university. Benjamin Franklin, Bill Bryson, golfer Bobby Jones, and most recently, Bob Dylan, have been awarded honorary degrees.

Also, three of the signatories of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence attended or received degrees from St Andrews, including:

• James Wilson, born at Carskerdo, near St. Andrews (signer from the state of Pennsylvania)

Wilson attended three Scottish Universities including St. Andrews, but did not earn a degree from any of them. Carrying important letters of introduction, Wilson arrived in America in 1765. He became a Latin tutor at Philadelphia College (now the University of Pennsylvania), and successfully petitioned that institution to grant him an honorary Master of Arts.

• John Witherspoon, born at Gifford, Scotland (signer from the state of New Jersey)

Witherspoon had an impressive list of credentials and was a significant public figure. He was president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Witherspoon was largely responsible for converting the institution into a success by employing Scottish educational standards. He received his Master of Arts, Bachelor of Divinity, and was made a Doctor of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. His direct descendant is the Academy Award winning actress Reese Witherspoon, who attended the private all-girl's Harpeth Hall School and Stanford University as a literature major.

• Benjamin Franklin, born Boston, Massachusetts (signer from the state of Pennsylvania)

In 1759 Franklin Received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of St. Andrews.

Additionally, Emory University runs an exchange program with St Andrews called the Bobby Jones Scholars program, which allows for recent graduates of both universities to study at the other school.

Students and staff at the University are able to wear a variety of different scarves depending on whether they are an undergraduate, post-graduate or members of either the Faculties of Divinity or Medicine.

Any alumnus, student or staff member can wear a scarf of dark blue, sky blue and white:

St Mary's College

Bute Medical School

Postgraduate Students

Main Article: University of St Andrews Students' Association

The University of St Andrews Students' Association was formed in 1983 by the adoption of the principle of closer co-operation between the Students' Representative Council (SRC) and the Students' Union. The Union was founded in 1864 as a "Common and Reading Room" and was located in the "cloister" behind St Salvator's Chapel. The Students' Union of the University of St Andrews is the oldest in Scotland. The SRC is a statutory body established in 1885 but formalised by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889.

Students at the university form various voluntary socities for academic, social, political, religious and other reasons. Many of these are affiliated with the Students' Association. Other groups are not affiliated to the University or the Students Association, and therefore not a part of the University structure, see Independent Student Groups in St Andrews.

The following is a partial list of Societies at the University of St Andrews:

• The Kate Kennedy Club
• The Strafford Club
• The Korfball Club
• St Andrews University Juggling Society
• The Student Archaeology Society
• St Andrews University Mountaineering Club
• The Breakaway Hillwalking Society
• The Economics Society
• The Fencing Club
• The Global Investment Group
• University of St Andrews Liberty Club
• University of St Andrews Union Debating Society
• University of St Andrews Rock music society
• Bute Medical Society [3]
• St Andrews Voluntary Service (SVS)
• The University of St Andrews German Society
• The Charities Campaign, including the annual [Race to Paris]
• The St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association website
• The St Andrews University Scottish Nationalist Association official website
• The University of St Andrews, Student Catholics' Society
• The University of St. Andrew's Liberty Club
• The University of Saint Andrews Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transperson Society
• The Royal Cake Club, comprised of select UK/American/African Young Professionals
• The University of St Andrews Skydiving Club
• The University of St Andrews Quaich Society
• The University of St Andrews Real Ale Society
• The University of St Andrews 'Scotland actually owns England anyway' Society
• St Andrews Student UNICEF Society
• The St Andrews University Madrigal Group [4]

• Newspapers
  • In 2006, on 17 April, the "Vine" magazine (supported by the Students' Association) was re-launched. The magazine, which claims to generate discussion and thought throughout the student population of the town, sold out of its relaunch issue. Issue 8 subsequently sold out, despite two reprint runs.
  • The Saint is the longest-lasting student newspaper, published fortnightly since 1997 and tracing its roots several decades further. It is fully independent of both the Student's Union and the University, which has led to some controversy about certain articles in the past. This independence is only matched by two other student newspapers in Britain - the Cherwell in Oxford and Varsity in Cambridge.
• The Chihuahua, which dates back to 2002, is a free alternative monthly magazine in a tabloid newspaper format, known for provocative and surreal humour which is not for the easily offended. The Chihuahua's famous disclaimer together with use of satire sometimes allows it to tackle issues that the Saint is unable to but it rarely receives complaints about content being unsuitable (merely that sometimes it is not funny, which is of course far worse).

• Radio
  • On the 28th of February 2005, a number of St Andrews students launched the university's first FM station broadcasting over 3 km on the 87.7 MHz frequency. The station was granted a Restricted Service Licence, which allows for six hours of broadcast a day. The station had another successful run for two weeks from November 21st 2005. The station also broadcasts live 24 hours a day on the internet [5]. The radio station is currently in the process of becoming a sub-committee of the Students' Association under the name of the Broadcasting Committee.

There are two official sites for the students of the university: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk which is the University's site, and http://www.yourunion.net which is the official site for the Students' Association.

• Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
• Lord Rector of St Andrews University
• Ancient universities of Scotland
• Academic dress of the University of St Andrews
• Category:Wikipedians by alma mater: University of St Andrews

• R.G. Cant The University of St. Andrews, A Short History (Oliver and Boyd Ltd. 1946)

• University of St Andrews website
• University of St Andrews Students' Association Website
• STAR FM 87.7 St Andrews Student Radio
• The Saint newspaper
• The Mitre — Monthly student newspaper
• The Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA) - a research institute based at St Mary’s College, the Divinity School at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

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