University of Central Lancashire

Template:Infobox University

The University of Central Lancashire (or UCLan) is a university based in Preston, UK, with additional campuses in Carlisle and Penrith.

Before 1992, the University had been Preston Polytechnic since September 1 1973, and then Lancashire Polytechnic in 1984. Before then it was Harris College and previously The Harris Institute.

Before that, it was originally named The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge. Colleges of education were added in the 1970s from Poulton-le-Fylde and Chorley.

On August 1 2004, UCLan took control of the former Northumbria University campus in Carlisle, which had around 400 students. Today, UCLan also validates degree courses for partner institutions. The Carlisle campus along with the university's Newton Rigg campus near Penrith, Cumbria have been since the 1 August 2007 have been part of the new University of Cumbria.

The university’s Chancellor is Sir Richard Evans CBE DL

Origins[edit | edit source]

On September 11, 1828, Prestonian Joseph Livesey set up a meeting "in favour of the Establishment of an Institution in Preston". The meeting was held at 19:30 in "Mr. Smith's Large Room, No. 11, Cannon-street, (over Mr. Templeton's School,)". This encounter led to a further meeting at the town's corn exchange (now the Assembly bar) on Lune Street on October 7 in the same year.

History[edit | edit source]

The Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was founded in 1828 by Joseph Livesey's Temperance Society. The society was born from a pledge made by seven Preston workingmen (whose names can be seen on a plaque in the university library) to never again consume alcohol.

The Institute was housed in a classical-revivalist building on Cannon Street, before eventually expanding under the endowment of a local lawyer, Edmund Robert Harris, who died in 1877.

The expansion brought with it several new buildings as part of the expansion and houses in the nearby Regent Street were purchased and demolished as a consequence. The institute became a centre of excellence for the Arts and Sciences.

As part of Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations in 1899, the trustees paid for the Harris Technical College (now known as the Harris Building) to be built on Corporation Street. Its goal was to provide local youths with a technical education in all areas. The building was modern at the time and was powered entirely by electricity.

The institute existed in this state until 1932 when it changed again to become the Harris Art College. It underwent further expansion and in 1952 became the Harris College. In 1970 this became Preston Polytechnic, changing its name to Lancashire Polytechnic in 1984

In 1992, Lancashire Polytechnic was awarded University status and has undergone continuous improvement and development since, bearing the name University of Central Lancashire.

Given that Preston has since achieved city status, and that the university has control of a former Northumbria University site in Carlisle, there has been speculation that another change of name for institution is in the offing, as 'Central Lancashire' is deemed too restrictive based on the university's scope and coverage. Future renaming possibilities include Preston City University (plus 'PCU at Carlisle' for the ex-Northumbria campus), the University of Preston or Lancashire-Cumbria University. However, as of April 2007, there had been no formal proposal for a name change.

Preston Campus[edit | edit source]

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The Brook Building

The Preston Campus, being the core of the university, has most of the facilities and buildings. The Preston Campus currently consists of:

Adelphi Building
Avenham Building
Brook Building (£10 million building opened in 2005 which houses both the Faculty of Health and the Lancashire Business School)

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The Harris Building

Chandler Building
Centre for Contemporary Arts
Computing & Technology Building

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The University Library

Darwin Building (£10 million building opened in 2005 which houses the movement analysis laboratory, tissue culture suite, physiology suites, and the Centre for Sports and Exercise Science department)
Edward Building
Electronic & Digital Art Unit

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The Computing and Technology Building

Foster Building
Forensic Science Crime Scenes Houses
Fylde Building
Greenbank Building
Hanover Building
Harrington Building
Harrington Security Lodge
Harris Building
Indoor Sports Centre
Kendal Building (now a rather delightful car park)
Kirkham Building
Leighton Building
Library & Learning Resource Service
Livesey House
New Building for LBS and Health (under construction)
Marsh Building
Maudland Building
Moss Building
Multi-Faith Centre
Pre-School Centre
Radnor Building
St Peters Arts Centre
Students' Union
New Student Union Building
Vernon Buildings & Greenfell Baines Gallery
Victoria Building
Wharf Building

Announced buildings:

£15.3 million media and performing arts building(Media Factory), scheduled for completion in 2007.

Departments[edit | edit source]

The Preston Campus currently has four faculties and 33 departments, which are:

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- Art and Fashion
- Combined Honours
- Centre for Employability
- Design
- Education and Social Science (including Deaf Studies)
- Humanities
- Languages and International Studies
- Lancashire Law School

Health
- Department of Allied Health Professions
- Complementary Medicine Unit,
- Ethnicity & Health
- Health Informatics Research Unit
- Midwifery Studies
- Nursing, ODP and Paramedic Education
- Professional Ethics
- School of Dentistry
- Social Work
- Lancashire School of Health and Postgraduate Medicine

Lancashire Business School
- Commercial Development Unit
- Information and Finance
- Journalism
- Strategy and Innovation
- Tourism and Leisure Management

Science and Technology
- Biological Sciences
  - Sports Science
  - Biomedical Research Unit
- Built Environment
- Computing
- Forensic and Investigative Sciences
  - Cyberspace Research Unit
- Physics, Astronomy and Maths
  - Centre for Astrophysics
  - Centre for Materials Science
- Psychology
- School of Natural Resources
  - Animal Conservation Science
  - Archaeology
  - Conservation and Countryside Management
  - Environmental Hazards
  - Environmental Management
  - Forestry
  - Geography
  - Renewable Natural Resources
  - Waste Management
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Technology
- Vocational Skills

Sports[edit | edit source]

The university has first rate sporting facilities available to all students, staff, and alumni both on campus and around the Preston. The Foster Sports Centre was recently extended and refurbished and is in the centre of the university campus and accommodates for a wide range of indoor sporting activities such as badminton, tennis, basketball, volleyball, football, hockey, netball, and fencing. The Sports Centre also has a well equipped gym.

Also open to students, staff, alumni, and the community is the Preston Sports Centre, which was opened in 2000 by HRH The Princess Royal. The £12 million arena provides facilities for Athletics (8 lane track), Rugby League, Rugby Union, Football (5 grass pitches) Hockey (2 floodlit all weather pitches) Netball and Tennis (4 floodlit courts) and Cycling (1.5 km circuit), as well as an eight lane athletics area which is fully equipped for school, club and county competitions.

Students' Union[edit | edit source]

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The Students' Union logo.

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The Students' Union bar, Source.

The Students' Union underwent a £21 million revamp between 2002 and 2005.^{[citation needed]} Construction was halted halfway through when it was discovered that the shiny metal plating that covers the building was reflecting into drivers' eyes. The metal coating was then rubbed down to make it less reflective.^{[citation needed]}

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The Students' Union venue, 53 Degrees.

The main club venue at the Students' Union is called "53 Degrees". It has two floors with a bar on each and often hosts top bands. A total capacity of 1200, the venue hosts big named acts such as Graham Coxon, Gomez, and Porcupine Tree. Acts such as The View, Jamie T, The Futureheads, in the early days, and Pendulum have played the 400 capacity club upstairs.^{[citation needed]} The additional adjoining bar is called "Source", which is open seven days a week during the day and night.

Newspaper and radio station[edit | edit source]

UCLAN Newspaper (Pluto)

Frequency 1350

Logo change[edit | edit source]

File:Olduclan.jpg

The old university logo

At the start of the 2005/06 academic year, the university changed its logo from the traditional "University of Central Lancashire" logo to a new one with the simple word "uclan".

However, the old logo is still visible on many buildings around campus, and the rebranding has not really fully taken place at the time of writing (February 2006).