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University of St Andrews

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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.

Contents

History

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.

Governance and administration

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).

General Council

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.

University Court

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.

Academic Senate

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.

Faculties

The University is divided into four academic Faculties:

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.

Office of the Principal

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:

Alumni

Arts and media

Education and academia

Politics and public affairs

Religion, church, and theology

Royalty

Sciences

Miscellaneous

Famous Rectors

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.

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

Links with the United States

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.

Signatories of the Declaration of Independence

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

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.

Witherspoon had an impressive list of credentials and was a significant public figure. He was president of the College of New Jersey (now the University of Princeton). Witherspoon was largely responsible for converting the institution into a success by employing Scottish educational standards. He received his Doctorate of Divinity from the University of St. Andrews (honorary?). His direct descendent 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.

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

Exchange Programs

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.

Miscellaneous

St. Andrews claimed that the dollar sign was invented at the university.

Student organizations

Students' Association

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.

Societies

Students at the university form various voluntary socities for academic, social, political, religious and other reasons. Some of these are affilliated with the Students' Association, while others are private members' organisations.

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

Well-established private members' clubs

Media

Online communities

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

[The Sinner] was a side project by St Andrews computer science student James Baster. "St-Adz" as it was first called, provided a place where students could exchange books and other goods. It later developed into a messageboard and unofficial Guide to St Andrews, under its new name, The Sinner. Oli Walker took over the running of the site in May 2003, expanding the messageboards to provide an online presence for halls of residence, student societies and academic groups. Members of TheSinner.net are known as "Sinners", and a new student society called "SinnerSoc" was started in September 2005 to ensure the Guide to St Andrews is up to date and to encourage people from all over the University to interact in thought-provoking debate.

St Andrews is one of the many British universities and colleges to have a community on the Facebook, and listed 5635 students as of 25th November 2005.

See also

References

External links

Universities in Scotland

Aberdeen | Abertay | Dundee | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Glasgow Caledonian | Heriot-Watt | Napier | Paisley | Robert Gordon | St Andrews | Stirling | Strathclyde

The 1994 Group (of smaller British research universities)
Bath | Birkbeck | Durham | East Anglia | Essex | Exeter | Goldsmiths College | Lancaster | London School of Economics* | Reading | Royal Holloway | St Andrews | Surrey | Sussex | Warwick* | York
Joining 1 August 2006: Leicester | Loughborough | School of Oriental and African Studies | Queen Mary
* Also a member of the Russell Group

 

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