Talk:University of Kent

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May 2004 – March 2006

Contents 1 Category for students and alumni on Wikipedia 2 From Vision to Reality 3 Humanities department? 4 Beckett Court opening 1990 5 Reorder article?

[edit] Category for students and alumni on Wikipedia

Category:Wikipedians by alma mater: University of Kent has been created for all current Kent students and Kent alumni editing Wikipedia. Timrollpickering 20:56, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] From Vision to Reality

I've just finished reading a copy of From Vision to Reality: The Making of the University of Kent by Graham Martin. Over the coming days I'm hoping to expand the history section using the book.

For the record Martin (who died not long after finishing the text) was the first Dean of the Faculty of Natural Science (1964-1973; he was the last survivor of the original Deans) and second Deputy Vice Chancellor (1972-1981). The book is probably as near to an early official history (it was published by UKC and Jo Grimond wrote the introduction) as possible so one may want to question some of the ommissions or coverage.

So far there are two points that I've noted where this article and the book seem at odds are:

• Not naming Darwin College after Bertrand Russell. According to Martin's account (pages 125-126), the interim college committee had suggested "Becket". When the Senate received the report, they referred the name back and proposed the names "Russell" (who died the day before - Martin thinks this was a coincidence) and "Anselm". The committee still preferred "Becket" but the Senate voted 2:1 for Russell. However the Council rejected the name and referred it back - with a substantial faction feeling that Russell's public image was as a political activist not a scholar and they didn't approve of his politics. "Lord Cornwallis, the Chairman of the Council, was heard to remark that he was quite glad not to have to make a choice between a 'turbulent priest' and a 'turbulent professor'." So as to bring a resolution, it was agreed to drop both "Becket" and "Russell" and conduct a postal ballot of the Senate with seven names - Attlee, Conrad, Darwin, Elgar, Maitland, Marlowe and Tyler. No mention of individual vetoes because of affairs! (And Russell was 97 when he died - just when did this affair occur?)
  • (On a side note, the map in book uses the term "Eliot College Residences" for what was, by 1998 at the latest, called "Becket Court". Does anyone know when this name, and also "Tyler Court", were decided on?)
• The University nearly closing in 1974 because of SU activity. I'm not sure what this statement means - is it referring to the SU aiming to bring the university to a halt through occupations (some others did lead to a pause in activity in individual buildings) or the University as a whole facing being shutdown because of the antics of the SU? Martin does detail a 1974 dispute over moves to expell a student that saw violent and costly demonstrations, but focuses more on the resultant bad feeling, especially between Faculties (part of the problem was the student was studying - or rather not studying - courses in both Humanities and Social Sciences and Humanities were more rigorous than Social Science in chasing non-attendees and seem to have expected Social Sciences to have been pursuing the student for his absence on that course when they moved to expell him) and with the Senate (who overrule the Humanities Board) rather than the possibility the University could have been shut down.

Does anyone have further information about either the claim of Russell's affair being the reason for the name being blocked or just what fate the University faced in 1974?

Timrollpickering 00:45, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

My couple of pence. I'm not sure the wranglings over the naming of Darwin College is really suitable for a Wikipedia article, it is rather obscure and focused. If others disagree then fine, but the level of detail you went into above is excessive for the article to my mind, just a mention of what else was considered would be best.

As for the naming of the residential annex beside Eliot College, I can tell you they were called Becket Court from at least 1993. I joined in 1994, and they were definitely called Becket from the year before on the prospectuses I had. Also Tyler Court was always the name for it since when the construction began in 1996 (I think it was), that's the name I've always known for it and I was on campus 1994-1998.

As for the last point, I really don't know anything about that. First I've heard of it. Ben W Bell talk 07:19, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree there's huge detail above which I wouldn't put in the article but felt it worth summarising here just where the drive for and against "Russell College" came from as it does seem to be at odds with the story of a veto over an affair currently in the trivia and the book does seem hard to find (it doesn't display in an Amazon search for instance). If that story is false then it's probably best to remove it. All four colleges attracted debate over the names so it may be worth a trivia point listing each name considered at some point, especially as some like Anselm did the rounds more than once whilst Becket and Tyler were eventually used. Timrollpickering 09:32, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Just to add to all this, if anyone's interested I wrote a post on my blog about Matin's book. In particular there's a summary of the way the colleges failed to meet the original plan, something that this article (as well as a semmingly inordinate number of others about "collegiate universities" and the like) needs a brushing up on. It'll be the next task I tackle. Timrollpickering 22:07, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Humanities department?

the building housing the humanities department is named Marlowe

I can't recall either a "humanities department" - it's a Faculty - or a single building containing all of it. Just which building is this "Marlowe Building"? Timrollpickering 18:32, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

You know I was curious about that as well, I don't recall a Marlowe building. Humanities subjects are spread all over the campus, well at least they were, with lectures and offices where they can be fitted. Ben W Bell talk 07:27, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Checking their website, Marlowe building is what was once the sole domain of the Physics building. I'm presuming they still do physics and othe sciences there since it was mainly labs, so it can't be the humanities building. It was still used for sciences when I was in there last year. Ben W Bell talk 07:27, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

The humanities undergraduate offices are located in Marlowe, which is where this probably came from; it is used by several departments. As far as I know, the labs were converted to architecture studios in 2005 and most of the science teaching takes place on the Giles lane annexe. I have philosophy lectures in that building sometimes, so the name change reflects the fact its multi purpose now. Nuge talk 21:37, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Beckett Court opening 1990

I was at the univerity 1989-93 and I can remember some building work near Eliot, but can't remember this opening? Is the date correct?Charliechuck 14:32, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reorder article?

Looking at this piece agains it feels a bit messy with information that should flow together all over the place and stuff like the coat of arms and the Student Bar being given way too much prominence. Part of this is because of the importance of the colleges in the original set-up and also because some the academic history fits better with the set-up. Some little bits could be moved around, but some larger work may be needed. However I'm not sure I could best do it.

Wikipedia:WikiProject Universities has a potential model, which aims to be flexible for country specific stuff (see the Talk page for more discussion) - does anyone feel bold enough to try a revamp? Timrollpickering 01:40, 11 December 2006 (UTC)