Post-war Development
In 1946, the University established the first drama department in the country. In the same year, Bristol began offering special entrance exams and grants to aid the resettlement of servicemen returning home. Student numbers continued to increase, and the Faculty of Engineering eventually needed the new premises that were to become Queen's Building in 1955. This substantial building housed all of the University's engineers until 1996, when Electrical Engineering and Computer Science moved over the road into the new Merchant Venturers' Building to make space for these rapidly expanding fields. Today, Queen's Building caters for most of the teaching needs of the Faculty and provides academic space for the "heavy" engineering subjects (civil, mechanical, and aeronautical).
With unprecedented growth in the 1960s, particularly in undergraduate numbers, the Student's Union eventually acquired larger premises in a new building in the Clifton area of the city, in 1965. This building was more spacious than the Victoria Rooms, which were now given over to the Department of Music. The new Union provides many practice and performance rooms, some specialist rooms, as well as three bars: Bar 100; the Mandela (also known as AR2) and the Avon Gorge. Whilst spacious, the Union building is thought by many to be ugly and out of character compared to the architecture of the rest of the Clifton area, having been mentioned in a BBC poll to find the worst architectural eyesores in Britain. The University has proposed relocating the Union to a more central location as part of its development 'masterplan'. More recently, plans for redevelopment of the current building have been proposed.
The 1960s were a time of considerable student activism in the United Kingdom, and Bristol was no exception. In 1968, many students marched in support of the Anderson Report, which called for higher student grants. This discontent culminated in an 11-day sit-in at the Senate House (the administrative headquarters of the University). A series of Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors led the University through these decades, with Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort taking over from Churchill as Chancellor in 1965 before being succeeded by Dorothy Hodgkin in 1970 who spent the next 18 years in the office.
As the age of mass higher education dawned, Bristol continued to build its student numbers. The various undergraduate residences were repeatedly expanded and, more recently, some postgraduate residences have been constructed. These more recent ventures have been funded (and are run) by external companies in agreement with the University.
Since 1988, there have been only two further Chancellors: Sir Jeremy Morse, then chairman of Lloyds Bank who handed over in 2003 to Brenda Hale, the first female Law Lord.
One of the few Centres for Deaf Studies in the United Kingdom was established in Bristol in 1981, followed in 1988 by the Norah Fry Centre for research into learning difficulties. Also in 1988, and again in 2004, the Students' Union AGM voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS). On both occasions, however, the subsequent referendum of all students reversed that decision and Bristol remains affiliated to the NUS.
In 2002, the University was involved in argument over press intrusion after details of the son of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's application to university were published in national newspapers.
As the number of postgraduate students has grown (particularly the numbers pursuing taught Master's Degrees), there eventually became a need for separate representation on University bodies and the Postgraduate Union (PGU) was established in 2000. Universities are increasingly expected to exploit the intellectual property generated by their research activities and, in 2000, Bristol established the Research and Enterprise Division (RED) to further this cause (particularly for technology-based businesses). In 2001, the university signed a 25-year research funding deal with IP2IPO, an intellectual property commercialisation company. In 2007, research activities were expanded further with the opening of the Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) and The Bristol Institute for Public Affairs (BIPA).
In 2002, the University opened a new Centre for Sports, Exercise and Health in the heart of the University precinct. At a cost, local residents are also able to use the facilities.
Expansion of teaching and research activities continues. In 2004, the Faculty of Engineering completed work on the Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering (BLADE). This £18.5m project provides cutting-edge technology to further the study of dynamics and is the most advanced such facility in Europe. It was built as an extension to the Queen's Building and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in March 2005.
In January, 2005, The School of Chemistry was awarded £4.5m by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to create Bristol ChemLabS: a Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL), with an additional £350k announced for the capital part of the project in February, 2006. Bristol ChemLabS stands for Bristol Chemical Laboratory Sciences; it is the only Chemistry CETL in the UK.
September 2009 saw the opening of the University's Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information. This £11 million state of the art building is dubbed as the quietest building in the world and has other technologically sophisticated features such as self-cleaning glass. Advanced research into quantum computing, nanotechnology, materials and other disciplines are being undertaken in the building.
There is also a plan to significantly redevelop the centre of the University Precinct in the coming years. The first step began in September 2011, with the start of construction of a state-of-the-art Life Sciences building. In a time of heavy financial pressures on all Universities, this £50 million project is a clear statement that Bristol is committed to world class research and teaching facilities.
Read more about this topic: Bristol Laboratory For Advanced Dynamics Engineering, History, Historical Development
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