Rae Sires
AnS 495
Lincoln University
1 April 2010
Lincoln University
History
The University of Lincoln has a long history, as it was founded in 1861 as
the Hull School or Art. Within the next six years, two more Colleges opened near
Hull, causing the school to move its headquarters to Cottingham Road, where it
would remain until 2001. Near the beginning of the 1900s, another college
named the School of Fishermen and Hull Training College opened. Following
this addition, the original Hull School of Art divided into three separate sections
by grouping its education focuses. Then in 1976, all major college level
education institutions in the city of Hull merged into one institution; Hull College
of Higher Education. Some of the smaller institutions that arose a short time later
that focused on fishing, food, and manufacturing coalesced into what would
eventually be known as Humberside University.
For many years even before the foundation of the Hull School of Art, the
people living 50 miles south of Hull, in Lincoln, wanted their own university. The
citizens finally began to raise money for the large campus building project in the
1990s. The campus in Lincoln forged an academic partnership and opened as
part of the new University of Lincolnshire and Humberside. The campus has
since expanded by adding other sites to the Lincoln and relocating the
headquarters to Lincoln from Hull. The current college known as the University
of Lincoln and is the result of combining the Lincolnshire and Humberside
University, the Lincoln School of Art and Design, and the Lincolnshire School of
Agriculture from De Montfort University.
Education Leadership
The University of Lincoln is currently under the authority of Chancellor
Victor Adebowale, and has been since his appointment in 2008. His position is
comparable to that of the dean of a university, and directs a faculty board. The
university also has a student government body which is also similar to that of
Iowa States called the University of Lincoln Student’s Union, or ULSU. Refounded in 2001, this group is comprised of part-time and full-time student
officers. All students must buy membership into the union, and all members
have the right to speak at any regular meetings held in various locations around
the campus. These leadership groups work together to uphold the university’s
current motto of “Excellentia per studium,” or “Excellence through study.”
Colleges and campuses
The University of Lincoln has 5 main colleges into which it divides its
majors. These colleges are: 1. Agriculture, Food & Animal Sciences 2. Art,
Architecture & Design 3. Business & Law 4. Health, Life & Social Sciences 5.
Media, Humanities & Technology. Each college has a main campus where
classes take place. The university is divided among 3 different towns, with the
majority of the campus now residing in Lincoln. The main campus is called
Brayford campus, and is at the centre of Lincoln. It currently includes the main
administration building, the media, humanities and technology building, buildings
for the science and architecture programs and also the sports centre. The
administration building was originally intended for a showing and display area,
and so was build with large open spaces and an atrium that has balconies
overlooking it from other floors. Cathedral Quarter and Riseholme Park are the
other two campuses located in Lincoln and are the campuses for the art and
design school and the animal and agriculture courses. Riseholme campus will
be the training camp for the equestrian sports for the 2012 London Olympic
Games. The original University of Hull buildings still function as the main
buildings for Management Development and also the Hull School of Health and
Social Care. The third part of campus is located in the rural community of South
Lincolnshire, and is named Holbeach. Several smaller university campuses have
previously existed, but have been consolidated into the current major sites.
As the university is still relatively new, only just having the campus in
Lincoln opened in 1996, there are still many additional plans to develop the
Brayford campus. One of these is expanding the current Human Performance
Centre which should be complete by the end of this year. A building specifically
for the faculty of the Business and Law department is planned to open in 2011.
In addition to these changes, other projects include adding a school of
engineering, and a second science building, and expanding the current Great
Central Warehouse University Library.
Current Research
In 2008, the University of Lincoln performed well in the Research
Assessment Exercise (RAE). This method of comparing performances between
universities divides research into 16 different categories, and then gives scores
based on the recognition level of research being done in each category.
Classifications range from unclassified to the highest or world-leading. Funding
is then given to universities that have programs which will affect either national or
international research, with weight being placed on science based research. The
University of Lincoln is one of the most improved universities, as it received
minimal funding the last time RAE was performed. From 2001, it has increased
its funding by 628%.
In 2008, the faculty made 5 submissions under the Health, Life and Social
Sciences research category of RAE. One of these was under Agriculture,
Veterinary and Food Sciences research and was based on the Centre for Animal
Welfare and Para-Veterinary Sciences. The centre is divided into two main
research groups, one of which focuses on animal behavior, cognition and
welfare. This group includes several departments such as biological science and
psychology has been doing research on the capacity and limitations of animal
cognition. Currently, this type of research is leading Veterinary Behavioural
Medicine and also helping to provide a basis for assessment of captive animal
welfare. The other major division focuses on animal and cellular physiology and
working to understand the generation and importance of biodiversity. The
department of Biological Sciences has many professors specializing in different
areas and several which primarily focus on animal welfare and animal science.
Professor Jonathan Cooper is a professor of animal behaviour and welfare
at the Riseholme campus in Lincoln. His research includes the welfare concerns
for both farm and companion animals and focuses on the causes and effects of
what may be considered abnormal behaviours seen in captive animals.
Currently, Dr. Cooper is involved with several studies, one of which is examining
the possible welfare issues related to training dogs and another that is evaluating
techniques which are used to establish the current space requirements for
individual animals in captivity.
Another well-known professor is Professor Daniel Mills, who is a Professor
of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine. Dr. Mills researches and then applies a
combination of behavioural and clinical knowledge to solve animal behaviour
problems in both domestic and exotic species. Practical examples of his work
include using pheromones to control misbehaving domestic pets and providing
insight and solutions to horses at a Lincoln stable which seemed to have isolation
problems. In addition to developing new techniques to help correct behavioural
issues, he focuses his efforts in his studies to improve animal behaviour without
compromising their welfare.
Comparison to Iowa State
The University of Lincoln is similar to Iowa State in many ways. One of
the easiest comparisons to make is student housing. The University offers
several different types of housing which includes some on-campus housing
options for underclassman. One living option, called Lincoln courts, was build
and is operated almost identically to that of Fredrickson Courts. It is located
close to Lincoln’s main campus, has different roommate living arrangement
options and is a total of 17 apartment buildings. Another surprising similarity
between the colleges is the presence of a club on campus. Comparable to the
M-Shop, the Engine Shed is a great venue for bands, although the Engine Shed
can hold a greater number of people. Both universities are known for having
beautiful campuses with buildings that have unique architecture, due mostly
impart to their well-known design programs. Because of the 5 different campus
locations, the University of Lincoln has 4 separate libraries with a total of a third
of a million books. In comparison, Iowa State’s Parks library has one main
building and 3 branches which are also on campus and together contain over 2.5
million books. If lined up, these would cover slightly over 28 miles! The current
enrollment is close to 16,700 students, with almost 12,000 being undergraduates
in contrast to ISU’s 28,000 students with 23,000 undergraduates. Although exact
tuition amounts were not available, several testimonies from undergraduate
students commented that the tuition and housing at the university were lower
than other public universities in the area. Both universities are also known worldwide for research, although in different areas. Iowa State receives a majority of
grants that promote growth and research in agriculture and engineering, while
the University of Lincoln has many professors doing research in the areas related
to computer science and communication. In comparison to Iowa State cardinal
and gold, the school color is green. Unlike Iowa State, the University of Lincoln
has been included recently in pop-culture as the Media, Humanities and
Technology building was used for scenes in the filming of the movie Possession.
Works Cited
“Department of Biological Sciences.”
http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/dbs/research/research1.htm
“Iowa State University Graduate College.” http://www.gradcollege.iastate.edu/applying/enrollment_statistics.html
“University of Lincoln.” http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/index.htm
“University of Lincoln.” http://wapedia.mobi/en/University_of_Lincoln
Written report –
3-5 pages single spaced, arial, 1” margins, & a cover page with your name
Submit electronically (to all 3 instructors) by noon on Thur., April 1
Power Point presentation
10-12 minutes plus 3-5 minutes for questions (15 min total)
Submit electronically (to all 3 instructors) by noon on Thur., April 1