University of Exeter

The City on the Hill

A Life of the University of Exeter

    • 319 Pages

    In 1955 the former University College of the South West was granted a royal charter and became the University of Exeter.  Its development over the the subsequent six decades is the subject of this book.  This is the history of an institution that is also a community, a focus of teaching and research set within a particular environment but also part of the wider world.

    Jeremy Black has drawn on a range of sources, from archive material to personal recollections of staff and students, past and present, to record and analyse the story of the university as it engaged with the need to expand and evolve, while responding to constant financial and political pressures. The result is a comprehensive portrait of this unique 'city on the hill'.

    In 1955 the former University College of the South West was granted a royal charter and became the University of Exeter. This is the history of an institution that is also a community, a focus of teaching and research set within a particular environment but also part of the wider world. 130 col. and 31 b&w illus.


    Writing an account of a living institution isn’t easy, but as a professional historian Jeremy Black has looked dispassionately at the archive material available and distilled it into a readable narrative that captures the struggles and achievements of this great university. He has brought the story to life by including the opinions and memories of many staff and students, and I particularly like the juxtaposition of rigorously researched factual material with the candid, sometimes outspoken, comments of those who lived through the period in question, something that will no doubt bring back memories for many who have studied or taught here. This exceptional book will itself surely become a definitive part of the University of Exeter’s story.
    Sir Tony Robinson

    Sir Tony Robinson, Hon LLD

    HRH The Queen
    Foreword by The Vice-Chancellor
    Abbreviations

    Introduction
    Method and Sources
    The 1950s: The New University
    Into the 1960: Major Expansion
    The Later 1960s: Social Change
    The Early 1970s: The Brakes Go On
    The Later 1970s: A Divided University
    The Early 1980s: Crisis for an Old OrderThe Later 1980s: Difficult Tears, Again
    The Early 1990s: Change Starting
    The Later 1990s: New Strategies
    The Early 2000s: Restructuring
    From the Mid-2000s to the Present: The Big Bang
    Into the Future: The 2014 REF
    Conclusions
    Postscript
    Acknowledgements
    Notes

    Jeremy Black is a leading scholar in the field of British history and the author of more than one hundred books. He has held the Established Chair in history at the University of Exeter since 1996.