The story
The university traces its roots back to 1909, when the Loughborough Technical Institute was founded in the town centre. There followed a period of rapid expansion led by principal Herbert Schofield, during which there was renaming to Loughborough College and development of the present campus.
In early years, efforts were made to mimic the environment of an Oxbridge college, e.g. students wore gowns to lectures, while maintaining a strong practical counterbalance to academic learning. During World War I, it served as an "instructional factory", training workers for the munitions industry.
The Loughborough colleges
Following the war, the institute was divided into four separate colleges:
Loughborough Training College (teacher training)
Loughborough College of Art (art and design)
Loughborough College of Further Education (technical and vocational)
Loughborough College of Technology (technology and science)
The last would become the nucleus of the present university. Its rapid expansion from a small provincial college to the first British technical university was due largely to its principals, Herbert Schofield, who led it from 1915 to 1950, and Herbert Haslegrave, who oversaw its further expansion from 1953 to 1967 and steered its progress first to a College of Advanced Technology and then to a university in 1966. In 1977, the university broadened its range of studies by amalgamating with Loughborough College of Education (formerly the Training College). More recently, in August 1998, the university merged with Loughborough College of Art and Design (LCAD). Loughborough College remains a college of further education.
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Influence of Herbert Schofield
Herbert Schofield became principal in 1915, and continued to lead the College of Technology until 1950. Under his guidance, the college changed almost beyond recognition. He bought the estate of Burleigh Hall on the western outskirts of the town, which became the nucleus of the present 438-acre (177-hectare) campus. He oversaw the building of the original Hazlerigg and Rutland halls of residence, which are now home to the university's administration and the vice-chancellor's offices.
School of Physical Education
Frederick Annesley Michael Webster (27 June 1886 - 11 April 1949), of Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall in north-west Essex, with Evelyn Montague, an athlete who competed in the much-heralded 1924 Summer Olympics, started an AAA summer school at Loughborough, from August 18, 1934. It was the first summer school for athletics in the UK. Tutors on the course included the sprinter Harold Abrahams and javelin thrower Jock Dalrymple. At the summer school on August 12, 1938, Lord Burghley attended, with Austrian coach Franz Stampfl, giving a hurdling display.
The first Loughborough College Stadium was opened on the afternoon of Tuesday June 1, 1937, by Clarence Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare, the chairman of the National Advisory Council for Physical Education, with Lt-Col R E Martin, the chairman of Leicestershire County Council. The stadium was the first in the UK for all track and field events, built on eight acres, and built by students, who were paid with only a cup of tea. A new School of Athletics, Games and Physical Education would begin later in September 1937. It was founded by F.A.M. Webster; his son, Richard Webster, had competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, coming sixth in the pole vault.
From college to university
An experienced educationist, Herbert Haslegrave took over as college principal in 1953. By increasing breadth and raising standards, he gained the institution the status of Colleges of Advanced Technology in 1958. He persuaded the Department of Education to buy further land and began a building programme.
In 1963, the Robbins Report on higher education recommended that all colleges of advanced technology be given university status. Loughborough College of Technology was granted a Royal Charter on 19 April 1966, and became Loughborough University of Technology (LUT), with Haslegrave as its first vice-chancellor. It gradually remodelled itself in the image of the plate glass universities of the period, which had also been created under Robbins.
Later history
In 1977, Loughborough Training College (now Loughborough College of Education) was absorbed into the university. In 1996, the university dropped the "of Technology" from its title, becoming Loughborough University. The Arts College was also amalgamated with the university in 1998. These additions have shifted the technological leaning of the institution, causing it to function more as a traditional university, with a combination of humanities, arts and sciences.
The shortened name "Lboro", "Lufbra" or "Luff" is commonly used by the students' union, the alumni association and others.
From Wikipedia’s article on Loughborough University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5