University of Lancaster

Between 1958 and 1961 seven new plate glass universities were announced, including Lancaster. The choice of Lancaster as the site of the fourth new university was announced on 23 November 1961.

The university was established by royal charter in 1964. The charter stipulated that Princess Alexandra of Kent be the first chancellor. She was inaugurated in 1964. The ceremony also saw the granting of various honorary degrees to dignitaries including the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

Princess Alexandra retired as chancellor in 2004 and was at that time the longest serving chancellor of any British university. On her departure, she gave approval for the Chancellor's Medal to be awarded for academic merit to the highest-performing undergraduates and postgraduates. Each year presentations are made to up to five graduates of taught masters' courses and up to six to the highest-performing undergraduates.

The university accepted its first students in October 1964 and there were initially 13 professors, 32 additional members of teaching and research staff, 8 library staff and 14 administrators on academic grades. The motto, "patet omnibus veritas", ("Truth lies open to all"), was adopted. The first science students were admitted in 1965.

The university was temporarily based in the city. A lecture theatre and the university's first Junior Common Room were in Centenary Church, a former Congregational church beside the old factory premises of Waring & Gillow, which were used to accommodate the new students. Many new students were housed in the nearby town of Morecambe. The Grand Theatre was leased as a main lecture room and 112 and 114 in the St Leonard's Gate area became teaching and recreational rooms. The library occupied the old workshops of Shrigley and Hunt on Castle Hill.

Bowland and Lonsdale colleges were founded as the university's first two colleges, and all staff and students were allocated to one of the two, although the first college buildings would not be completed until 1966. The first students moved into residence and set up the first JCRs in October 1968.

The university moved from the city to the new campus at Bailrigg between 1966 and 1970.

In 2014, Lancaster University celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of events throughout the year, involving alumni, staff, students and local community members.

Services

The Bailrigg campus hosts a range of shops and services. Services on campus include Bailrigg post office, a health centre, a pharmacy, hairdressers, Lancaster University Homes office as well as many others.

Research

Lancaster's research income for 2021-22 was £48.1 million. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework assessment, Lancaster was ranked 18th out of 128 UK universities, including 13th for the percentage of world-leading research. The university places a particular focus on interdisciplinary research, encouraging collaborative research across academic departments.

In 2012, Lancaster University announced a partnership with the UK's biggest arms company, (BAE Systems), and four other North-Western universities (Liverpool, Salford, UCLAN and Manchester) in order to work on the Gamma Programme which aims to develop "autonomous systems". According to the University of Liverpool when referring to the programme, "autonomous systems are technology based solutions that replace humans in tasks that are mundane, dangerous and dirty, or detailed and precise, across sectors, including aerospace, nuclear, automotive and petrochemicals".

Physics

Lancaster University's Physics Department is rated 46% for "world-leading" research with a further 50% rated "internationally excellent" research by REF2021. There are five main research groups within the department: astrophysics, particle and accelerator physics, experimental condensed matter, and theory. The Particle Physics Research Division collaborate with others at CERN, Fermilab, KEK, and SNOLAB. Lancaster's research involvement with CERN consists of work with the Neutrino (NP03, NP04, NP07), CTF3, RE, LHC, SPS and R&D research programmes.