News in brief
Occasional newsletter
University of Bedfordshire (1 August 2006)
Back in December (see here, bottom article) there was a surprise announcement of the merger of Luton University and the two Bedford sites comprising part of the de Montfort University. Today sees the birth of the new University of Bedfordshire. The background to this - a personal view - can be found here.
By 10am today any mention of de Montfort had been obliterated, almost with indecent haste, and there is a launch at the new University's headquarters in Luton.
Their new site, at least for the time being, is http://www.luton.ac.uk/newuni
It is likely to be a difficult time particularly for the Bedford side of this amalgamation. Some years ago Luton wanted to amalgamate with what was then the Bedford College of Higher Education, but the staff at the Polhill and Lansdowne site were unhappy about the prospect, expressing the view (rightly or wrongly) that Luton's standards were not high enough. Indeed, several were astonished when Luton achieved University status in 1993. And despite much trumpeting, Luton has remained very low in the pecking order, with at least one academic commenting to me (very unfairly I suggest) that not much has changed since Luton was a second-rate Further Education college.
One exceptionally good area, I am informed, is that of management, which has as its quarters the fite formely the home of Putterudge Bury College.
Anyway, from today we have a University of Bedfordshire. There is quite extensive building going on at the Polhill site. One just hopes that the marriage - the fourth alignment in thirty years - will prove successful.
Robert