Middlesex University - History

History

Middlesex University essentially grew out of merger between different schools and colleges in North London. Perhaps the most prominent and one of the oldest of its constituent establishments is the Hornsey College of Art, founded in 1882. Other institutions include Ponders End Technical Institute (founded in 1901) and Hendon Technical Institute (founded in 1939). All three institutions were successfully amalgamated to form Middlesex Polytechnic in January 1973. Before becoming a university in 1992, Middlesex expanded further by joining three more colleges in north London. While continuing to grow through mergers with other educational institutions in the 1990s, the University has also begun developing its international presence, by opening its regional offices in continental Europe. As of July 2011, it has been operating 21 such offices across the globe. Since 2000, the university launched a major restructuring programme, which, specifically, translated into a total image rebrand in 2003, the closure of a number of campuses over 2005–2012, the expansion of other campuses and generally the consolidation of the university's activities on fewer, bigger campuses in north London.

Timeline

• 1878 – St Katherine's College opens in Tottenham
• 1882 – Hornsey College of Art founded
• 1901 – Ponders End Technical Institute begins
• 1939 – Hendon Technical Institute opens
• 1947 – Trent Park College of Education opens
• 1962 – New College of Speech and Drama opens
• 1964 – St Katherine's College unites with Berridge House to form The College of All Saints
• 1973 – Middlesex Polytechnic formed
• 1974 – Trent Park College of Education and New College of Speech and Drama join Middlesex Polytechnic
• 1978 – The College of All Saints at Tottenham joins Middlesex Polytechnic
• 1992 – Middlesex University formed; Baroness Platt of Writtle becomes the first Chancellor of the University; First overseas regional office opens in Kuala Lumpur
• 1994 – The London College of Dance becomes part of Middlesex University
• 1995 – North London College of Health becomes part of Middlesex University; Regional offices open in Europe
• 1996 – Michael Driscoll becomes the Vice-Chancellor; Middlesex receives its first Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education
• 1998 – Whittington Hospital is jointly purchased with University College London (UCL) from National Health Service (NHS); Queen's Anniversary Prize awarded for the second time;
• 1999 – Middlesex achieves Investors in People status
• 2000 – Lord Sheppard of Didgemere becomes Chancellor; Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture on the Cat Hill campus opens to the public; Middlesex awarded third Queen's Anniversary Prize; Hendon campus redevelopment begins
• 2003 – Rebranding initiated in 2001 is completed with the approval of new university logo; Bounds Green campus closes; Queen's Award for Enterprise received
• 2004 – London Sport Institute established within the School of Health and Social Sciences
• 2005 – First overseas campus opens in Dubai (U.A.E.); Tottenham campus closes with most programmes transferred to Trent Park campus
• 2007 – Middlesex Media programmes awarded Skillset Media Academy status by the Government Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
• 2008 – Enfield campus closes in summer – programmes, students and staff relocate to Hendon
• 2009 – Second overseas campus opens in Mauritius
• 2010 – Philosophy research centre and postgraduate programmes relocate to Kingston University after a decision to close taught programmes and subsequent campaign to save them
• 2011 – The university is presented with the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise; announces it will charge £9,000 a year in tuition fees – maximum allowed under new government legislation; Cat Hill campus closes in May - programmes, students and staff relocate to Trent Park, replacing bulk of programmes from Trent Park which relocate to Hendon. Voluntary and compulsory redundancies (approx. 200) made to make £10 million of savings from budget in response to major shortfalls.
• 2012 – Trent Park campus closed and programmes relocated to flagship campus in Hendon.
• 2013 Plan – Closure of Archway campus and transfer of programes to Hendon therefore centralising all UK teaching to the university's flagship Hendon campus.