University of Nottingham: Gig central

The University has hosted some impressive acts down the years. It has been quite a long time since the University of Nottingham hosted really big bands. But the history, mainly from the early 70s before the advent of the Boat Club and Rock City, is surprisingly impressive: Some gigs took place in the Sports Centre, …

Campus Tours: seeing the university on wheels

Getting mobile on campus. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a story on some interesting approaches to making campus tours a little more bearable: People complain when their feet get sore, the University of North Texas has learned. For years, when visitors were asked what they disliked about the campus tour, the resounding answer was: …

The Graduate Programme for University Leadership

An excellent programme for graduates looking to develop careers in university management. Recruitment for the Graduate Programme for University Leadership has recently gone live and the pitch is a good one: The university sector is one of the most innovative, vibrant and exciting environments in which to build your future career. If you're looking for …

Zombie University

Zombies in the Academy: Living Death in Higher Education Very excited at the news of the publication of Zombies in the Academy: Living Death in Higher Education. Ever since the launch of the zombie course at the University of Baltimore there has clearly been plenty of room for further undead related higher education activity. This …

Getting on my bike…

A shortish ride for a very good cause During the last two summers a team from the University of Nottingham led by our Vice-Chancellor cycled ridiculously long distances to raise money for good causes. The team did not include me and they have sensibly overlooked me again as they cycle round the capital cities of …

2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities: Top 20 and UK placings

2013 ARWU University World Rankings: Top 20 and UK placings A level results day is an interesting time to publish a world ranking but who are we to criticise. Anyway, don't get too excited as it is unlikely the bookies will be losing their shirts on this one. Here is the top 20 in full. …

The Imperfect University: Know Your History

Know your history. For my 700th blog post here I thought I would reflect on university histories. Given their nature it's often struck me as rather surprising that universities and their staff tend not to have a well developed sense of institutional history. Research matters to universities but they tend not to prioritise maintaining their …

True Crime on Campus §30: Summer break?

Yet more true crime on campus. Things can be difficult on campus sometimes. Even during the summer break there is still plenty to challenge our ever-alert security team. Especially when the weather is hot: 0740 Report that toilets in the Dearing Building had been blocked with newspaper Security attended. Estates Help Desk informed. 0115 Report …

Go West. Or East. Plans for more student mobility

Government wants more students to travel. There is to be a Government initiative to persuade more students to travel. The aim is that more UK students will be encouraged to broaden their horizons by travelling overseas for part of their degree courses. The new UK Outward Student Mobility Strategy aims to boost the number of …

‘University of Nike’ in Oregon

A huge investment in university sport.   The New York Times has a report on the opening of a hugely expensive new facility to enhance the University of Oregon's football programme. It comes courtesy of a sizeable donation from one of the founders of Nike. The Football Performance Center, which was unveiled publicly this week, …

How Green is my Campus?

An exciting new tool to count university plants. A web-based tool to measure plant diversity on university and college campuses has been developed by the University of Northampton with funds from HEFCE. The index The Biodiversity Index is an interactive system which allows organisations with little or no knowledge of biodiversity to assess the level …