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The University of Kent is a Plate Glass Campus University in Kent , UK . DISAMBIGUATION The original and main campus of the University is in Canterbury , and for many years it was known as the University of Kent at Canterbury (or '''UKC'''). In recent years the University has expanded and now has campuses in Medway , Tonbridge and Brussels , and works in partnership with Canterbury College , South Kent College and Mid-Kent College. Accordingly, '''University of Kent''' is now used as an umbrella term incorporating all these campuses; '''UKC''' refers only to the Canterbury campus, which this article primarily deals with. HISTORY A university in the ancient city of Canterbury was first considered in 1959 , when Kent County Council explored the possibilities of a university through its education committee. The proposals were largely accepted by the authorities and by 1963 a site was found at Beverley Farm, suitably straddling the then boundary between the City of Canterbury and the County of Kent. The University was granted its Royal Charter in 1965 and the first students arrived in the October of that year. In 1966 Princess Marina, Duchess Of Kent was formally installed as the first Chancellor . The University of Kent at Canterbury was envisaged as being a Collegiate establishment, with most students living in College; and specialising in Inter-disciplinary studies in all fields. Over the years, changes in Governments' policies have effectively destroyed this original concept, leading to the present state, near the "norm" for a British University. In recent years the University's expansion to include other campuses has led to its dropping the "at Canterbury" from its official title. COAT OF ARMS The University of Kent's Coat of Arms were granted by the College of Arms in September 1967. The white horse is taken from the arms of the County of Kent. The three Cornish Choughs, originally belonging to the arms of Thomas Becket , were taken from the arms of the City of Canterbury. The Crest depicts the West Gate of Canterbury with a symbolic flow of water, presumably the River Stour , below it. Two golden Bishops' Croziers in the shape of a St.Andrews Cross are shown in front of it. The supporters - lions with the sterns of golden ships - are taken from the arms of the Cinque Ports. Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (1990) ISBN 0904938034 CAMPUS and Canterbury Cathedral .]] The main Canterbury Campus covers 300 acres (1.2 km&2) and is in an elevated position just over two miles (3 km) from Canterbury 's city centre. It currently has approximately 11,000 full-time and 3,500 part-time students and some 600 academic and research staff. Colleges The university is now divided into four colleges (eighteen were originally planned), named after distinguished people with local connections. In chronological order of construction:
built in 2004 .]] Each College features residential rooms, Lecture theatres, study rooms, Computer rooms and social areas. The point of the ''Colleges'' was that they should not be just Halls Of Residence , but complete ''academic'' communities. Each College has its own Bar , all rebuilt on a larger scale, and originally its own dining hall (today, only Eliot and Rutherford have functioning dining halls; Darwin's is now hired out for conferences and events). However the University cannot be considered Collegiate in any true sense - applications are made to the University as a whole, and many of the colleges rely on each other for day-to-day operation. Many students are allocated accommodation irrespective of their college, which reduces the ties further. In addition to these college accommodations there are also:
Library The Templeman Library (named after Dr Geoffrey Templeman, the University's first Vice-Chancellor) contains over a million items in stock including Books , journals, Videos , DVD s, and archive materials (for example, a full text of The Times from 1785 onwards), yet it is still only half its planned size. It has a materials fund of approximately £1million a year, and adds 12,000 items every year. It is open every day in term time and receives 800,000 visits a year, with approximately half a million loans per annum. |
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