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A History of the University of Manchester Since 1951 Pullan2004jkt 10/2/03 2:43 PM Page 1 University ofManchester A history ofthe HIS IS THE SECOND VOLUME of a history of the University of Manchester since 1951. It spans seventeen critical years in T which public funding was contracting, student grants were diminishing, instructions from the government and the University Grants Commission were multiplying, and universities feared for their reputation in the public eye. It provides a frank account of the University’s struggle against these difficulties and its efforts to prove the value of university education to society and the economy. This volume describes and analyses not only academic developments and changes in the structure and finances of the University, but the opinions and social and political lives of the staff and their students as well. It also examines the controversies of the 1970s and 1980s over such issues as feminism, free speech, ethical investment, academic freedom and the quest for efficient management. The author draws on official records, staff and student newspapers, and personal interviews with people who experienced the University in very 1973–90 different ways. With its wide range of academic interests and large student population, the University of Manchester was the biggest unitary university in the country, and its history illustrates the problems faced by almost all British universities. The book will appeal to past and present staff of the University and its alumni, and to anyone interested in the debates surrounding higher with MicheleAbendstern Brian Pullan education in the late twentieth century. A history of the University of Manchester 1951–73 by Brian Pullan with Michele Abendstern is also available from Manchester University Press. Brian Pullan is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Manchester. Michele Abendstern works as a researcher at the University of Manchester. A history of the Cover Illustration: Window in the Christie Library at the University of Manchester. University of Manchester MANCHESTER 1973–90 MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS Brian Pullan with Michele Abendstern PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page i A history of the University of Manchester 1973–90 PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page ii PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page iii A history of the University of Manchester 1973–90 Brian Pullan with Michele Abendstern Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page iv Copyright © Brian Pullan and Michele Abendstern 2004 The right of Brian Pullan and Michele Abendstern to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Distributed exclusively in Canada by UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 6242 X hardback First published 2004 1110090807060504 10987654321 Typeset in Sabon with Stone Sans by Northern Phototypesetting Co Ltd, Bolton Printed in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King’s Lynn PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page v Contents Preface vi Abbreviations ix Preliminary note xi I The 1970s 1 Uncertainty, economy and improvisation 3 2 The academics: achievement and self-doubt 29 3 The academics: consultation and conditions 53 4 The students: life and opinions 68 5 The students: campaigns and causes 96 II The 1980s 6 New direction 121 7 Contraction, 1981–84 142 8 Enterprise and economy 167 9 The Students’ Union and the politicians 189 10 Efficiency and academic freedom 214 11 Research and rationalisation 239 12 Student culture in the 1980s 268 13 Epilogue 293 Sources and bibliography 301 People interviewed 306 Statistical appendix (by Michele Abendstern and Steve Chick) 312 Index 325 PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page vi 1 Preface Work on this history of the University of Manchester in the second half of the twentieth century began in 1998, when the University was preparing to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of its ancestor, Owens College, in 1851. The committee which planned the celebrations originally had in mind a single, handy volume which would provide a sequel to H.B. Charlton’s Portrait of a University 1851–1951, written by a distinguished Professor of English Literature to mark the centenary of the institution. But the history began to take on a life of its own, since the rich and varied material which came into our hands demanded more extended treatment, and the committee was kind enough to allow us to make new arrangements and to bring out the work in at least two volumes. The first of these was published at the end of the year 2000, in time to mark the celebrations in 2001. Publication of this second volume will relate to another important anniversary, the centenary of the establishment of an independent University in Manchester in 1903. In that year the Victoria University (the federal university of the north of England) began to be dismantled, the colleges at Leeds and Liverpool were on their way to becoming sep- arate universities, and the title of Victoria University of Manchester was conferred on the former Owens College. This volume follows the same principles, uses a similar range of sources both written and oral, and takes up the same themes as its pre- decessor, carrying them beyond the point in 1973 when universities began to face grave financial difficulties and their relationship with the Government became increasingly tense and even sour. The story con- siders the reigns of two Vice-Chancellors who adopted very different styles, Sir Arthur Armitage (1970–80) and Sir Mark Richmond (1981–90). As before, the aim of the book is to sketch a panorama of the social and political history of the University and to establish a broad framework within which more detailed intellectual histories of parts of the University may be placed. Several interesting studies, PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page vii Preface vii monographs exploring in depth the histories of particular faculties and departments, anthologies of personal recollections, accounts of life in smaller communities such as University halls of residence, have already appeared, and we can only hope that others will follow. Once again, we have tried not to write our history only from the point of view of the central establishment or from that of academics only; nor have we relied solely or even primarily on the official records of Sen- ate, Court and Council or on the University’s house magazines, ample and informative though these are. Four of the thirteen chapters dis- cuss student affairs and draw heavily on reports and correspondence in student newspapers as well as on the reminiscences of students of the 1970s and 1980s. Like its predecessor, this volume seeks, not just to celebrate the achievements of the University and of individuals and groups within it, but also to deal frankly and honestly with contro- versial issues which exposed it to criticism. The main text of the book was written by Brian Pullan, who drew on the many lengthy interviews conducted by Michele Abendstern with academics, administrators, members of the support staff and stu- dents who have vivid memories of the period described and analysed in this volume. Michele Abendstern and Steve Chick compiled the sta- tistical appendix. We owe many thanks to all those who agreed to be interviewed for this book (their names, with a brief account of the positions they held in the 1970s and 1980s, are listed on pp. 306–11); to those who gave us access to personal papers and to collections of material that might otherwise have escaped us (John Griffith, Sir George Kenyon, Tony Trinci, Joan Walsh and George Wilmers); to George Brooke for materi- als on the Faculty of Theology, to Hilary Kahn for materials on the history of computer science in Manchester, to Richard Davies and Frank O’Gorman for papers about history and historians, and to Gillian White for information about lawyers; to many others, including John Pickstone and Alan Shelston, for enlightening conversations about aspects of the University’s history; to Will Eades and the staff of DARO (the Development and Alumni Relations Office) for general support and assistance; to Estates and Services for finding us accommodation and storage space for our materials; to Peter Nockles and his successor as University archivist, James Peters, for expert guidance to materials held in the University Library; to the Vice-Chancellor’s office for enabling us to consult Senate and Council minutes not available else- where; to Alan Ferns and the staff of the International and Public Rela- tions Office for back numbers of Staff Comment and Communication; PRELIMS 26/9/03 8:46 am Page viii viii Preface to Steve Chick, for compiling the graphs in the statistical appendix; to Tracy Carrington and Marian Haberhauer for transcribing the tapes of the interviews; to Peter McNiven of the John Rylands University Library and Andrew Schofield of the North West Sound Archive for arranging to store the tapes and transcripts in their respective institu- tions; and to members of the staff of Manchester University Press for their expertise in seeing this book through to publication. We are greatly indebted to Bill Beswick, Christine Hallett, Christopher Kenyon, Ken Kitchen and David Richardson for their kindness and patience in reading all or part of the typescript, and for saving us from omissions and errors.
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