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History
Former University of Canterbury campus in the city centre, today the Christchurch Arts Centre
The University originated in 1873 in the centre of Christchurch as Canterbury College, the first constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It became the second institution in New Zealand providing tertiary-level education, and the fourth in Australasia.[citation needed] In 1933, the name changed from Canterbury College to Canterbury University College. In 1957 the name changed again to the present University of Canterbury.
Until 1961, the University formed part of the University of New Zealand , and issued degrees in its name. That year saw the dissolution of the federal system of tertiary education in New Zealand, and the University of Canterbury became an independent University awarding its own degrees. Upon the UNZ's demise, Canterbury Agricultural College became a constituent college of the University of Canterbury, as Lincoln College. Lincoln College became independent in 1990 as a full university in its own right.Over the period from 1961 to 1974, the university campus relocated from the centre of the city to its much larger current site in the suburb of Ilam. The neo-gothic buildings of the old campus became the site of the Christchurch Arts Centre, a hub for arts, crafts and entertainment in Christchurch.
In 2004, the University underwent restructuring into four Colleges and a School of Law, administering a number of schools and departments For many years the university worked closely with the Christchurch College of Education, leading to a full merger in 2007, establishing a fifth College.
In September 2011, plans were announced to demolish some University buildings that were damaged from an earthquake. In the months following the earthquake, the University lost 25 per cent of its first-year students and 8 per cent of continuing students. The number of international students, who pay much higher fees and are a major source of revenue, dropped by 30 per cent. By 2013, the University had lost 22 per cent of its students, leading a former student, visiting the University. However, a record number of 886 PhD students are enrolled at the University of Canterbury as of 2013.
Other New Zealand universities, apparently defying an informal agreement, launched billboard and print advertising campaigns in the earthquake-ravaged city to recruit University of Canterbury students who are finding it difficult to study there. In October 2011, staff were encouraged to take voluntary redundancies.
Campus
The James Hight building at the University of Canterbury
The University has a main campus of 76 hectares at Ilam, a suburb of Christchurch about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centre of the city. Adjacent to the main campus stands the University's College of Education, with its own sports-fields and grounds. The University maintains four libraries, with the Central Library housed in the tallest building on campus, the 11-storey James Hight building.
The University's College of Education maintains additional small campuses in Nelson, Tauranga and Timaru, and "teaching centres" in Greymouth, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Timaru. The University has staff in regional information offices in Nelson, Timaru, and Auckland.Canterbury University has six halls of residence housing around 1800 students. The largest of these are Ilam Apartments and University Hall with 850 residents and 550 residents, respectively. Three of these halls are managed by UC Accommodation, a subsidiary of Campus Living Villages, while the university maintains ownership of the property and buildings. Sonoda Christchurch Campus has a close relationship with Sonoda Women's University in Amagasaki, Japan. Bishop Julius, College House and Rochester and Rutherford are run independently.
The six halls of residence are:
- Bishop Julius Hall – 110 residents
- Ilam Apartments – 850 residents
- College House – 150 residents
- Rochester and Rutherford Hall – 175 Residents
- Sonoda Christchurch Campus – 150 residents
- University Hall – 550 residents
The Science Lecture Theatre complex with the top of the Rutherford building in the background
View of campus buildings from the Central Library
The Field Facilities Centre administers four field-stations:
Cass Field Station – Provides a wide range of environments: montane grasslands, scrub, riverbed, scree, beech forest, swamp, bog, lake, stream and alpine habitats; all accessible by day-trips on foot
Kaikoura Field Station – Provides a wide range of environments: diverse marine habitats, alpine habitats, kanuka forests, rivers, lakes
Harihari Field Station – Access to native forests, streams
Westport Field Station – for study of the West Coast of New Zealand, particularly mining
The University and its project-partners also operate an additional field-station in the Nigerian Montane Forests Project – this field station stands on the Ngel Nyaki forest edge in Nigeria.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy runs its own field laboratories:
Mount John University Observatory at Lake Tekapo for optical astronomical research
Birdling's Flat radar facility
Scott Base radar facility
Cracroft Caverns ring laser facility
The Department of Physics and Astronomy also has involvement in the Southern African Large Telescope and is a member of the IceCube collaboration which is installing a neutrino telescope at the South Pole.
Libraries
Central Library is housed in the James Hight Building, named after former Canterbury professor James Hight. The Central Library has collections that support research and teaching in Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Commerce, Music, Fine Arts and Antarctic Studies.
Education Library is located on the Dovedale Campus to the West of the main Ilam Campus where the other three libraries are located. The library hosts collections that support research and teaching in Education. The building that houses the library is name after Henry Edward Field, who was a prominent educationalist and university professor.EPS Library Supports research and teaching in Engineering, Forestry and Sciences.
Macmillan Brown Library is a research library, archive, and art gallery that specializes in collecting items related to New Zealand and Pacific Islands history. It holds over 100,000 published items including books, audio-visual recordings, and various manuscripts, photographs, works of art, architectural drawings and ephemera. The Macmillan Brown Library's art collection also has 3,000 works, making it one of the largest collections in the Canterbury Region The library is named after John Macmillan Brown, a prominent Canterbury academic who helped found the library
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