Centenary exhibition charts history of education and innovation in Loughborough

07-05-2009

An exhibition charting the development of Loughborough University and its predecessor colleges is due to open at Charnwood Museum later this month.

Entitled ‘One hundred years of Education and Innovation’, the exhibition will run from 16 May to 5 July at Charnwood Museum in Granby Street in Loughborough town centre. Produced in conjunction with the Friends of Charnwood Museum, it chronicles the University’s origins from Loughborough Technical Institute through to the leading university of today.

Alongside the historical exhibition there will be a display of the University’s world-renowned research in sports technology, including the science behind the rugby shirts, footballs and trainers used by sports men and women today.

There will also be a mini exhibition on Dr Herbert Schofield, Principal of Loughborough Technical Institute, subsequently Loughborough College, for 35 years.

“Close links with industry, research that matters, excellent teaching and an outstanding student experience have been constant features throughout the past hundred years,” says Dr Anne Mumford, who is leading the University’s Centenary programme.

“The Friends of Charnwood Museum have been invaluable in researching and compiling the colleges’ and University’s history for the exhibition. I hope lots of people will take the opportunity to learn more about the remarkable institution on their doorstep.”

Don Wix, Chairman of the Friends of Charnwood Museum, added: “It was a pleasure for Friends to contribute to this Centenary exhibition, which records the great developments in Higher Education in Loughborough.”

That Loughborough now boasts such an internationally respected university is largely due to Dr Schofield. Following his appointment, he set about remodelling the Technical Institute as an Instructional Factory for the Ministry of Munitions to support the war effort, and then between the two wars, he significantly expanded the College’s educational offering.

In 1952 the College was divided into four separate institutions – Loughborough Training College, later Loughborough College of Education; Loughborough College of Art; Loughborough College of Further Education, now Loughborough College; and Loughborough College of Technology.

The latter was designated a College of Advanced Technology in 1957 and then, in 1966, it was awarded a Royal Charter, in recognition of its excellence and that of its predecessor colleges. It became Loughborough University of Technology, the country’s first technological university, before being renamed Loughborough University in 1996.

The exhibition at Charnwood Museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm, and on Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. Admission is free.

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For all media enquiries contact:

• Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR, Loughborough University, 
  T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk

Notes for editors:

1. Charnwood Museum is run as a partnership between Leicestershire County Council and Charnwood Borough Council.
2. Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, strong links with industry and unrivalled sporting achievement.
   
   It was awarded the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year 2008-09 title, and is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in national newspaper league tables. In the 2008 National Student Survey, Loughborough was voted one of the top five universities in the UK, with 22 out of 30 of its subject areas being ranked in the top ten for overall satisfaction. It was named winner of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Times Higher award for the UK’s Best Student Experience and winner of the 2007 award for Outstanding Support for Overseas Students. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, the University has been awarded six Queen's Anniversary Prizes – an achievement bettered by no other institution.
   
   It is a member of the esteemed 1994 Group – a set of internationally recognised, research-intensive universities – and has a reputation for the relevance of its work. Its degree programmes are highly regarded by professional institutions and businesses, and its graduates are consistently targeted by the UK’s top recruiters.
   
   Loughborough is also the UK’s premier university for sport. It has perhaps the best integrated sports development environment in the world and is home to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff. It also has the country’s largest concentration of world-class training facilities across a wide range of sports.