Harper Adams University

History

Thomas Harper Adams, a wealthy Shropshire gentleman farmer who had died in 1892, bequeathed his estate 'for the purpose of teaching practical and theoretical agriculture'. Harper Adams College opened in 1901; Headworth Foulkes was the first principal of the College and there were six students.

A specialist department was created in 1909 and the egg laying trials, which started in 1912, earned the College a wide following. In April 1915, the College was the first institution to provide courses for women in wartime farm work. The college contributed to the war effort by training disabled veterans in farm work, especially poultry husbandry. In 1916, women were allowed to enrol at the college on full-time courses for the first time and were to remain until after the Second World War, when priority of places went to discharged servicemen. The College was also instrumental in providing a wide range of wartime services, such as courses in tractor driving.

Approximately 200 staff and former students served in the forces in the First World War and 40 are known to have died; the college library was established after a successful fundraising appeal in 1921 as a memorial to the war dead. A board in the library listing the names (including those found in recent additional research) was dedicated in March 2015, crafted by Peter Nunn of the university estates department, while a new memorial garden was created outside the library.

The agricultural depression of the 1920s led to a drop in student numbers. In 1922 Charles Crowther became principal and efforts were taken to secure the college. The National Institute of Poultry Husbandry opened in 1926, bringing to Harper a high profile in areas of teaching and research. The College stayed open through the Second World War and, in 1939, the first land girls arrived.

Bill Price became Principal in 1946 and the Jubilee Hostel was opened in 1951. Price was replaced by Reginald Kenny in 1962 and, two years later, funding of the college passed from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Department of Education and Science. The first Higher National Diploma students were enrolled in 1969 and Tony Harris became principal in 1977. Degree courses were first introduced at Harper Adams in 1981, validated by the Open University. It was one of the earliest institutions to introduce a BSc sandwich course.

Student numbers passed 1000 for the first time in 1991. In 1994, three new residences were opened. Professor Wynn Jones became principal in 1996 and, in the same year, the Privy Council allowed Harper to award degrees. Harper gained the title of University College in 1988. In 2004, the college was awarded £2.1 million in funding to develop its work with rural businesses. Harper Adams gained the power to award its own research degrees in 2006, although the first PhD had been awarded through the Open University in 1989. Shortly after, a new Biomass Hall was opened.

In 2008, Harper Adams was awarded the title of 'Best University College' by The Sunday Times – the same title followed in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Harper Adams was also placed top for teaching quality by The Sunday Times.

In 2009, Dr David Llewellyn became principal and, shortly after, a new dairy unit and regional food academy were opened. In 2011, the Faccenda student centre opened, containing a gym, cafe, student hub and student services. The college has won a Renewable Energy Infrastructure Award and hosts an award winning anaerobic digestion facility, which was expected to offset the carbon emissions from the university three times over.

Harper Adams is a lead academic sponsor of the JCB Academy which opened in 2010. The JCB Academy was the first university technical college to be established in England. In 2012, Harper Adams was granted 'university' status, ending the institution's long history of being a college and simultaneously signalling the beginning of a new era. The granting of university status represented the establishment of Shropshire's first university.

Campus

The campus is in parkland on the outskirts of Edgmond near Newport, Shropshire. Since 2000, the college has rapidly expanded and improved existing facilities, while introducing new ones. In 2003, the new Bamford Library opened. A year later, investments in new sports facilities followed.

The firm Dairy Crest built an innovation centre on the campus in 2015 costing £4M, transferring around 40 members of its staff there from the research and development section at the closed Crudgington creamery site.

Academic profile

Undergraduate courses are offered via five academic departments:

The University also offers a range of masters' courses (MSc, MEng and MBA), research opportunities at PhD and post-doctoral levels, as well as work-based learning opportunities.

In 2011, the university was placed 49th in the top 50 universities in the UK for the first timein to the Sunday Times University Guide. In April 2016, Harper Adams was named ‘University of the Year’ in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards; the rankings table is the only one based entirely on student opinion.

Sports

Harper Adams has a variety of sports clubs, including rugby, rowing, Association football, equestrianism, mountain biking, clay pigeon shooting and hockey. The university competes in the British Universities and Colleges Sport leagues and championships.

Rowing

Harper Adams University's Rowing Club was founded in 2013 and has been affiliated to British Rowing since 2015. Boating facilities are based at the Pengwern Boat Club in nearby Shrewsbury. The club's registered blades are dark blue, cyan and gold. It competes at local regattas as well as at the annual British Universities and Colleges Sport regatta.

Notable alumni

Notable governors