Ruskin College

{{for-multi|the Oxford University department|Ruskin School of Art|the East of England university|Anglia Ruskin University|the American colleges of the same name|Ruskin Colleges|the further education college in South Croydon|John Ruskin College}}

{{Infobox university

|name = Ruskin College

|native_name =

|image_name = Ruskin College Academic building.jpg

|image_size = 290px

|caption = Ruskin's Rookery building which is now the Ruskin College Academic Building

|latin_name =

|motto = "Learning to make a difference"

|established = {{Start date and age|1899}}

|type =

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|endowment =

|chancellor =

|provost =

|vice_chancellor =

|principal = Peter John

|administrative_staff =

|students =

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|city = Dunstan Road, Old Headington

|state =

|province = Oxfordshire

|country = England

|colors =

|affiliations =

|website = [http://www.ruskin.ac.uk/ www.ruskin.ac.uk]

|logo = Ruskin College Oxford escutcheon.png

}}

Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University.

Named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin, it specialises in providing educational opportunities for adults with few or no qualifications.University programmes https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/university-programmes/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525124254/https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/university-programmes/ |date=25 May 2021 }}

Degrees taught at Ruskin were formerly awarded by the Open University. The college joined the University of West London in 2021.

History

File:Ruskin-Hall-students.jpg

Ruskin Hall, Oxford,"Ruskin Hall, Oxford: The People's University" in Joseph Edwards (ed.), The Reformer's Year Book: 1902. Glasgow: Joseph Edwards, 1902; p. 71. was established in 1899 to provide education for working-class men who could not access university. It was founded by Americans Charles A. Beard and Walter Vrooman, both of whom had studied at the University of Oxford. Vrooman's wife, Amne ({{nee|Grafflin}}), an heiress, financially supported the foundation of the college.

The school was envisioned as a mechanism by which "working-class reformers" could "educate themselves efficiently at nominal cost." Tuition, lodging, and board was priced at 12s 6d (£0.625) per week, with a parallel correspondence course alternatively offered for 1 shilling (£0.05) per week plus a 1 shilling entrance fee. Courses were offered in political economy, sociology, the history of the labour movement, principles of politics, English literature, psychology, and other related aspects of the social sciences.

The school was administered by a General Council, which included elected representatives from the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress and the Central Board of the Cooperative Union. An auxiliary organisation of supporters of the school was launched in 1901, the Ruskin Hall Educational League, which arranged conferences and public lectures in conjunction with the activities of the school.

= 20th century =

In October 1907 Arthur Smith of Balliol College paid a visit to Ruskin College on behalf of some of his university colleagues. He broached the idea of bringing Ruskin closer to the University, suggesting that this would involve the University providing funds for the College, and allowing Ruskin students to join the University.The majority of Ruskin students were suspicious that the proposal would lead to the erosion of the college's independence. Following a visit from Lord Curzon, the proposal was repeated and Dennis Hird, a lecturer in Sociology and Logic responded that as far as the students were concerned Ruskin College was irrevocably part of the Labour movement.{{cite book |title=The Burning Question of Education :being an account of Ruskin College dispute, its cause and consequences / |date=1908 |publisher=Plebs League |location=Oxford |edition=2nd. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015073446190;view=1up;seq=13 |accessdate=10 November 2018}}

In 1908, a group of Ruskin students, dissatisfied with its education policy which they viewed as too pro-establishment and imbued with elements of "social control", formed the Plebs' League. The students' revolt was supported by the Principal, Dennis Hird, and following his dismissal the students took strike action, refusing to attend lectures.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pstalker.com/echo/sk_ruskin.html |title=Jericho Echo |access-date=24 January 2008 |archive-date=5 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105094514/http://www.pstalker.com/echo/sk_ruskin.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?irn=100170 |title=TUC {{!}} History Online |access-date=24 January 2008 |archive-date=22 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022121845/http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?irn=100170 |url-status=live }}[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19090515.2.69 "Students Revolt. Novel Situation at Ruskin College"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005035734/http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19090515.2.69 |date=5 October 2012 }}, New Zealand Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1909, p. 6.

During the First World War, some of the two hundred Belgian refugees who came to Oxford were lodged in the college.{{Cite book|title = History of the University of Oxford: Volume VIII: The Twentieth Century – Oxford Scholarship| year=1994 |url = http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229742.001.0001/acprof-9780198229742|doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229742.001.0001| isbn=978-0-19-822974-2 |access-date = 10 November 2015|archive-date = 17 November 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117073638/http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229742.001.0001/acprof-9780198229742|url-status = live| editor-last1=Harrison | editor-first1=Brian }}

In 1970 Ruskin College hosted the UK's first National Women's Liberation Conference. The conference ran from 27 February to 1 March with between 500 and 600 people attending. The Guardian newspaper called the conference the "biggest landmarks in British women's history".{{Cite news|last=Cochrane|first=Kira|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/26/forty-years-womens-liberation|title=Forty years of women's liberation|date=2010-02-26|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-29|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=18 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618023830/http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/26/forty-years-womens-liberation|url-status=live}} The conference organisers included Ruskin students Arielle Aberson and Sally Alexander, and historian Sheila Rowbotham. The organisers were associated with the History Workshop seminars held at the college and the conference was initially intended to focus on women's history.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/blog/on-this-day-at-ruskin-college-national-womens-liberation-conference/|title=On This Day at Ruskin: National Women's Liberation Conference|website=Ruskin College Oxford|language=en|access-date=2020-03-29|archive-date=17 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317222908/https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/blog/on-this-day-at-ruskin-college-national-womens-liberation-conference/|url-status=live}}

Ruskin College was a secular sister-school to and a model for the Roman Catholic-linked Plater College until Plater's closing in 2005.Philpot, Terry, [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=200278§ioncode=26 "No second chance for giver of fresh starts"], Times Higher Education, 9 December 2005.

= 2012 relocation =

A £17m redevelopment programme of the college's Old Headington site was completed in 2012, and the headquarters of the college moved there from the more central original site in Walton Street which was sold to Exeter College, Oxford.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121214232328/http://publichistorycommons.org/the-ruskin-college-records-destroying-a-radical-past/ The Ruskin College records: Destroying a radical past] The redeveloped site has a new academic building incorporating an expanded library, named the Callaghan Library in honour of former Labour Prime Minister, James Callaghan, who made a major education speech at Ruskin in 1976. The MacColl / Seeger archive has a dedicated room within the new library. All other buildings on the site have been refurbished, the grounds have been improved and the walled garden, with its listed 'crinkle crankle wall' has been brought back into use by local volunteers. A cafeteria is open to the public.

Around this time, parts of the college's archives were controversially destroyed. The college asserted that it was legally required to dispose of the records because they contained personally identifying information.{{Cite web|date=2012-10-04|title=Whose Archive? Whose History? Destruction of Archives at Ruskin College, Oxford|url=https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/whose-archive-whose-history-destruction-of-archives-at-ruskin-college-oxford/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=History Workshop|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628191647/https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/whose-archive-whose-history-destruction-of-archives-at-ruskin-college-oxford/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=2012-11-30|title=Ruskin College, Oxford criticised for destroying archive|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-20559778|access-date=2021-03-29|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702082505/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-20559778|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|author=Guardian Staff|date=2012-10-29|title=Letters: Let the records show the destruction of Ruskin College archive|url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/29/records-destruction-ruskin-college|access-date=2021-03-29|website=The Guardian|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204030108/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/29/records-destruction-ruskin-college|url-status=live}}

= 2021 merger =

In February 2021 the college agreed to merge with Activate Learning.{{cite news |last=Whieldon |first=Fraser |date=26 February 2021 |title=College facing 'uncertain future' agrees merger partner |url=https://feweek.co.uk/2021/02/26/college-facing-uncertain-future-agrees-merger-partner/ |work=FE Week |location= |access-date=15 June 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043357/https://feweek.co.uk/2021/02/26/college-facing-uncertain-future-agrees-merger-partner/ |url-status=live }} In May 2021 the College Principal was suspended.{{cite news |last=Whieldon |first=Fraser |date=24 May 2021 |title=College suspends principal just two months before merger |url=https://feweek.co.uk/2021/05/24/college-suspends-principal-just-two-months-before-merger/ |work=FE Week |location= |access-date=15 June 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043204/https://feweek.co.uk/2021/05/24/college-suspends-principal-just-two-months-before-merger/ |url-status=live }} In August 2021 it was announced that the college had been acquired by the University of West London.{{cite news |last=Rce |first=Liam |date=3 August 2021 |title=Oxford's Ruskin College joins University of West London |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19486769.oxfords-ruskin-college-joins-university-west-london/ |work=Oxford Mail |location= |access-date=3 August 2021 |archive-date=3 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803083420/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19486769.oxfords-ruskin-college-joins-university-west-london/ |url-status=live }}

Campus and buildings

The college is located in the Headington area of Oxford.

= Libraries =

In 2012 the college opened the Callaghan Library, named after former Prime Minister James Callaghan.{{Cite news |date=2011-07-01 |title=Ruskin College library named after James Callaghan |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-13989891 |access-date=2024-06-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} Students are also able to access the Bodleian Library and others of the University of Oxford.{{Cite web |title=The Callaghan Library {{!}} University of West London |url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/student-life/facilities/callaghan-library |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.ruskin.ac.uk |language=en}}

Organisation and administration

The college is a part of the University of West London Group, and operates as a charity limited by guarantee.{{Cite web |title=Governance {{!}} University of West London |url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/about-us/governance |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.ruskin.ac.uk |language=en}} It is administered by a board of trustees.

= College officials =

The college is led by a Principal, currently Peter John CBE (as of 2024). He is supported by a Vice-Principal, currently Anthony Woodman.{{Cite web |title=Our staff {{!}} University of West London |url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.ruskin.ac.uk |language=en}}

Student life

Student accommodation is provided through arrangement with local private providers.{{Cite web |title=Accommodation {{!}} University of West London |url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.ruskin.ac.uk |language=en}}

= Union and societies =

The Ruskin College Students' Union provides student representation in the college.{{Cite web |title=Campus and facilities {{!}} University of West London |url=https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/student-life/facilities |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=www.ruskin.ac.uk |language=en}}

In January 2013, the RSU joined a Unite Against Fascism protest at the Oxford Union when the Union invited Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party to speak.{{cite news |last=Fitzsimons |first=Peter |date=18 January 2013 |title=Griffin protest outside Oxford Union |url=http://www.cherwell.org/news/world/2013/01/18/griffin-protest-outside-oxford-union |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113115734/http://www.cherwell.org/news/world/2013/01/18/griffin-protest-outside-oxford-union |archive-date=13 November 2013 |access-date=13 November 2013 |newspaper=Cherwell |publisher=Oxford Student Publications Limited |df=dmy-all}} Notable former executive members of the RSU include John Prescott and Jack Ashley.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Students are also eligible to join the Oxford Union and other University of Oxford clubs and societies.

Notable people

= Principals =

1899–1909 Dennis Hird (1st Principal)W.W. Craik, Central Labour College, 1964
1909–16 Gilbert SlaterHarold Pollins, "Slater, Gilbert (1864–1938)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
1916–25 Henry Sanderson Furniss, 1st Baron SandersonHarold Pollins, "Furniss, Henry Sanderson, Baron Sanderson (1868–1939)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
1926–44 Alfred Barratt Brown
1944–50 Herbert Lionel ElvinRichard Aldrich, The Independent (London), 17 June 2005.
1950–79 Herbert Delauney "Billy" HughesBill Bailey, "Hughes, Herbert Delauney [Billy] (1914–1995)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
1979–89 John Hughes
1989–97 Stephen Yeo
1998–2003 James Durcan
2004–13 Audrey Mullender
2014–24 March 2016 Chris Wilkes
2016–2021 Paul Di Felice
2021– Peter John

= Former academics/teachers =

Clement Attlee, Labour Prime Minister (1945–1951)
Peter Donaldson, economist, author and broadcaster
Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician
Bill McCarthy, Lord McCarthy, Labour Party politician
Raphael Samuel, writer and historian
Henry Sanderson Furniss, Lord Sanderson (1907–1916)
David Selbourne (1966–86), writer

= Notable alumni =

Jack Ashley (1922–2012), Baron Ashley of Stoke, Labour Member of Parliament
Sally Alexander English historian and feminist activist
Michael Berry Jr (2011–2013), actor
Judith Cummins, Labour MP for Bradford South{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150709/debtext/150709-0003.htm#150709-0003.htm_spnew1|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 July 2015 (pt 0003)|website=www.publications.parliament.uk|access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=11 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711194025/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150709/debtext/150709-0003.htm#150709-0003.htm_spnew1|url-status=live}}
Ben Enwonwu, Nigerian artist[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9115469 "Enwonwu, Benedict Chuka"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214041624/https://academic.eb.com/ |date=14 December 2021 }}, Britannica Book of the Year, 1995. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. accessed 30 July 2012.
R. M. Fox, author and historian
Judy Fryd, Founder of Mencap
John Goss (1894–1953), baritone
Fred Harrison (born 1944), British author and economist
Jack Hilton (1900–1983), British novelist, essayist, and travel writer
Jónas Jónsson, Icelandic educator and politician
Sasha Johnson (born 1993) British Black Lives Matter activist and member of Taking the Initiative Party
Joseph Anthony Kelly (Born 1958) Newspaper editor and political theologian
Roy Hughes, Baron Islwyn (1925–2003), former Labour MP for Newport
Lucy Lameck (1934–1992), Tanzanian politician and Minister
Tom Mboya (1930–1969), Kenya civil rights hero, Minister of Economic Planning and Development
Sally J. Morgan, emeritus professor of art in New Zealand
Adams Oshiomhole, former Nigeria Labour Union President; Former Governor of Edo State, Current Chairman of the All Progressives Congress.
Walter Padley, trade union leader and Labour MP for Ogmore
John Prescott, Labour former deputy prime minister
Charles Savarin, President of Dominica
Phil Sawford, former Labour MP for Kettering
Dennis Skinner, former Labour MP for Bolsover
Siaka Probyn Stevens, Prime Minister and President of Sierra Leone[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9001303 "Stevens, Siaka"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214041626/https://academic.eb.com/ |date=14 December 2021 }}, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
James Walker (1883–1945), trade unionist and Labour politicianDavid Howell, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/61331 "Walker, James (1883–1945)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214041633/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-61331;jsessionid=E4DAF5D23BD3CC9BDBFAFC50D048538C |date=14 December 2021 }}, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, May 2006, accessed 30 July 2012.
Thomas Edward Williams, 1st Baron Williams, Co-operative and Labour politicianKeith Davies, "Williams, Thomas Edward, Baron Williams (1892–1966)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
George Woodcock, general secretary, Trade Union CongressThe Times, Monday, 19 November 1979; p. 25; Issue 60478; col CGeoffrey Goodman, "Woodcock, George (1904–1979)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
William Woodruff, historian and writer
Robert Young, trade unionist, Labour Member of ParliamentAndrew Thorpe, "Young, Sir Robert (1872–1957)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Ruskin Fellowship

The Ruskin Fellowship is an alumni association for ex-Ruskin College students and staff. Independent of but associated with the college, the Fellowship aims to support the work and ethos of the college in offering university-level education to disadvantaged adults in Britain. There is also a post graduate programme and an international section involving: International Labour and Trade Union Studies; Webb and Chevening Scholars.

The Ruskin Fellowship was founded in the academic year 1911/1912 and held its first "Annual Meet" on 27 May 1912. This tradition continues with an Annual Reunion held in September of each year. The Reunion is held over a weekend and incorporates speakers on relevant topics, a social activity including a bar, music and a buffet and, on the Sunday morning of the Reunion weekend, the Fellowship's Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM elects an executive committee to run the Fellowship for the following 12 months. A history of the Fellowship was produced in 2012 to mark the centenary of the Fellowship's first "Annual Meet".

A pamphlet on The History of the College and the Fellowship During World War One has been published as part of the commemoration of the War.

References

External links

[http://www.ruskin.ac.uk/ Ruskin College website]
[http://www.ruskin.ac.uk/fellowship/ Ruskin Fellowship]
[http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2009/01/16/league-plebs Historical background]
[http://newruskinarchives.org.uk/ New Ruskin Archives]
[https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/student-life/ruskin-student-union Students Union]

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1899

Category:Education in Oxford

Category:Buildings and structures in Oxford

Category:John Ruskin

Category:Open University

Category:Organisations associated with the University of Oxford

Category:1899 establishments in England