Anglia Ruskin University

made the inauguration speech at the Cambridge School of Art in 1858. Anglia Ruskin University is built on the foundation of the school of art, which is located at ARU Cambridge. Anglia Ruskin University has its origins in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. The inaugural address was given by John Ruskin, who is often incorrectly described as the founder. The original location was near Sidney Sussex College, but it later moved to its current location on East Road, Cambridge. Drawing was central to its curriculum, reflecting Ruskin's philosophy on art and education. In the 1920s, the governing body included two remarkable pioneers in the civic history of Cambridge: Clara Rackham and Lilian Mellish Clarke, after whom buildings on the East Road campus were later named. In 1960, this institution became the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT). In 1989, CCAT merged with the Essex Institute of Higher Education, which was originally a vocational school named Chelmsford School of Science and Art and later known as Mid Essex Technical College and Chelmer Institute of Higher Education, to form Anglia Higher Education College. The merged college became a polytechnic in 1991, adopting the name Anglia Polytechnic, and was awarded university status in 1992. Initially called Anglia Polytechnic University (APU), it retained the term 'polytechnic' in its title because it symbolized the type of education known for equipping students with practical skills for the workforce. However, in 2000 there was some uncertainty about including 'polytechnic' in the title since it was the only university in the country to do so. Wanting to keep the 'APU' abbreviation, a suggestion put forward by the governors was 'Anglia Prior University' (after a former Chancellor Jim Prior), but the Governors decided to keep 'polytechnic' in the title. The university eventually reconsidered a name change and chose Anglia Ruskin University, incorporating John Ruskin's surname into the title. This change took effect following approval from the Privy Council on 29 September 2005. In 2007 ARU entered into partnership with London College of Accountancy (LCA; founded in 2000). This resulted in the creation of ARU London. In October 2023, Anglia Ruskin University became the first university in the United Kingdom to sign UNISON's Anti-Racism Charter. In 2024, Writtle University College merged with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), becoming ARU Writtle. In 2025, ARU became the host institution for the Arc Universities Group, which aims to deliver "innovation, sustainability and inclusive growth across the Oxford-Cambridge corridor". Former students include the Victorian poet Augusta Webster, who signed John Stuart Mill's petition for women's suffrage in 1866. Past lecturers include Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick, who created the iconic image of DNA. The musician Syd Barrett, songwriter and lead guitarist of the band Pink Floyd, is also an alumnus. Author Tom Sharpe served as a lecturer in history at CCAT from 1963 to 1972, and Anne Campbell, the Labour MP for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005, was previously a lecturer in statistics at CCAT. Lord Michael Ashcroft is an alumnus of ARU and he served as the Chancellor of the university for 20 years. The business school buildings in Cambridge and Chelmsford are named after him. Controversies In a BBC News article from 3 June 2014, it was reported that Anglia Ruskin University received more complaints and appeals from its students than any of the other 120 universities that responded to freedom of information requests. In the 2012/13 academic year, the university received 992 "complaints and appeals." Pok Wong In 2019, Hongkonger Pok Wong, a 2014 graduate of Anglia Ruskin University, received a £61,000 out-of-court settlement from the university after suing for false advertising, alleging a low quality of teaching. The university has maintained that the payout does not indicate fault on its part. In 2018, the London County Court ruled in favor of the university and ordered Wong to pay £13,700 of Anglia Ruskin's legal costs. The university's insurance company offered to settle for £15,000 and to cover Wong's legal costs, which the university later said it did not support. Retracting Junius Ho's honorary award Anglia Ruskin University awarded Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 2011. During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Ho was accused of supporting those who committed the 2019 Yuen Long attack. In response to Ho's controversial speech, Lord Alton wrote to the university urging it to revoke Ho's degree. The university confirmed that Ho was stripped of his degree on 29 October 2019. Tory donation In 2024, ARU London accidentally paid £50,000 to the Conservative Party. The donation was intended as a personal contribution from the chairman of ARU London Ravi Gill. ==Campuses==