Harper Adams College, which would become the university, was founded in 1901. Its first principal was Headworth Foulkes (1901–1922). Thomas Harper Adams, a wealthy Shropshire gentleman farmer, died in 1892, bequeathing the estate which was the original foundation. The college had just six students to begin with. In 1909 a specialist poultry husbandry was created. During the
First World War, Harper Adams remained open, and in 1915 the first women were admitted into the college on wartime farm courses. Harper Adams was the first institute to do so, and in 1916 women were admitted as full-time students onto a wide variety of courses. Approximately, 200 staff and former students served during the war and 40 are known to have died as a result. In 2015, 10 additional names were added to the university's memorial board, after previously unrecorded alumni were also discovered to have been killed in action. A board in the Old Library listing the names of those killed was dedicated in March 2015, crafted by Peter Nunn of the university's estate department, and a new memorial garden was also created outside the library. The agricultural depression of the 1920s onward led to a drop in student numbers. In 1922, Charles Crowther (1922–1944) became Principal and efforts were taken to ensure the College stayed open. The
National Institute of Poultry Husbandry opened in 1926, giving Harper a high profile in areas of teaching and research. The college remained open during the
Second World War. Bill Price (1946–1962) became Principal in 1946 and student numbers steadily rose to 222. The Jubilee Hostel was opened in 1951. Reginald Kenny was principal from 1962 until 1977, followed by Tony Harris from 1977 until 1994. In 1964, the funding of the college was passed from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Department of Education and Science. The first
Higher National Diploma students were enrolled in 1969. Degree courses were first introduced in 1981; Harper Adams was one of the first institutions to introduce a BSc.
sandwich course. The
CNAA granted Harper Adams the authority to validate its own courses. In 1985, the science building was opened by
Princess Margaret. That September, a new £2.3 million dairy unit was opened and in December, a £3 million Regional Food Academy (RFA) was officially opened by
The Princess Royal. In 2010, Nick Herbert opened a Postgraduate and Professional Development Centre, and in the same year the Faccenda student centre and a new student hall of residence were opened. An
anaerobic digester opened in 2011, which is expected to offset three times the carbon emissions of the university annually. It won a Renewable Energy Infrastructure Award. Ken Sloan was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University in 2021, its eighth institutional leader. Harper Adams is an academic sponsor of the
JCB Academy, which opened in 2010. JCB Academy was the first
university technical college to be established in England. In December 2012, Harper Adams had the title 'university' conferred upon it. This ended the institution's long history of being a college and consequently, Harper Adams became Shropshire's first university. ==Campus==