Major investment in arts and humanities at York
Posted on 15 December 2009
The £11 million three-storey building, which houses a number of research units including the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) and the Humanities Research Centre, was made possible thanks to generous donations from the Bowland Charitable Trust and The Wolfson Foundation.
The Berrick Saul building represents an outstanding and unmatched input and commitment by the University to the humanities in the UK and worldwide
Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor
At the ceremony on Tuesday 15 December, the University's Chancellor, Greg Dyke, will officially open the building before inviting Professor Saul to unveil a plaque to mark the occasion. Tony Cann, a trustee of the Bowland Charitable Trust, will also attend.
The Humanities Research Centre is a hub for collaboration between scholars of different disciplines and it provides unrivalled facilities for postgraduate study. It includes a number of interdisciplinary research centres, including the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, Centre for Modern Studies and the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past.
The Institute for Effective Education is an international research centre focused on producing high-quality evidence-based assessments of educational practice and policy, and translating it into effective action to benefit all young people.
There is also a research facility, the Wolfson Suite, where academics from the Department of Psychology conduct basic research on developmental disorders of language, learning and cognition. Other facilities in the building include seminar rooms, a 150-seat auditorium and a second floor meeting room known as the 'Treehouse' with views of the extensive tree canopy on campus.
Set at the heart of the campus, the Berrick Saul building was nominated for a GGB BDP Building of the Year award. The judges said its "soft forms and an intimate relationship with landscape create a calming, contemplative mood which is appropriate to its research function."
The Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: "We are indebted to the generosity of the Bowland Charitable Trust and The Wolfson Foundation for helping to make this innovative and exciting building a reality. It is fitting that it is named in honour of Berrick Saul who played such a seminal role in helping to establish the University of York as a major player on the world stage.
"Together with the Raymond Burton Humanities Research Library and Borthwick Institute for Historical Research, the Berrick Saul building represents an outstanding and unmatched input and commitment by the University to the humanities in the UK and worldwide.
"The Institute for Effective Education and the University’s top-ranking Department of Educational Studies, alongside the tremendously successful National Science Learning Centre which is also located on our campus, put us in a world-leading position for teaching and research in education."
After speeches in the Bowland Auditorium, more than 100 guests will be given guided tours of the building by the Director of the Humanities Research Centre, Professor Jane Moody, and the Director of the IEE, Professor Bob Slavin.
Notes to editors:
- Photocall: 4.45pm 15 December 2009 Berrick Saul Building, University of York. Greg Dyke, Professor Brian Cantor and Professor Berrick Saul will be available for pictures. Please contact: David Garner 01904 432153 or 07795 315029.
- A location map for the Berrick Saul Building is at http://www.york.ac.uk/np/maps/hes.htm