•  

    50 Years

    of tackling the grand challenges

    Leading the way with research into the environment and responses to climate change

  •  

    50 Years

    of tackling the grand challenges

    Advisors on health policy with cutting edge research into food and nutrition

  •  

    50 Years

    of tackling the grand challenges

    Strengthening society by advising international bodies and governments on family and child policy

  •  

    50 Years

    of inspiring creativity and enterprise

    Building will soon be underway of a state-of-the-art low carbon facility designed to teach creative entrepreneurship and enterprise skills to our students

  •  

    50 Years

    of inspiring creativity and enterprise

    Booker Prize-winning author and UEA graduate, Ian McEwan signing books at UEA's acclaimed international literary festival

  •  

    50 Years

    of inspiring creativity and enterprise

    A campus which is remarkable for its natural beauty, and for architecturally significant and energy efficient buildings

  •  

    50 Years

    of creating opportunity

    UEA graduates, who consistently rate the UEA student experience as ‘excellent' celebrate their success on graduation day

  •  

    50 Years

    of creating opportunity

    UEA student and International Student of the Year 2010, Melissa Ilboudo with fellow torch-bearers Professor Tom Ward and James Colley

  •  

    50 Years

    of creating opportunity

    UEA student ambassadors engage with local primary school children in a programme designed to inspire more young people to consider higher education

Next

Previous

Fifty years of the University of East Anglia

In 2013 the University will celebrate its 50th anniversary. This landmark gives us the opportunity to look back at all we have achieved together and to look forward to building on our success.

Details of all anniversary events can be found in the University's events calendar and further details of special events will be announced on this website.

Anniversary
Festival Weekend 28-29 September 2013

Campus will be alive with students, staff, members of the local community and as many of our alumni and former staff as are able to join us.

There will be lectures, workshops, comedy, music and activities for all ages. The Saturday will finish in our festival marquee near the Broad with a headline music act to be announced in the next few months.

please add your name to our 50th anniversary mailing list

A year of celebrations

In addition to its usual diverse programme of activities, the University will be presenting several special events to celebrate the anniversary throughout the year.

Current plans include: a production on campus of the National Theatre of Scotland's groundbreaking and critically acclaimed play, Black Watch; the UEA Festival of Britten; a showcase week at the Forum; the exhibition Masterpieces: Art and East Anglia at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts; and an alumni Global Pub Reunion on a grand scale.

please add your name to our 50th anniversary mailing list

UEA was founded to 'Do Different' and our heritage naturally leads us to thinking about the difference we will make in the future. That difference will be enhanced by philanthropy. This is why we are launching 'The Difference' Campaign in our anniversary year. The £50m we aim to raise by the end of 2016 will deliver a margin of excellence in four areas where we believe UEA has truly exceptional strength and potential.

UEA Timeline

  • 1963

    The University of East Anglia accepted its first undergraduates

    The first vice-chancellor, Frank Thistlethwaite opened the University Village in 1963, with many of the existing buildings being built on a converted golf course. The university itself was designed by English Architect Sir Denys Lasdun, who also designed the Royal National Theatre.

  • 1967

    Ziggurats Completed

    The architecturally unique Ziggurats were completed in 1967. Designed by Denys Lasdun, the Grade II listed terraced student residences have attracted widespread interest over the years and have led to the UEA winning a number of awards. They earned the eighth spot in the top 10 of best UK university architecture by the Architect's Journal.

  • 1971

    Library moves to the plain

    With a wealth of resources available, the UEA Library contains over 800,000 books and is spread over 6 floors. The building also houses several important collections of archives, and the Special Collections section contains almost 9,000 titles of rare, valuable or illustrated monographs and pamphlets in all subject areas.

  • 1971

    The Creative Writing MA, the first of its kind in the country, was founded in 1971 by Sir Angus Wilson and Professor Malcolm Bradbury

    Notable Alumni include Trezza Azzopardi, Tracy Chevalier, Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro.

  • 1973

    The construction of University House on campus brings the launch of the Student Union bar and the LCR

    As well as these campus staples being established in 1973, the careers centre was launched, the university held a 10th anniversary celebration with its 3,245 students, and excavation began on the Broad.

  • 1975

    First woman professor – Alice Teichova

    Author of several books such as ‘An Economic Background to Munich: International Business and Czechoslovakia 1918-1938' and ‘Central Europe in the Twentieth Century', and specialising in the economy of Czechoslovakia, Alice Teichova became Professor of Economic History in 1975.

  • 1976

    Film studies launched

    Staff in the School of Film and Television Studies have an international reputation for high quality research and scholarship. Publishing extensively and with the majority of their research ranked as world leading, they are at the forefront of their field. The School was ranked 4th out of 76 UK institutions for teaching satisfaction according to the 2011 National Student Survey.

  • 1978

    Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts opens

    Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury donated their collection of world art to the University of East Anglia in 1973 and the Sainsbury Centre first opened its doors to visitors in 1978. It was designed by world famous architect Norman Foster, who is best known for The Gherkin and Wembley Stadium, and was his first major public building.

  • 1984

    Law moves to Earlham Hall

    The family home of famous Humanitarian Elizabeth Fry, Earlham Hall is an elegant Grade II listed building, which encapsulates the university's rich heritage.

  • 1989

    Kazuo Ishiguro wins Booker prize

    Kazuo Ishiguro won the Booker Prize in 1989 for his third novel ‘The Remains of the Day'. One of the first graduates of the UEA's Creative Writing MA, alongside other high-profile writers such as Ian McEwan, Ishiguro is one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction authors in the English-speaking world.

  • 1992

    Concrete launched

    With a circulation of 4,500, Concrete is free and published fortnightly during term time. It's sections include News, Features, Comment, Lifestyle, Travel, International and Sport, with an additional entertainment supplement. Previous issues have included interviews with Nick Clegg, Charles Clarke, Harrison Ford, Stephen Fry and Greg James, amongst others.

  • 1993

    Union starts managing The Waterfront

    The Waterfront is a live music venue and nightclub in Norwich, which has been managed by the Union of UEA Students since 1993. The Waterfront, has hosted bands including Pulp, Radiohead, Nirvana, The Verve, Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Plan B, Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics, Buzzcocks, MGMT, Travis, and Moby.

  • 1995

    Official opening of Elizabeth Fry building

    UEA adopted several novel techniques to achieve the environmental and energy performance of the Elizabeth Fry Building, while also ensuring that benefits in terms of occupant comfort levels, increased productivity, low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and energy cost savings were delivered

  • 2000

    Sportspark opens

    UEA's £30 million Sportspark boasts a state-of-the-art Olympic-sized swimming pool, athletics track and gym, as well as an extensive range of activities including archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, climbing, hockey, martial arts, squash, and trampolining.

  • 2000

    New climate research centre

    The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research is established, with its headquarters at UEA.

  • 2001

    Alumnus Sir Paul Nurse wins the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

    Sir Paul gained his PhD at UEA in 1973, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of protein molecules that control the division of cells in the cell cycle.

  • 2002

    Norwich Medical School opens

    UEA's increasing expertise in health and biochemical sciences related to medicine culminates in the establishment of a Medical School, which receives its first intake of students in 2002.

  • 2007

    INTO started

    INTO is a study centre offering new and high quality preparation for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the UK. Combining UEA resources with major independent investment, INTO Centres deliver a world-class educational and cultural experience for international students, with fast, effective and assured progression to university degree courses.

  • 2009

    Queens Anniversary Prize

    UEA's School of International Development is awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

  • 2009

    Climategate

    The server of UEA's influential Climatic Research Centre is hacked and private emails are published online. The scientists are cleared after a series of independent inquiries.

  • 2011

    UEA London Opens

    UEA's new London centre was established to enhance the employability of UEA graduates, raise the university's international profile and foster links with influential government and business communities in the capital.

  • 2012

    Queens Anniversary Prize

    UEA is awarded the prestigious Queens Anniversary Prize for its contribution to creative writing.

Next

Previous