London Guildhall University (1992-2002)

 London Guildhall University was established in 1992 when its immediate precursor – the City of London Polytechnic – was granted University status (and with that, its own degree-awarding powers) by the Further and Higher Education Act of that year. The new name for the institution was adopted following an extensive research and consultation process involving both staff and students. It was considered important to include ‘London’ in the title, and ‘Guildhall’ was selected to provide a geographical reference point together with a link to the City, since the Corporation of London is based at Guildhall. The University’s Patron was HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The academic footprint of the university owed a great deal to the historical strengths of its precursor institutions. The significant proportion of part-time students, for example, was partly explained by the many part-time professional courses pioneered by the City of London College, although it also reflected the university’s strong commitment to the principles of access and life-long learning. The varied cultural backgrounds from which students came to the University reflected the cosmopolitan diversity of London as a whole, as well as the special efforts made by the institution to bring educational opportunities to its local communities.

Student numbers for the academic year 1993/94 totalled ca. 11,500 (6,300 f/t and 5,200 p/t), rising to 13,800 by academic year 1997/98 (7,500 f/t and 6,300 p/t). LGU was ranked 30th out of the UK’s 43 ‘new’ universities in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

Notable recipients of honorary degrees include Peter Ackroyd (novelist; 1998), Julian Bream (classical guitarist; 1999), Mark Rylance (actor; 1999) and Mervyn King (Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (later Governor); 2001).

The University’s Provost from 1992 until 2002 was Prof Roderick Floud. Lord Limerick was installed as the institution’s first Chancellor on 5th December 2000 at a ceremony at the Old Library at Guildhall, in the City of London.