Editing University of Southampton (section)

=== <span class="anchor" id="University of Southampton Act 1953"></span> University ===
[[File:Toast rack - University of Southampton.jpg|thumb|Toastrack, a 1929 Dennis G that has been owned by the University of Southampton Engineering Society since 1958.]]
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = University of Southampton Act 1953
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to dissolve the Hartley University College at Southampton founded 1850 registered 1902 and to transfer all the rights property and liabilities of that college to the University of Southampton and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1953
| citation              = [[1 & 2 Eliz. 2]]. c. iv
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 6 May 1953
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Eliz2/1-2/4/pdfs/ukla_19530004_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}

On 29 April 1952, [[Queen Elizabeth II]] granted the University of Southampton a [[royal charter]], the first to be given to a university during her reign, which enabled it to award degrees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Becoming a University |url=http://www.southampton.ac.uk/aboutus/historyofuni/becoming_a_university.html|publisher=University of Southampton |access-date=13 June 2012|archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129013206/http://www.southampton.ac.uk/aboutus/historyofuni/becoming_a_university.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Six faculties were created: Arts, Science, Engineering, Economics, Education and Law. The first University of Southampton degrees were awarded on 4 July 1953, following the appointment of the [[Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] as Chancellor of the university. Student and staff numbers grew throughout the next couple of decades as a response to the [[Robbins Report]]. The campus also grew significantly, when in July 1961 the university was given the approval to acquire some 200 houses on or near the campus by the Borough Council.<ref name=nash6>{{Harvnb|Nash|Sherwood|2002|pp=57–68|loc=Chapter: "The Pre-Robbins Years, 1952–1965"}}</ref> In addition, more faculties and departments were founded, including Medicine and Oceanography (despite the discouragement of Sir [[John Wolfenden]], the chairman of the University Grants Committee).<ref name="nash6"/> Student accommodation was expanded throughout the 1960s and 1970s with the acquisition of Chilworth manor and new buildings at the Glen Eyre and Montefiore complexes.

In 1987, a crisis developed when the [[Higher Education Funding Council for England|University Grants Committee]] announced, as part of nationwide cutbacks, a series of reductions in the funding of the university.<ref name=nash9>{{Harvnb|Nash|Sherwood|2002|pp=92–104|loc=Chapter: "Who Pays the Piper, 1979–1985"}}</ref> To eliminate the expected losses, the budgets and deficits subcommittee proposed reducing staff numbers. This proposal was met with demonstrations on campus and was later reworked (to reduce the redundancies and reallocate the reductions in faculties funding) after being rejected by the university [[Academic Senate|Senate]].<ref name="nash9"/>

By the mid-1980s through to the 1990s, the university looked to expand with new buildings on the Highfield campus, developing the Chilworth Manor site into a science park and conference venue, opening the National Oceanography Centre at a dockside location and purchasing new land from the City Council for the Arts Faculty and sports fields (at Avenue Campus and Wide Lane, respectively).<ref name="Uos SC 80s">{{cite web |last1=Ruthven |first1=Jenny |title=Highfield Campus 100: 1980-2000 |url=https://specialcollectionsuniversityofsouthampton.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/highfield-campus-100-1980-2000/ |website=University of Southampton Special Collections |date=30 August 2019 |publisher=University of Southampton |access-date=26 October 2020}}</ref>