Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded in 1858 by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. The institution became a university in 1992 and was renamed after John Ruskin, the Oxford University professor and author, in 2005. Ruskin delivered the inaugural speech at the Cambridge School of Art in 1858. ARU is classified as one of the "post-1992 universities." The university's motto is in Latin: Excellentia per societatem, which translates to Excellence through partnership in English.The College of Arms MS Gts 159/135.
, Anglia Ruskin had 35,195 students. ARU has six campuses across the south-eastern portion of the United Kingdom in Cambridgeshire, Essex, and Greater London.
History
Anglia Ruskin University has its origins in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. The inaugural address was given by John Ruskin, who is often incorrectly described as the founder. The original location was near Sidney Sussex College, but it later moved to its current location on East Road, Cambridge.
Drawing was central to its curriculum, reflecting Ruskin's philosophy on art and education.
In the 1920s, the governing body included two remarkable pioneers in the civic history of Cambridge: Clara Rackham and Lilian Mellish Clarke, after whom buildings on the East Road campus were later named.
In 1960, this institution became the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT). In 1989, CCAT merged with the Essex Institute of Higher Education, which was originally a vocational school named Chelmsford School of Science and Art and later known as Mid Essex Technical College and Chelmer Institute of Higher Education, to form Anglia Higher Education College.
The merged college became a polytechnic in 1991, adopting the name Anglia Polytechnic, and was awarded university status in 1992. Initially called Anglia Polytechnic University (APU), it retained the term 'polytechnic' in its title because it symbolized the type of education known for equipping students with practical skills for the workforce. However, in 2000 there was some uncertainty about including 'polytechnic' in the title since it was the only university in the country to do so. Wanting to keep the 'APU' abbreviation, a suggestion put forward by the governors was 'Anglia Prior University' (after a former Chancellor Jim Prior), but the Governors decided to keep 'polytechnic' in the title.
The university eventually reconsidered a name change and chose Anglia Ruskin University, incorporating John Ruskin's surname into the title. This change took effect following approval from the Privy Council on 29 September 2005.
In 2007 ARU entered into partnership with London College of Accountancy (LCA; founded in 2000). This resulted in the creation of ARU London.
In October 2023, Anglia Ruskin University became the first university in the United Kingdom to sign UNISON's Anti-Racism Charter.
In 2024, Writtle University College merged with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), becoming ARU Writtle.
In 2025, ARU became the host institution for the Arc Universities Group, which aims to deliver "innovation, sustainability and inclusive growth across the Oxford-Cambridge corridor".
Former students include the Victorian poet Augusta Webster, who signed John Stuart Mill's petition for women's suffrage in 1866. Past lecturers include Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick, who created the iconic image of DNA. The musician Syd Barrett, songwriter and lead guitarist of the band Pink Floyd, is also an alumnus. Author Tom Sharpe served as a lecturer in history at CCAT from 1963 to 1972, and Anne Campbell, the Labour MP for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005, was previously a lecturer in statistics at CCAT.
Lord Michael Ashcroft is an alumnus of ARU and he served as the Chancellor of the university for 20 years. The business school buildings in Cambridge and Chelmsford are named after him.
Controversies
In a BBC News article from 3 June 2014, it was reported that Anglia Ruskin University received more complaints and appeals from its students than any of the other 120 universities that responded to freedom of information requests. In the 2012/13 academic year, the university received 992 "complaints and appeals."
Pok Wong In 2019, Hongkonger Pok Wong, a 2014 graduate of Anglia Ruskin University, received a £61,000 out-of-court settlement from the university after suing for false advertising, alleging a low quality of teaching. The university has maintained that the payout does not indicate fault on its part. In 2018, the London County Court ruled in favor of the university and ordered Wong to pay £13,700 of Anglia Ruskin's legal costs. The university's insurance company offered to settle for £15,000 and to cover Wong's legal costs, which the university later said it did not support.
Retracting Junius Ho's honorary award Anglia Ruskin University awarded Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 2011. During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Ho was accused of supporting those who committed the 2019 Yuen Long attack. In response to Ho's controversial speech, Lord Alton wrote to the university urging it to revoke Ho's degree. The university confirmed that Ho was stripped of his degree on 29 October 2019.
Senior nursing lecturer struck off Maurice Slaven, a senior nursing lecturer at ARU Cambridge, was struck off after a two year campaign of bullying, from 2016 to 2018, against a colleague. He mocked the colleague for wearing a turban, which he continually referred to as a "hat" and a "bandage", despite another colleague correcting him. He referred to Sikhs as "you lot", mocked Guru Nanak, the religion's founder, and referred to the kirpan as a "sword". He was struck off after 22 years, despite claiming that the bullying was "banter between friends". He also said that 'Indians came to the UK in a banana boat'. He admitted the charges but did not attend the hearing.
Tory donation In 2024, ARU London paid £50,000 to the Conservative Party. The donation was said to have been intended as a personal contribution from the chairman of ARU London Ravi Gill.
ARU lecturer struck off for Sexual Offences Act violation On 11 January 2024 at Basildon Magistrates Court, Ben Bathan, nursing lecturer at ARU Chelmsford was convicted of: Recording another person doing a private act with the intention that [he] would, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, look at an image of that other person doing the act, knowing that the other person did not consent to [the] recording ... contrary to section 67(3) and (5) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Death of a student On 4 November 2024, an ARU Chelmsford student, Ethan Pieterse, took his own life after a year at the university. He had autism spectrum disorder and during the inquest following his death, his mother said that she "was not allowed to be involved in his education and to know how he was getting on." At university, "he tried to do the best he could and ask the lecturers for help but unfortunately they did not give him the extra support that he needed," Mrs Pieterse said. Following the inquest, the coroner said that he planned to write to the university with "concern" over Ethan's suicide.
NMC investigations In 2023, the Nursing and Midwifery Council visited ARU following complaints about their nursing course. In the report following the visit, it was found that ARU could not demonstrate "effective governance systems that ensure compliance with all legal, regulatory, professional and educational requirements". There were also concerns that teaching was not being delivered "by appropriately qualified and experienced professionals" and the NMC couldn't be sure that "educators and assessors always act as professional role models". In June 2026, after yet another complaint about the university, the NMC conducted an extraordinary review assessment to their Cambridge and Chelmsford sites. The report is yet to be released.
Campuses The university has campuses in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Writtle, Peterborough, and London.
Cambridge The Cambridge campus underwent significant redevelopment, beginning with the refurbishment of the main building, Helmore, which was named after Roy Helmore, the principal of the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology from 1977 to 1986. This renovation was completed in 2006. In 2009, one of the university's largest buildings, Rackham, located in the campus center, was demolished to make way for the new Lord Ashcroft International Business School. The new business school was opened in 2011. The campus is also home to the Mumford Theatre.
From 2015, a new building known as Young Street (named for its location between Young Street and New Street) began hosting nursing and health courses, including midwifery, paramedic studies, and operating department practice (ODP). This building is also home to the university's Music Therapy Centre.
As of 2015, all sports, computing, and technology courses were relocated to the newly established Compass House building, which is situated approximately 0.3 miles (0.5 km) along East Road from the main campus.
Anglia Ruskin's Cambridge Campus has its own optometry clinic.
Ruskin Gallery The Ruskin Gallery is the university's public art gallery, and admission is free. Exhibits have included both historic and contemporary art, as well as works by students and staff. The gallery is surrounded by studios for fine art, illustration, design, and media. On 9 May 2011, the Ruskin Gallery unveiled its new digital gallery, which displays art in a digital format on high-definition screens, including the world's first Panasonic 103" 3D Full HD plasma screen.Ruskin Gallery – Anglia Ruskin. anglia.ac.uk. Retrieved on 8 June 2012.
Chelmsford Anglia Ruskin University's Chelmsford campus is situated in the city's University and Innovation Quarter, along the river.
The Chelmsford campus houses several notable buildings, including the Queen's Building (opened in 1995) and the Sawyer's Building (opened in 2001). Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the Queen's Building.
In 2003, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, opened the Michael A. Ashcroft Building, which was later renamed the Lord Ashcroft Building.
The Chelmsford Central campus closed at the end of the 2007/08 academic year, with all facilities moving to the new buildings at the Rivermead campus (now called Chelmsford Campus) on Bishop Hall Lane.
Three buildings were preserved: the East Building (built in 1931), the Frederick Chancellor Building (built in 1902), named after architect Frederic Chancellor, and the Grade II-listed Anne Knight Building, named after social reformer Anne Knight, (constructed in the mid-19th century), which was used by Quakers. The East and Frederick Chancellor buildings are located within a conservation area, meaning they cannot be demolished without planning permission due to their historical significance in the early days of higher education in Essex. The site is currently vacant because the recession halted development that had been planned for many years; however, new plans have been released by Genesis Housing, which currently owns the site.
The Mildmay Sports Centre and the Tindal Building were opened in 2005, followed by the William Harvey Building in 2007. The Faculty Building, opened in 2008, was renamed the Marconi Building in 2011, named after inventor Guglielmo Marconi.
The Postgraduate Medical Institute building, opened in 2011, was later named the Michael Salmon Building in 2017, named after former vice-chancellor, professor Michael Salmon.
Construction of Essex's first School of Medicine began in May 2017, and the facility was officially opened in 2019 by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
London