University of St. Andrews

The University of St Andrews was founded in 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. The University is situated in the city of St Andrews, on the eastern coast of Scotland.

History

As stated above, the University was founded in 1413 when a charter of incorporation was bestowed upon the Priory of St Andrews Cathedral. The University grew in size quite rapidly; St Salvator's College was established in 1450, St Leonard's in 1511 and St Mary's in 1537. Some of the college buildings in use today date from this period as does St Salvator's Chapel. At this time much of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the Cathedral.

During the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries the University underwent many changes. The distinctive red gowns which are still in use today were adopted in 1672 and towards the end of the seventeenth century a move to Perth was considered and eventually rejected. In 1747 St. Salvator's and St. Leonard's Colleges were merged to form United College. During the nineteeth century student numbers were very low and the University having to close was a very real possibility. In the 1870s there were fewer than 150 students, perhaps partly in response to this the University was, in 1897, strengthened by the affiliation of University College in Dundee which became a centre of medical and scientific excellence. This affiliation ended in 1967 when Dundee University became an independent institution.

Alumni

Sciences

• Sir James Black, Nobel prize winner in Medicine
• Sir Norman Howarth, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
• Sir Robert Robinson, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
• Alan MacDiarmid, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
• John Napier, mathematician
• James Gregory, astronomer and mathematician

Politics

• James II of Scotland
• Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party
• James Wilson, signatory of the US Declaration of Independence
• Thomas Bruce, nobleman and diplomat
• James Graham, nobleman and royalist military commander
• Lyon Playfair, scientist and politician

Arts

• William Dunbar, poet
• Robert Fergusson, poet
• Sir David Lindsay, poet and diplomat
• Ian McDiarmid, actor
• Andrew Melville, scholar and theologian
• Gavin Douglas, poet and bishop
• Fay Weldon, feminist and writer

Miscellaneous

• Alexander Berry, explorer
• David Beaton, cardinal
• Prince William (currently enrolled)

The University has a strong link with America, with Benjamin Franklin, golfer Bobby Jones and (most recently) Bob Dylan having been awarded honorary degrees. Also, three of the signatories of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence received degrees from St Andrews. It is also claimed that the dollar sign was invented at the University.

The Mitre

The Mitre, sometimes known by its full name, the Mitre of St Andrews, is a monthly student newspaper at the university. Its first edition appeared on March 26, 2003, with founding editor and publisher Andrew K.B. Cusack at the helm.

The newspaper is generally known for the right-wing orientation of its opinion page and much of its journalistic content. It was founded as an intellectual and religious organ as opposed to the Saint, a fortnightly student-run tabloid. It is explicitly Christian in outlook, and includes prayers in each edition.

The Mitre is neither funded by nor affiliated with the University of St Andrews Students' Association (the Students Union), an institution of which it is particularly critical. It has closer ties with, though completely unofficially, the University of St Andrews Union Debating Society (f. 1794), the University of St Andrews Conservative Association (f. 1867), and the University Catholic Society (f. 1947). Debaters, Tories, and Catholics number high in the newspapers ranks.