Darwin College, Kent
Encyclopedia
Darwin College is the fourth oldest college
Colleges within UK Universities
In relation to universities, the term college normally refers to a part of the university which does not have degree-awarding powers in itself. Degrees are always awarded by universities, colleges are institutions or organisations which prepare students for the degree...

 of the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...

, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 institution in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It was opened in 1970.

Namesake

After heavy debate, it was named after Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...

, the biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

. Unusually for a namesake of a Kent college, Darwin had strong connections to the historic county
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

 of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, having lived in Down House
Down House
Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution by natural selection which he had conceived in London before moving to Downe....

 at Downe
Downe
Downe is a village in the London Borough of Bromley in London, UK.Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies in a wooded valley, and much of the centre of the village is unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall.-Darwin:Charles Darwin...

 (now in the London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...

) for the last forty years of his life.

Other names considered in the lengthy process included:
  • Anselm, after Anselm
    Anselm of Canterbury
    Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...

     a former Archbishop of Canterbury
    Archbishop of Canterbury
    The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

  • Attlee, after Clement Attlee
    Clement Attlee
    Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...

    , the post war Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

  • Becket, after Thomas Becket
    Thomas Becket
    Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

    , another former Archbishop (this was the recommendation of the college's provisional committee but rejected by the University Senate)
  • Conrad
  • Elgar, after Edward Elgar
    Edward Elgar
    Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...

  • Maitland
  • Marlowe, after Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...

  • Russell, after Bertrand Russell
    Bertrand Russell
    Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...

     (this was the recommendation of the Senate but rejected by the Council; Russell's political activism was the cause of much opposition)
  • Tyler, after both Wat Tyler
    Wat Tyler
    Walter "Wat" Tyler was a leader of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381.-Early life:Knowledge of Tyler's early life is very limited, and derives mostly through the records of his enemies. Historians believe he was born in Essex, but are not sure why he crossed the Thames Estuary to Kent...

     and the nearby Tyler Hill
    Tyler Hill
    Tyler Hill is a small village on the northern outskirts of Canterbury, Kent in England. It has a rural setting being surrounded by fields and the Ancient Forest of Blean. It is mainly a dormitory village for the City of Canterbury and for the nearby University of Kent. The village has one pub, the...



The name was eventually decided by a postal ballot of members of the Senate, choosing from: Attlee, Conrad, Darwin, Elgar,Maitland, Marlowe and Tyler.

Darwin Student Committee (DSC)

Darwin Student Committee or the DSC are a group of students who volunteer their time to make the life of Darwin College students more enjoyable. They are made up of a committee of students who meet and discuss the issues that concern the students, deal with problems, organise Freshers week, listen to concerns and improve your experience at Darwin College.

It is in weekly DSC meetings that events in Darwin College (such as the Masquerade Ball) are planned, as well as discussing issues affecting students, which campaigns to run, and passing on important messages from Kent Union and the Sabbatical officers. They meet every Tuesday in DLT3 (Darwin Lecture room 3) at 6.00pm. All Darwin Students are welcome to attend meetings, have their say, vote and become a part of our community.


Darwin Committee Officers, 2009/2010
(these officers are elected democratically by the Darwin student population):
  • Darwin President: Sabina Pasokhy
  • Darwin Vice President: Fern Gleeson
  • Education Officer:Emily Batchelor
  • Welfare Officer: Leanne Evans
  • Advertising & Relations Officer: Sarah Gilbert(Term 1 & 2) Tobi Okorie (Term 2 & 3)
  • Media Officer: Ed Atkins
  • Sports Officer: Alex Deacon
  • Activities Officer: Ray Green
  • RaG Officer: Ryan Falle
  • Secretary: Whitney Wilkinson


Darwin Committee Officers 2010/2011
  • Darwin President: Fern Gleeson
  • Darwin Vice President: Ryan Falle
  • Education Officer: Emily Batchelor
  • Welfare Officer: Emily Morrey-McGrath
  • Advertising & Relations Officer: Jay Unsworth
  • Media Officer: Tom Coakes
  • Sports Officer: Tobi Okorie II
  • Activities Officer: Vivek Evjemo (VK)
  • RaG Officer: Emma Hart
  • Secretary: To be elected in October by elections


Darwin Committee Officers 2011/2012
Darwin President: Ryan Falle

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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