30 years of transforming lives: celebrating with the University of Sunderland In 1992 Sunderland Polytechnic gained university status and officially became the University of Sunderland. Now plans are underway to mark the 30th anniversary of the life-changing university with a series of celebrations.
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It was a year of change. In 1992 there was a fourth-term general election victory for the Conservative Party and Black Wednesday dawned when the UK Government was forced to withdraw the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). The Premier League was formed, R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People dominated the music charts, and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs arrived in cinemas. In the same year, HM The Queen, who herself was experiencing an “annus horribilis”, granted Sunderland city status to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne. And Sunderland Polytechnic became the University of Sunderland, with Dr Anne Wright, who had been the Rector of the Polytechnic, becoming the first Vice-Chancellor of the University – and one of the very first female V-Cs. Thirty years on, the university is proud to be changing the lives of students – many of whom are from Sunderland and the surrounding area - and to be working with businesses and organisations to play a positive part in supporting the social and economic ambitions of the city. The university welcomes around 23,500 students to its campuses in Sunderland, London and Hong Kong, as well as through global learning partnerships in 15 other countries and online learning. The anniversary celebrations will be taking place throughout September with an opportunity for both past and current staff and students to get involved. The university will also be linking up with the wider community as part of events celebrating 30 years of Sunderland receiving city status.