Richmond Accepted as Member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities

15/04/2011

Richmond Accepted as Member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities
A message from Ian D.C. Newbould, President, Richmond, The American International University in London

I am happy to report that Richmond has been accepted as a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Richmond is the first private institution in the UK to become a member. Interestingly, Dr. Chris Christodoulou, a former Richmond Trustee, was Secretary-General of the ACU for many years.

From the ACU website:

The ACU is the oldest international association of universities in the world. In 1912, upon the initiative of the University of London, representatives of 53 universities assembled in London to hold a Congress of Universities of the Empire. One of their main decisions was that a bureau of information for the universities of the Empire should be established and that its affairs should be managed by a committee representing both home and overseas universities. The office of the Universities Bureau of the British Empire was accordingly opened in London in 1913. In 1919, the Bureau was incorporated under licence of the Board of Trade and a grant of £5000 made by the British government for office premises on condition that the universities of the Empire undertook to provide adequate funds for maintenance.

In 1948 the name of the Bureau was changed to the Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth (AUBC); and in 1963 (its jubilee year) the Association received a royal charter under the new name of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Today's ACU combines the expertise and reputation of over ninety years' experience with new and innovative programmes designed to meet the needs of universities in the 21st century.

Higher education is more international than ever before: the market for students and staff is a global one; research funds are increasingly allocated on an international, collaborative basis; academic reputations are based on global connections. Innovation and good practice do not stop at national borders. Moreover, at a time when tertiary education has never been higher on the development agenda, our experience in fostering collaboration between developed and developing country universities has never been more relevant or more important.

The ACU’s five hundred members are spread across five continents and, represent a diverse range of institutions; but there are also many similarities – not least of which are a common language, common values and similarities in their organisation and management. Commonwealth universities are therefore able, through the ACU, to network easily, extensively and fruitfully, sharing problems, solutions and good practice across a variety of higher education environments. Her Majesty the Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth, is the Association's Patron

Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/1132.aspx