Monthly Archives: December 2015

Members running Ure Museums object handling activity

Membership

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Besides helping the University, through the grants financed from subscriptions, members enjoy a programme of events. Twice-yearly talks from eminent members of the University are acompanied by tea at which members have time to meet old friends and make new acquaintances. At our Yearly Meeting members are invited to visit areas in the University not usually accessible to the general public. In addition we arrange trips to external venues with University of Reading connections.

The Friends run guided walks around the University for both members and the public and have published a series of pamphlets on the history of the campuses.

Members receive: the eConnected magazine for alumni and Friends and all the generous benefits available to alumni such as discounts on University Library and Sports Centre membership.

Membership, open to anyone, is by subscription of £20 p.a. for individuals, £30 for two people living at the same address, although we welcome larger subscriptions from those who feel able to contribute. New members are always welcome. If you would like to know more please e-mail thefriends@reading.ac.uk

Grants

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THE 2024 GRANTS ROUND IS NOW OPEN.

Do you have a project which would benefit from a Friends of the University grant?

If so please send a short email describing your project and the amount requested to: thefriends@reading.ac.uk as soon as possible and in any case by Monday 8th April 2024.

We are particularly interested in helping to fund projects which will enhance University-community relations and/or help student or staff extra-curricular activities.

We will be in touch shortly after receiving your email to let you know if your project is eligible and whether we need further information. The final decisions will be made towards the end of April and applicants will be informed immediately of the outcome.

If you would like further information see below where there is a list of our previous grants. However, please note that while we traditionally mainly funded physical “things”, we will consider funding towards other projects, online work, events etc.

Note that we give grants only to organisations, not to individuals. Students are welcome to apply but should ensure that a member of UoR staff agrees with the application and can provide information on the University account that the grant is to to paid into. An alternative route would be through another associated organisation such as RUSU.

Below is information on our normal grants procedure.

Each year we give out around half a dozen grants normally ranging from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand pounds, responding to applications for projects which would not normally be funded from University academic resources. In this way we enrich students’ experiences, provide additional social and cultural amenities, enhance the University’s landscape and support its outreach into the community.

Students across University life benefit from contributions. Examples range from materials for an Art/Archaeology outreach project to help towards purchase of an engine for the Scuba Diving Club.

Donations to departments have ranged from models of fossilised creatures to paintings. The ceremonial furniture seen in the Great Hall at London Road at Graduation ceremonies was among our earliest grants; we have since since contributed to the refurbishment of its organ.

Our funding has enhanced University landmarks, including The Friends’ Bridge over Whiteknights Lake, wildflower meadow planting, and the cloisters that characterise London Road campus. The fine stained-glass window at the Museum of English Rural Life and music stands for concerts by Music at Reading are other examples.

The Friends are particularly interested in projects which support the University’s outreach into the wider community. Past examples of such grants include a 3D model of a DNA molecule which can be used both for University teaching and in schools, support of community events such as May’s Community Festival and completion of an African Drum circle to enable workshops to be held outside the normal curriculum with local schools and at community events./p

Grants awarded

Analysis of grants by decade to 2015

Grant making policy

Events

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  • Visit to The Cole Museum, Animal and Microbial Sciences Building at 2.15 pm and tour at 2.30 pm followed by a talk at 3.15pm in the AMS Lecture Theatre and then tea in the Meadow Suite.

  • The Friends Visit
    Tour of Naval and Royal Greenwich (a steadily paced
    walking tour, including rest stops). BOOKING ESSENTIAL.

  • Longstanding member of the Friends, Jenny Halstead, is curating an exhibition from local artists. Private view with wine, books, museum and optional lunch.

  • Vale of Pewsey Open Day

  • This year our annual general meeting and reception will be at Aberleigh courtesy of Sir David and Lady Bell.

    This is a good occasion to catch up with what’s going on both within The Friends’ Association and more broadly to hear from the Vice-Chancellor about developments within the University, have your say on what the Friends are doing and consider the applications made to our annual grants round.

    Oh, and there’s also a delicious tea.

    Details will be updated here and sent to all members three weeks before the meeting.

  • The University received its charter 90 years ago. Members of the Friends were invited to join alumni at the University Homecoming event. We manned a stand at this special event – showing the wide variety of grants we have made over nine decades and our Heritage Trails.

  • Lord Carrington, our President emeritus, has kindly invited us again to visit his magnificent gardens at the Manor House, Bledlow. Davina Palmer will provide tea for the party at 4.15 pm. Booking is essential.

  • Organiser John GraingerEast Reading Festival 19 June 2016

  • Everyone welcome at this University event on the London Rd campus 12 noon Sunday 5 June 2016. Bring your own picnic or enjoy a tasty treat from the BBQ grill, and try some of the beers and ciders in the Real Ale Festival at Eat at London Road. If you fancy something a bit different, the University will be showcasing some of its food science research, with a special ‘Ready, Steady, Nutritional Cook’ demonstration.

  • The Friends has supported the Ure Museum with several grants over the years. This visit is by kind invitation of Amy Smith, Professor of Classics and Curator of the Museum. The visit starts at 2.30pm in the Ure Museum, Classics Department, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Whiteknights campus, Building 1 on the Campus Map. It will be followed by tea at 4.15pm in the Meadow Suite (behind Park House). Please click the photo of Professor Smith for more information, parking permit and campus map.

    Please email thefriends@reading.ac.uk if you would like to attend. You are welcome to bring guests ...

  • Edith Morley is believed to have been the first woman professor in this country. In our 2015 grants round, the Friends supported the publication of her memoirs. This will be launched in the Great Hall at this special event: In Conversation with Karen Blackett, OBE Chairwoman of MediaCom UK. Please click Edith’s photo – taken in Reading at the turn of the last century – for further details.

  • Come and see us or volunteer to help man our stall at East Reading Festival. In 2015 we partnered with local charity RG Spaces to show our heritage info about the London Rd campus, alongside activities relating to the University’s Ure Museum, Ladybird book archive and Harris Garden.

  • Friends' member Andy MorrisReading and the Great War - a commemoration held in 2014
  • With the Ure Museum 2016

    The East Reading Festival, a community-focused festival, will take place in Palmer Park from 12 noon to 6 pm on Sunday 25 June.

    With a music stage, a spoken-word/poetry stage, a funfair, food from around the world and a wide variety of community, charity and commercial stalls, there is something for everyone at East Reading Festival. The Friends of the University will have a stand so do come along to see us and all the other events.

About

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The Friends of the University of Reading was formed as a charitable association in 1927. In 2017 it was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as an Association Charitable Incorporated Organisation (number 1173347). In July 2017 The Friends was inducted into the University’s College of Benefactors in recognition of 90 years continuous support of the University.

Membership of The Friends is open to anyone with an interest in supporting the University.

The Association thrives with a membership of around 250 drawn from the neighbourhood and the wider community as well as from former and present members of the University. In this way we provide a companionable means of cultivating contacts between the University and those interested in its educational goals, history, current activities and future development. Membership of The Friends gives access to an array of social and cultural events. The subscription income that we generate is applied to grants, financing various amenities and activities throughout the University.