Good News

Wandering once again off topic, I am glad to be the bearer of good news. The University of Manchester, where I am currently doing my PhD, has won the Times 2005 University of the year award.
The award was announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said: "Manchester has impressed the whole Higher Education sector by its successful merger last year with UMIST. But what particularly impressed the judges was how, under the leadership of its vice-chancellor Alan Gilbert, Manchester's vision for the future and determination to reinvigorate itself to become one of the top research universities in the world has enthused both staff and students."
Read more here and/or here.

Best for last, though. The University of Manchester has created The Brooks World Poverty Institute, which will be a multidisciplinary research centre for the understanding of the dynamics of poverty with the aim of improving the prospects of those affected. The chair of this new institute will be no other than Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Gordon Brown, welcomed Stiglitz with the following words

“The University is well established as a global leader in economics with a proud history of attracting the very best and most distinguished economists, including during the 20th century, Nobel prize winners John Hicks and Sir Arthur Lewis.
“Today I am delighted that the University is welcoming its first Nobel prize winning economist of the 21 st century – Joseph Stiglitz – a groundbreaking theorist with considerable experience of applying economic theories through his extensive work for national and international government organisations.”

Read more here.
For a video link, go here.
For the centre's page at the university's site, go here.
Finally, for Stiglitz' statement, go here (opens in MSWord).


Stiglitz, Manchester