This weekend sees DMU’s first ever Homecoming event where all our alumni are invited back for a fun, activity packed celebration with the chance to catch up with old friends, reconnect with staff and explore the campus.
As well as access to the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre and the Heritage Centre along with a host of sporting events there will also be a variety of stands showcasing what the university has to offer, including one from yours truly!!!
The Special Collections team will be there showcasing some of our fabulous items, such as prospectuses, student work, and photographs of campus and the local area. We hope the archival collection will trigger some fantastic memories which we look forward to hearing about.
As a sneaky peek for those who aren’t alumni or for those who can’t make it, here are some of the items that will be on display.
Prospectuses
Leicester Municipal Technical and Art Schools prospectus, 1897
The school at this time offered many vocational courses connected with local industry such as boot and shoe manufacture and dress making.
Next up is one of our all-time favourites – maybe some you remember this one with its depiction of education as a platform game?
Leicester Polytechnic Prospectus, 1986
In terms of iconic prospectus covers, I’m sure many of our almni will remember this one inspired by the BBC’s Trials of Life presented by David Attenborough.
Campus
There’s nothing like looking at old photographs of landscapes and building for sparking some nostalgia and memories so here are a few highlights:
The Hawthorn Building c 1903. Still standing at the centre of DMU campus today, it used to house both the Art and Technical Schools.
The James Went building, not that architecturally popular while still standing, visiting alumni and previous staff love seeing photos of it. Demolished in the early noughties, Hugh Aston now stands in its place.
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- James Went building c 1970
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- James Went building from the Turret Gateway c 1990
And finally, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to show the Kimberlin Library where I’m sure all our alumni spent many hours beavering away:
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- Kimberlin Library c 1980
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- Kimberlin Library c 1995
Classes
To conclude our alumni tour what better way than showing the students themselves hard at work during classes:
One of our favourite College of Art photographs from the 1920s
Art and Design students are now based in the Vijay Patel Building
Next we have an electronic engineering class. The faculty of engineering is now housed in the Queens building, built in 1993.
Students volunteering, 1993
Student volunteering schemes have always been a huge part of DMU’s commitment to the community and provide invaluable learning opportunities for students.For further information on current volunteering programmes see DMULocal, DMUGlobal and MyGateway
We hope to see lots of our alumni tomorrow but if you are not attending and would like to visit Special Collections, please do get in touch using our email: archives@dmu.ac.uk or if you would like to contribute to our Archives Appeal click here.
Happy Homecoming 2019 from the Special Collections Team