Relationships Between Scottish Universities and Their Communities c. 1858-1914

This thesis analyses the changing social and economic relationships from 1858 to 1914 between Scottish universities and local, regional and national communities. The thesis focuses on educational success and failure, testing whether and in which ways the Scottish universities were forming relationships with the community that assisted them in meeting society's demands. The subject has relevance not only to historical debates concerning the formation of British elites and their effects on economic performance but also to present day questions regarding the relationships between universities, business and the wider community. The methodology of the research includes a biographical analysis of community activity in the universities using benchmark years to identify the changing involvement of major social groups (such as the business and professional classes), their attitudes to educational development, and the impact of their involvement on the universities. This makes it possible to discover how far reforms of the university government in 1858 and 1889 made a real difference, and in particular how far significant new mechanisms emerged which led to sustained relationships between the universities and the community. The universities became successfully involved with other educational institutions in their locality and farther afield. In this individual and voluntary activity played an important role. The University Courts and General Councils allowed for the vocalising of reformist dissent and acted as a means to allow professional and other business and commercial interests to become involved in university and educational affairs. This casts new light on the debate concerning university relations with industry; it can be seen that the university authorities were cut off neither from the industrial nor commercial sectors of the community nor from the growing professional groups. In addition, new structures and attitudes allowed for joint consultation between universities and with the central authorities. However, by the end of the period delegation of authority to principals may have limited the breadth and depth of consultation on policy. On public occasions the universities were a means for Scottish society to participate in ceremony and ritual; while this was mainly restricted to the middle and upper classes it allowed for the interaction of social groups which at other times had little contact with each other. In the gathering of philanthropic funding the universities showed their ability to target successfully specific social and economic groups. In addition they were the recipients of large amounts of gifts; quantifying the latter allows for a positive re-appraisal of the levels of support from sections of the community. Partly as a result the universities appear mainly in a positive light to their contemporaries, at the end of the period, after a series of alterations to their administrations, finances and curicula