Edwards, Edward G., 1914-1996

E.G. (Ted) Edwards was born in South Wales in 1914. From Cardiff High School he went to Cardiff College of Technology, where he was awarded a first-class University of London external degree in chemistry. He gained a PhD in 1938 and, after lecturing in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, he joined ICI as a research chemist, specialising in plastics, polymers and fibres. After the Second World War he became Head of the Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry at Salford's Royal Technical College, then in 1954 Principal of the College of Technology, Liverpool. In 1957 he was appointed Principal of the Bradford Institute of Technology, one of the newly-created colleges of advanced technology, developed from the Bradford Technical College. The Institute rapidly expanded its higher level work : the 124 students enrolled on degree courses in 1957 had increased to 2,600 by 1966. The advances achieved in less than a decade were recognised in the granting of a Royal Charter in 1966, when the Institute became the University of Bradford. E.G. Edwards became Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University. He considered that a high degree of student involvement in governing the University was essential in making the institution relevant to students and to society, championing this involvement long before it was (often reluctantly) accepted elsewhere, overcoming considerable opposition from the University Grants Committee to include a student place on University Council, even though this delayed the acceptance of the Charter. Being concerned about the loss of a broad view with increasing academic and scientific specialisation, he encouraged interdisciplinary courses such as Science and Society, Human Purposes and Communication, and Environmental Science, while his internationalism and deep concern for social progress led to the creation of courses in Project Planning for Developing Countries and Peace Studies. Edwards' commitment to international co-operation was already established : as a chemist he had joined the World Foundation of Scientific Workers and edited its journal, 'Scientific World'. As an academic he was a founder member of the International Centre for Postgraduate Studies, in Dubrovnik, and frequently lectured there.

Ted Edwards was a prolific author on higher education : his philosophy on the subject is perhaps best expressed in the title of his book, 'Higher education for everyone' (1982). His other works included 'The idea of a university' (1964), 'Science, education and society'(1977), 'The relevant university'(1977), 'Critical consciousness in the struggle towards nuclear war'(1982), and he was co-editor of 'Interdisciplinarity : the relation between objective knowledge, moral purpose and social practice' (1984), the proceedings of a conference at Dubrovnik. He was involved with local peace groups such as the Peace Education Network and West Yorkshire European Nuclear Disarmament, an involvement that increased after his retirement in 1978. Ted Edwards died in 1996, aged 82.