The University of Paisley was founded in 1897 as Paisley Technical School and had the support of prominent local people who saw it as a useful adjunct to the manufacturing economy and an appropriate symbol for a thriving industrial town. The first Principal of Paisley Technical School was Angus McLean. He was 35 years of age at the time of his appointment in March 1899 and was a native of Tarbert, Loch Fyne, Scotland and a graduate of the University of Glasgow, where he was a distinguished student of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. In 1904 the School was renamed Paisley Technical College and School of Art. Degree qualifications were offered through the University of London.
By the mid 1940s the College's involvement in the arts had ceased, whilst its technical courses had increased in number. In 1950 it was created a Scottish Central Institution in recognition of continuing contribution to education, industry and training. There was a major expansion of campus buildings in Paisley in 1963. In 1966 degrees and Honours degrees courses were offered for the first time, validated by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). This lead to a rapid rise in the number of degree students.
By the 1990s Paisley was widening access into education and creating flexible study pathways to meet student needs. The College was finally awarded its University title in 1992 and gained authority to award its own degrees. The following year Paisley merged with the former Craigie College of Education, creating the Craigie Campus in Ayr (University Campus, Ayr). Distance learning modes of study were introduced in 1994 - allowing students in Hong Kong to study Paisley courses. That same year Paisley courses were offered in Dumfries and Galloway for the first time in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway College. Several other departments and campuses were created in the late 1990s. In 1998 the new £6.8m Library and Learning Resource Centre was opened on Paisley Campus.
The University of Paisley is now known as the University of the West of Scotland.
From the guide to the Records of the University of Paisley, Scotland, 1898-2004, (University of the West of Scotland, Robertson Trust Library)
