University of Reading

Founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, an extension college of the University of Oxford. It was granted a Royal Charter as an independent university in 1926. A defining moment was the 1947 acquisition of the historic Whiteknights Park, which became its main campus. In 2008, it merged with Henley Management College, strengthening its business school. The university has a notable history of innovation, including the establishment of the UK's first meteorology department in 1965. Its typography department is also internationally celebrated.