University of Selasia

The University of Selasia is the premier center of learning within the Distant Fringe, founded by Willem Bright and rivalled only by the University of Tal Varisa. It is closely associated with the Alasim-Bright Memorial Hospital.

Motto: Doctrina Perpetua, Ad Verum Ducit

(Forever Learning, Leading to the Truth)

• The official journal of the university is the Selasiad.

Description (Specifications)

Welcome to the University: The University was founded in 4933AD by a grant of property and land from Willem Bright to mark his 70th birthday. The majority of this grant, which amounted to millions of square kilometers of prime real estate on Selasia and the other worlds of the Alasim Cluster, was sold to create a financial reserve and to fund construction work on the first University buildings. Certain key sites on Selasia were retained and today form the University grounds, housing the various Schools, Halls, and Administrative Centers.

The main Schools of the University of Selasia are located on Selasia. The University also maintains campuses on each member world of the Bright Conclave and on a number of other worlds located within the Bright Peninsula, most notably Resulos in Divide Sector.

Demographics

The University of Selasia is diverse and cosmopolitan, with members drawn from a wide range of social, ethnic and racial backgrounds.

The estimated total population of the University is approximately 75,000. This includes undergraduate and graduate students, teaching staff and members of the faculties, administrative staff, variously retained individuals, and individuals engaged in research, expeditions, industrial associations or military ventures. The vast majority of these students are humans, largely originating from within Halcyon Sector. There are notable communities of Esaran, Temelik and Hoppers within the University, and smaller groups of Meroquan and far-flung Edur.

Linguistic Topography

• Anglish is the official language of the University of Selasia. It is the main language of the Bright Conclave. Courses in basic Anglish are freely available to all students.
  • A significant number of students originate in the High Senate and the surrounding area and speak Teramil as their first language.
  • A substantial percentage of the students are refugees (or the children of refugees) fleeing the Unity of Sed. Their first language is Coran.

Studies

Students attend lectures and classes under the tutelage of academic staff and complete projects, assignments and research to fulfill the criteria of their academic commitment in order to earn their degree. This may take place entirely within the precincts of the University or it may involve working 'in the field', often with an outside group such as a business or an industrial concern, as part of a charity or a project, with governmental authorities and agencies, with the military, or more rarely by taking part in an expedition.

Throughout the course of their studies and academic activities, students are expected to produce a body of work and to be able to express a degree of understanding of their chosen subject. Their progress is continually monitored, assessed and evaluated by their tutors. Guidance and advice is provided when required.

Graduation Day

When students complete their studies they receive an academic degree and become Graduates of the University. Graduation Day includes a procession of the academic staff and candidates, the granting of academic titles to the graduate, and a valediction. It is traditional to wear academic dress at formal ceremonies. Post-graduation celebrations usually involve class pictures and throwing caps into the air, a formal banquet with toasts and speeches that acknowledge particular achievements, and a great deal of intoxicated partying.

Alma Mater

Alumni of the University share a particular fondness for their "alma mater". There are class reunions, an annual event during which alumni from all over the Distant Fringe return to their Hall and their School to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones and sample intellectual fare. The alumni are grateful to the University, and generally wish to give back to the institution so that more people will benefit from it: a large majority provide direct financial support, with very substantial gifts made during the Reunions.

• Many of the Halls and Schools include annexes and wings provided for by past alumni: these are generally named for the benefactor. Occasionally, an existing structure is donated. This typically becomes a new stand-alone extension to a Hall and is given the title 'House'. Rarely, a property may be redeveloped as a campus for one of the Schools.

Central Administration

The Central Administration of the University of Selasia consists of a number of different organisations with overlapping roles and responsibilities.

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The office of Chancellor of the University, for which there are no term limits, is mainly ceremonial. The role is generally filled by a popular public figure with some academic credentials – entertainers, politicians, authors and artists have served as Chancellor in the past. The Office of the Chancellor is supported by a small administrative staff.

While the Chancellor's office is ceremonial, the Vice-Chancellor is the de facto principal administrative officer of the University. The main tasks of the Vice-Chancellor are to provide academic and administrative leadership to the whole University, to secure a financial base sufficient to allow the delivery of the University's mission, aims and objectives, and to carry out certain important ceremonial and civic duties.

• The office of the Vice-Chancellor is supported by an extensive administrative structure divided into Bureaus, each headed by a High Steward and responsible for things such as purchases, security, record-keeping, and maintenance. The High Stewards tradititionally adjudicate in disputes and appeals. One of their number may be chosen to deputise if there is a vacancy in the Chancellorship.
• The Bursary handles all of the University's financial affairs and is headed by the Bursar. It is independent (and is overseen by outside authorities), but is answerable to both the Senate and the Council of the University. It is responsible for seeing that payments and made, debts are collected, and wages are paid. The Script Office deals with contracts and agreements of all kinds.

The Senate

The Senate is the university's governing body and consists of all holders of higher degrees: the university's internal governance is carried out almost entirely by its own members, with no direct external representation. It is a direct democracy comprising all resident senior members of the University. It elects the Chancellor, the High Stewards, and the membership of the Council. Under special circumstances it can issue a Senatorial Decree, an order to enact a specific process or carry out a particular course of action.

The Council

The Council is the principal executive and policy-making body of the university. Although it decides on the policies and strategies of the University it must report and be accountable to the Senate through a variety of checks and balances. It has the right of officially reporting to the university (principally, this consists of officially publishing notification of important findings or events), and is obliged to advise the Senate on matters of general concern to the university. It does both of these by published notices in the Selasiad, the official journal of the university.

University Halls

The University Halls provide most of the accommodation for undergraduates and graduates at the University and at the undergraduate level they have responsibility for admitting students to the University and organising their tuition. They also provide funding, accommodation, or both, for some of the senior research posts in the University. They are self-governing, self-financing institutions in their own right, with their own endowments and possessions.

Halls are centered, as their name suggests, on "Great Halls". When the University was founded in the 50th century these were large communal areas where all of those resident in the Hall could gather at one time. The population of the University has grown considerably since that time (the average residency for a hall is around 4500 individuals) and the Great Hall now serves as a Room of State, where dignitaries may be hosted at banquets, celebrations or events may be staged, or ceremonies may be performed.

Halls actually consist of many individual buildings and complexes spread over a large area. They primarily contain dormitories and chambers – accommodations for their resident students and staff – but they include common rooms, libraries, study areas, media centers, and other facilities conducive to education and study. Halls have permanent staff to see to the needs of their incumbents and residents, including security offices manned by Constables.

Many Halls have memorials to alumni who lost their lives serving in the Volunteer Battallions that fought in the Scybrian Wars.

'Old' and 'New' Halls

The University of Selasia has 17 Halls, founded between the 50th and 56th centuries. No Halls were founded between 5244AD and 5390AD (the period of the Scybrian Wars), which allows them to be distinguished into two groups according to their foundation date:

• the 9 'Old' Halls, founded between 4933AD and 5244AD, and
• the 8 'New' Halls, founded between 5390AD and 5567AD.

Restrictions on entry

Five of the nine 'Old' Halls and all eight of the 'New' ones admit students regardless of gender, species, or academic status, and without any age restrictions. One Hall admits only members of the female gender, one admits only members of the male gender, one offers preferential placements to non-human Sophonts, and one admits only postgraduates. These Halls also place restrictions on the admission of staff members, typically allowing only the appropriate gender or species to become fellows.

Old Halls

• Celeste Hall: founded 4937AD. The oldest Hall and the only one Willem Bright actually saw.
• Laurent Hall: founded 4943AD. Named for the Commander of the Last Armada.
• Antaka Hall: founded 5026AD. Particularly associated with the arts.
• Hoefling Hall: founded 5077AD. Closely associated with the Institute of Technology. Unusually, the main buildings of the Hall include a large number of workshops and specialist laboratories. The buildings of the Hoefling Hall are the most frequently repaired structures in the University.
• Chancellor's Hall: founded 5096AD. Particularly associated with law and politics. Chancellor's Hall contains a number of particularly fine buildings and is the location of most of the grand public ceremonies held by the University.
• Bright Hall (Postgraduate/Mature only): founded 5133AD, on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the University.
• Divine Hall (Male only): founded 5181AD. Established for individuals originating from gender-divided cultures.
• Marian Verhavert Hall (Female only): founded 5181AD. Established for individuals originating from gender-divided cultures.
• Smelchak Hall (offering preferential treatment for non-human Sophonts): founded 5243AD. The smallest of the Old Halls but disproportionately wealthy.

New Halls

• Cera Hall: founded 5390AD. The largest and wealthiest of the Halls.
• Alasim Hall: founded 5405AD. Closely associated with the College of Clinical Medicine.
• Scybria Hall: founded 55407AD. Closely associated with the School of Social Sciences.
• Gauteron Gerosa Hall: founded 5435AD. Associated with the performing arts.
• Thizet Hall: founded 5480AD.
• Reformed Hall: founded 5500AD. The smallest of the New Halls. Closely associated with the Faculty of Divinity.
• Neal Hall: founded 5520AD.
• Palosil Hall: founded 5567AD. The newest Hall, sometimes referred to as Institute Hall or more rarely Spooky Hall. During its short existence it has come to be associated with the Melevan Institute, the Institute of Dark Age Studies, and the Institute of Post-Corolian Studies. It contains a high percentage of refugees fleeing the Unity of Sed.

Schools

The University of Selasia consists of six Schools made up of more than 100 Faculties, Departments, Schools, Colleges, Institutes, Centers, Groups, Units, and Laboratories. They are collectively overseen and maintained by the Central Administration.

A School within the University is a broad administrative grouping of related Faculties and other units.

• Each School is headed by a Chair. The Chair is a largely ceremonial position but includes many privileges and is highly sought after. The Chair has a small administrative staff.
• Each School has an Office of Academic Support, headed by the Warden. The Office of Academic Support is divided into many smaller departments and handles the day-to-day running of the faculties. Finances come from the Bursary via the Warden.
  • The School Constabulary is administered by a Bureau of the Vice-Chancellor's Office.
• Each Faculty within the School is headed by a Dean, who is supported by a small administrative staff. One Dean is elected by secret vote to be the Headmaster of the School. The vote is traditional and is usually a formality.
• Each School has an elected supervisory body — the School Board — comprised of the Chair of the School, the Warden of the School, the Headmaster and the Deans of each the constituent Faculties. The Board (using due process) has the ability to dismiss any member of the School.
• The Schools are governed by their own statutes and regulations. They are integral to the make-up of the University and are answerable to both the Council and the Senate.

School of Arts

(Usually abbreviated to SoA).

• Faculty of Architecture and History of Art
  • Department of Architecture
  • Department of History of Art
    • Museum of Cultural Antiquities
• Faculty of Cultural Studies
  • Department of Halcyonic Studies
  • Department of Far Home Studies
• Faculty of Classics
  • Museum of Classical Archaeology
• Faculty of Divinity
• Faculty of Languages
  • College of Ancient Languages
  • Bright School of Modern Languages
• Esteban Institute of Music
• Plato-Aldebrecht Chamber of Philosophy
  • Bright School of Alternative Thought

School of Social Sciences

(Usually abbreviated to SoSS).

• Faculty of Sophont, Social and Political Science
  • Department of Archaeology and Sophontology:
    • Institute of Archaeology
    • Museum of Halcyon Sector
    • School of Biological Sophontology
    • Bright Center for Sophont Evolutionary Studies
  • Center for Politics and Interstellar Studies:
    • Institute of Post-Corolian Studies
    • Centre of Development Studies
  • College of Sociology
  • Department of Social Sophontology
  • Museum of Archaeology & Sophontology
  • Bright Institute for Archaeological Research
• Bright Library
• Willem Bright College of Economics
  • Guruda-Haldan School of Financial Theory
  • Institute of Fiscal Studies
• Faculty of Higher Education
• Faculty of History
  • Institute of Founding Era Studies
  • Institute of Dark Age Studies
    • Slavers/Greys Research Group
    • Voyagers Research Group
  • Department of Modern Studies
• History and Philosophy of Science
• Faculty of Law
  • Center for Interstellar Law
  • College of Rissa Accords Studies
• Institute of Criminology

School of Biological Sciences

(Usually abbreviated to SoBS).

• Faculty of Biology
  • Department of Biochemistry
    • Exotic Biology Research Unit
  • Department of Genetics
  • School of Pathology
  • Institute of Pharmacology
  • Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
    • Melevan Institute of Psionic Studies
  • Department of Plant Sciences
    • Selasia Botanic Garden
  • Department of Psychology
  • Institute of Zoology
    • Museum of Zoology
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine

School of Physical Sciences

(Usually abbreviated to SoPS).

• Faculty of Planetary Sciences & Geography
  • Department of Planetary Sciences
  • Delphine-Kroop Museum of Planetary Sciences
• Department of Geography
  • Montrose Environmental Research Institute
• Faculty of Mathematics
  • School of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
  • Institute of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics
    • Statistical Laboratory
    • Aster Fulcrum Computational Annex
• Faculty of Physics & Chemistry
  • Department of Astronomy
    • Spinward Survey Hub
    • Selasia College of Astrophysics
    • Institute of Astronomy
      • Local Astrographical Survey Project (LASP)
    • Bright Center of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
    • School of Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology.
    • Jumpspace Institute
  • Department of Chemistry
  • Department of Physics
• Hirishi Ishida Institute for Mathematical Sciences

College of Clinical Medicine

(Usually abbreviated to CM).

• Faculty of Clinical Biochemistry
  • Metabolic Research Laboratories
• College of Clinical Neurosciences
  • Center for Brain Repair
  • PanoMed Neurology Unit
    • Psionicological Research Unit
    • Xenoneurological Research Unit
  • Department of Neurosurgery
• Faculty of Medical Genetics
• College of Medicine
• School of Psychiatry
  • Brain mapping unit
  • Department of Developmental psychiatry
• School of Surgery
  • Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Institute of Public Health
  • Center for General Practice & Primary Care Research

The College of Clinical Medicine is closely associated with the Alasim-Bright Memorial Hospital, the largest and most advanced medical facility within the Distant Fringe. It is primarily a teaching hospital and has more than 10,000 beds and 13,000 members of staff, though only a percentage of these are members of the University.

Institute of Technology

(Usually abbreviated to IoT).

• Faculty of Engineering
  • Department of Engineering:
    • High Energy Research Department
    • Department of Electrical Engineering
      • EM Systems Research Unit
    • Department of Mechanics, Materials and Design
      • Fluid and Plasma Mechanics Research Group
      • Materials Science and Metallurgy Research Unit
    • College of Civil Engineering
    • Department of Manufacturing and Management
• Faculty of Business & Management
  • Bright School of Business
  • Centre for Business Research
  • The Psychometrics Centre
• Faculty of Computer Science & Technology
  • Advanced Processor Group
    • OmegaCorp AI Research Unit
  • Melvin-Melvin Institute of Robotics
    • Advanced Robotics Laboratory
  • College of Information Engineering
• Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology

Non-School Institutions

The University of Selasia includes a number of non-school Institutions.

Tirell Libraries

The Tirell Libraries are a collection of approximately 50 libraries and museums (and their archived comparative collections) that serve the University of Selasia, including, most famously, the Tirell Library itself, as well as many other (but not all) central and faculty libraries. Together, the libraries hold 55 million printed items, as well as numerous other objects and artefacts. Transcripts, images and holographic reproductions of the majority of the Library's holdings are available upon request.

Selasia University Press

Selasia University Press is the publishing business of the University of Selasia. Its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise more than 100,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 1000 research journals, and a large raft of academic and educational titles. It distributes its products to nearly every world in the Distant Fringe.

Orowani Deep Space Fuel Cache

The Department of Engineering/IOT and the Department of Archaeology and Sophontology/SOBS jointly fund the Orowani Deep Space Fuel Cache, a Calibration Point located in interstellar hex 1937 of Halcyon Sector. The ODSFC provides access to the Sarunt system, the Homeworld of the Treehangers, where various Faculties and Departments conduct studies and research. Engineering students, in particular, gain practical experience working on the station.

Extra-curricular Activities

A huge number of extra-curricular activities are available within the University. These are divided into Clubs (generally involving sporting, physical or social activities) and Societies (generally involving intellectual or cultural activities). There are known to be secret societies, open only to the privileged or exceptionally talented.

There is an active Student Union within the University. It is involved in all aspects of University life and organises and promotes a wide range of social events.

The University maintains extensive NOTC and ROTC programs. These are run in conjunction with the Navy and the Armed Forces and graduates automatically receive a commission as an officer in the appropriate service.

The University of Selasia is known to have a radical, active Mantlerist movement.

History & Background (Dossier)

Traditions: No information yet available.

Esteban Concerts

Public concerts are held across the worlds of the Bright Conclave every year by the Institute of Music to mark the anniversary of the founding of the University. These events are an opportunity for students to showcase their talents and have generated a huge supporting industry, including recording contracts, ticket sales, and lines of specialised clothing such as garments bearing logos or images of performers.

Bright Day

Bright Day is a holiday period celebrated within the University of Selasia.

On an unspecified day, the jolly-faced portly hologram of Willem Bright, clad in his long crimson robes, walks into classrooms across campuses, accompanied by his guards, and dismisses class for the entire university. Students are then treated by the administration to a day of fun and entertainments and feasting.

Highly anticipated, Bright Day has become a spirited week-long celebration marked by excessive consumption of intoxicants and practical jokes.

Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)

This institution is primarily based out of the following sector:
Uncharted Space - Distant Fringe:

• Halcyon Sector

World Listing

The following systems and worlds are associated with this institution:

3 of 3 World articles in University of Selasia

Observatory (Dv 2638)  •  Resulos  •  Selasia  •  

startbacknext(3 listed)

References & Contributors (Sources)

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This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science