to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, attracted international attention and led to calls for an inquiry, with the controversy gaining the nickname "climategate". As a result, eight investigations were launched in both the United Kingdom and the United States, but none found evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct, and the academics were subsequently fully exonerated. In 2011, an analysis of temperature data by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature group concluded that the CRU's "studies were done carefully and that potential biases identified by climate change sceptics did not seriously affect their conclusions".
=== 2010s ===
In 2010, the Thomas Paine Study Centre was opened by playwright Trevor Griffiths. It became Norwich Business School which is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 2011, the university won its second Queen's Anniversary Prize for its distinguished creative writing programme. This bolstered the region's reputation as a literary hub and helped Norwich to achieve its status as England's first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012. In 2009, UEA's School of International Development had previously been awarded in recognition of sustained responses to environmental change and world poverty. In 2013, the university celebrated its 50th-anniversary, ranking No. 1 in the Times Higher Education Magazine Student Experience league table. UEA also launched its first free Massive open online course (MOOC) in partnership with Future Learn.
The University of East Anglia School of Music was closed following a decision announced by the university’s Council in November 2011, citing financial pressures and declining student numbers, both of which were proven to be false. The department stopped admitting new undergraduates after 2012, and formally ceased operation in 2014. The closure attracted widespread criticism from staff, students, alumni, and members of the wider musical community, who regarded it as a significant loss to the university’s cultural and academic life. Commentators noted …
