Tech students as part of Rag Week.
=== Huddersfield Polytechnic (1970–1992) ===
It was the College of Technology which, in 1970, merged with the Oastler College of Education to become Huddersfield Polytechnic. The Oastler College had been founded in 1963, as a day training college for school teachers. Huddersfield Polytechnic was officially inaugurated by the then Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher on 23 April 1971.
In 1974, a further merger took place with the Technical Teaching Training College at Holly Bank. That college had been noted in education circles for its policy of training students over the age of 25, one of whom was the future Education Secretary David Blunkett. However, after the merger, it became part of the Polytechnic's Faculty of Education, and those idiosyncrasies were gradually eroded. Teacher training remained on the Holly Bank site until the land was sold by the university in 2001.
The campus precinct was redeveloped by the firm Wilson and Womersley. Awarding J. L. Womersley a Fellowship for the design, the Deputy Rector commented on the courage and vision of the plan, with the Central Services building in particular being a monument to that vision. The large brown Central Services Building, now known as the Schwann Building, a prominent feature not just of the campus but also the town of Huddersfield itself, was completed in January 1977. The brown colour was chosen so it would better fit in with the local sandstone. The building was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent.
Several high-profile bands played the university's students' union during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including The Stranglers, The Jam and The Undertones.
Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson returned to his hometown in 1983, the same year he stood down as an MP, to open a university building on Firth Street and to deliver a lecture. He would later have a different building named after him on the campus. An annual memorial lecture takes place at the university in his name, and notable speakers have included former …
