History

The Centre for Human Ecology was founded in 1972 by Conrad Waddington in response to the challenge of the influential ‘Limits to Growth’ report published by the Club of Rome, of which he was a member. For twenty years, as a department within Edinburgh University, the Centre catalysed the creation of leading-edge research and education, culminating in the establishment of a Masters Degree in Human Ecology in 1991. In 1996 the Centre became a wholly independent organisation. The Masters programme continued, accredited via the Open University from 1999-2004 and the University of Strathclyde from 2005-2010.

The following pages contain a selected chronology of the activities and academic offerings of the centre from its inception in the 1970s onwards. The chronology is not exhaustive, and will be added to as the extensive archives of the Centre are digitised and curated.

1972-1990

1991-2000

2001-2011