During the 1990s the Development Office was based in Cross Row and promoted the University. It included within its sphere the Alumni Office and Appeals and Campaigns. In 2003 the Development Office became External Relations and moved to the Tower. Alumni Relations remained part of the department but remained in Cross Row. It became the Alumni and Development Office in 2007 after combining with Trusts & Foundations fundraising as well as specific campaigns - Diabetes Research etc. The Press Office and Student Recruitment and Admissions also became part of External Relations.
Reverend John Glas (1695-1773), while Presbyterian minister at Tealing (Forfarshire) in 1725, set up a society of nearly one hundred people for monthly celebration of the Lord's Supper and closer religious fellowship. In 1729 he published "Testimony of the King of Martyrs", embodying his opposition to interference of the Solemn League and Covenant. In 1728, the Synod of Angus and Mearns suspended him as minister, which was confirmed in 1730 by the General Assembly. He set up a church in Dundee whose members became known as Glasites and, in 1733, built their first meeting house in Perth where he was helped by his son-in-law Robert Sandeman. Other churches in Scotland followed and then in England; Robert Sandeman exported the faith to America where its followers became known as Sandemanians. Central beliefs of the Glasites include the view that Christ's Kingdom is purely spiritual and wholly separate from the state, "the agape" (Love Feast), the osculum pacis (Kiss of Peace) and ritual washing of feet. Glas also introduced the idea of a simple meal at the church for worshippers, hence the church gaining the nickname of the Kail Kirk. The last of the Sandemanian churches in America ceased to exist in 1890. The London meeting house finally closed in 1984 and the last Elder of the Church died in Edinburgh in 1999. Many Glasites joined the general body of Scottish Congregationalists, and the denomination may now be considered extinct.
The School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee was formed in October 2000 from the Departments of Anatomy and Physiology, Biochemistry, Biological Sciences and Chemistry. These Departments were dissolved and replaced by eight Research Divisions and a Teaching Unit. The School is housed in five buildings on the University Campus, namely the Wellcome Trust Biocentre (WTB), the Medical Sciences Institute (MSI), the Biological Sciences Institute (BSI), the Old Medical School (OMS) and the Carnelley Building. Completed in 1997, the WTB is the most recent addition, being built and equipped with donations totalling nearly £14 million. This includes £10 million from The Wellcome Trust (thought to be the largest single charitable donation ever given to Scotland). The WTB is physically joined to and fully integrated with the MSI and this research complex houses some 450 scientists and support staff. A further 200 Scientists are based in BSI, OMS and the Carnelley Building. The School comprises some 70 Research Groups headed by Principal Investigators (PIs) that include citizens of Austria, Britain, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, and the USA, and scientists from 52 different nations work in the School. Many of the PIs have been awarded prestigious Research Fellowships and a host of National and International Research Prizes. Current research grants awarded from non-University sources are £23 million per annum mainly from the Wellcome Trust, the UK Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the National Environmental Research Council, The Royal Society of London and a number of Pharmaceutical companies. The eight Research Divisions of the School are Biological Chemistry and Molecular Microbiology, Cell Biology and Immunology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Cell Signalling, Environmental and Applied Biology, Gene Regulation and Expression, Molecular Physiology and Physical and Inorganic Chemistry. They carry out fundamental research into many of the most topical areas of current biomedical and life sciences research, and their work is aimed at understanding the causes of diseases that include diabetes, cancer, hereditary skin diseases, inflammatory diseases, defects of the immune system, antibiotic resistance in bacteria and tropical parasitic diseases.
Jute Industries Ltd was formed as a result of the amalgamation of many of the Dundee jute companies including Cox Brothers (Camperdown Works), Gilroy and Sons (Tay Works) and J and A D Grimond (Bowbridge Works), and was registered as a limited company in England in 1920. It changed its name to Sidlaw Industries Ltd in 1971 and to Sidlaw Group plc in 1981. Over the years the company moved away from jute into other interests. As of 2020 the company is still registered as active and is based in Bristol.
The Montrose Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary and Dispensary was founded in 1781 by Mrs. Susan Carnegie of Charleton for the treatment of private and pauper patients, and was the first mental hospital in Scotland. It was built on the Montrose Links on a site bounded by Barrack Road, Ferry Road and Garrison Road and was granted a Royal Charter in 1810. A new improved Asylum with better facilities was completed in 1858, situated on lands of Sunnyside farm, in the village of Hillside, on the outskirts of Montrose. Carnegie House was built for private patients in 1899. In 1913 the Royal Charter was amended, after which it was renamed the Royal Asylum of Montrose and that part of the Institution which consisted of the Infirmary and Dispensary was disjoined and received its own Royal Charter. However, overcrowding was a problem with patient numbers reaching 670 by 1900, precipitating the need for further accommodation. As a result, Howden Villa was completed in 1901 and Northesk Villa was completed in 1904. Westmount Cottages were built in 1905 to house the extra staff required to care of the additional patients. The lease of Sunnyside Farm expired in 1911 and over 52 acres were purchased for the sum of £4500. Angus House was built in 1939 to accommodate elderly patients suffering from dementia. With the advent of the National Health Service in 1948, the Asylum was renamed the Royal Mental Hospital of Montrose and came under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Regional Hospital Board. It was again renamed in 1962, when it became Sunnyside Royal Hospital. When Sunnyside celebrated its bicentenary in 1981, the number of patients was approximately 400. The hospital closed in 2011. Many of its patients and functions were transferred to the newly opened Susan Carnegie Centre at Stracathro Hospital, Angus.
The University of Dundee Ladies' Club held its inaugral meeting on 25 October 1928. Originally known as Dundee University College Tea Club it was later known as Queen's College Ladies' Tea Club. Formed for the relatives and wives of University staff the club organised social events, talks and lectures. In 2003 it celebrated its 75th anniversary.
The Alumni & Development office helps alumni stay in touch with one another and with the University. It is in contact with nearly 60,000 Dundee graduates in more than 100 countries. The alumni support the University in many ways, from generously donating their time and expertise to making gifts, which change lives and this can all be done through Dundee-Reunited.
