The essays in this collection examine the history of the University of Ulster and seek to place its experience within the contexts of the national and international communities it has served for forty years. Chapters have been contributed by former and serving staff-members, each of them a specialist in the various academic disciplines of the institution. Studies include the University's local historical background and educational antecedents, its controversial beginnings and resurgence through a ground-breaking merger, and its rise to prominence as it grappled with the challenges of a divided and troubled society.