The University of St Mark & St John is based in the coastal city of Plymouth, England. It is on the northern edge of the city and close to the south-west coast, Dartmoor National Park and the neighbouring county of Cornwall. It has a single campus, a long heritage, is small in size and has a strong reputation for its range of specialisms including education, journalism and creative arts, language and linguistics, and sport. Formerly called University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, and commonly referred to as Marjon, the institution was awarded full university status in 2012. The vice-chancellor and chief executive of the university is Cara Aitchison from May 2013. The university's history dates back to the foundation by the National Society (now National Society for Promoting Religious Education) of the constituent London colleges of St John's College in Battersea, London (1840) and St Mark's College in Chelsea, London (1841). The St Mark's College was founded on the belief of Rev Derwent Coleridge, its first principal and son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge that its primary purpose was to widen the educational horizons of its students. St John's College was established by Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, together with E. Carleton Tufnell, to provide teacher training to meet the social and economic needs of 19th-century industrialisation and promoted the concept of education as self-realisation. Both colleges stressed the importance of applied education, the interface between academic study and broader experience and the role of an enlightened teaching profession in furthering social and economic development. The two colleges were among the first to open access to degree level study outside the established universities. The colleges merged in 1923, establishing a single institution in Chelsea which developed a wider reputation for academic excellence and commitment to teaching. The College of St Mark & St John then moved to Plymouth in 1973 when the Chelsea site became too small, and its educational activities have continued to evolve in response to local, regional, national and international needs. In 1991 the college became affiliated to the University of Exeter, which accredited it to run undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to degree awards of the University of Exeter. In 2007, the College of St Mark & St John gained University College status and was able to award its own degrees. With the new status came the temporary name of University College Plymouth St Mark & St John. The University of St Mark & St John, which now awards its own undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees, still enjoys a strong relationship with the University of Exeter which continues to award research degrees to students of the university. The university campus is between Dartmoor National Park and the coast, a few miles from Plymouth city centre and next to Plymouth's teaching hospital and a range of sports facilities north of the city. There are frequent buses to the city centre. In 2013 a major investment programme in campus facilities was completed. Students now enjoy some of the best sports facilities of any UK university, including sport and exercise science laboratories, a 90 station fitness suite, swimming pool, climbing wall, sports hall, gyms and outdoor pitches. There are new state-of-the-art teaching facilities for business innovation, theatre, JaM centre (Journalism and Media) and live music production studio. Library and dining facilities are also new and upgraded residential accommodation is provided on campus with all first year students guaranteed a place in residential accommodation. Other students tend to share rented accommodation in the popular student quarters of Plymouth such as Mutley which is close to the campus. The university campus houses the Peninsula Allied Health Centre (PAHC) which enables 814 University of Plymouth students to study a range of allied health professions that complement the university's expertise in sports therapy, speech and language therapy and physical activity and health. The university has over 100 taught programmes of study with teaching informed by research. The university has a reputation for teaching quality and student support and offers small classes. Programmes have links with employers. The university also offers opportunities for volunteering through its 'Marjon Plus' scheme. There is a strong Students' Union which enjoys a senior management team. In 2013 the university became the first in Devon and Cornwall to be awarded Stonewall Diversity Champion status.