The University of the West of England (abbrev. UWE, often pronounced "you-we") is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles (8 km) north of the city centre. UWE also has a smaller campus at St Matthias, a School of Health and Social Care at Glenside in north-east Bristol and the School of Creative Arts, located at Bower Ashton, near Ashton Court in south-west Bristol.
There are also regional centres in Bath and Swindon, and an associate faculty specialising in agricultural and sports related courses in Hartpury, Gloucestershire. This satellite college has staged the European Young Rider Championship, a horse riding competition. Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is an associate school of the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences.
With around 30,000 students and 3,000 academic staff, UWE is the larger of the two universities in the city (the longer established University of Bristol has 23,000 students). 86% of students at UWE are from state schools. The library on the Frenchay site is called the Bolland Library, named after Dr Robert Bolland, the first director of Bristol Polytechnic from 1969 to 1974. The main Frenchay campus is situated close to the M32 motorway, twenty minutes walk from the well-connected Bristol Parkway railway station.
The Chancellor of UWE is the Rt Hon Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, GBE, who will be replaced by Sir Ian Carruthers OBE.. Professor Steven West is the vice chancellor.