Knox College, Otago

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Knox College is a Presbyterian residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with one third year student. The college is set in an 4.57ha landscaped site in Opoho on the opposite side of the Dunedin Botanic Gardens from the University. The site is shared with Salmond College, which was originally set up as complementary accommodation for female students. Although the institutions are run autonomously, they were until recently governed by a joint body, The Council of Knox College and Salmond College.FunctionKnox College was established in 1909 to provide residential accommodation for male students and to house an existing seminary for Presbyterian ministers. It became co-educational in 1983 and also houses the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership and the Archives Research Centre, under the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The principal buildings were designed by W. Gray Young when he was only 21.Knox seeks to recreate some of the feeling of an Oxford or Cambridge college and much of its institutional terminology originated in these universities: recalcitrant students are "sent down"; there is a "Master" and there are "Fellows". However, roles may be distributed in a different manner to the British model; responsibility for security outside of office-hours lies with the Assistant Master and Sub-Masters rather than, say, College Porters. Knox also retains many traditional aspects of college life, such as requiring jackets and ties for most dinners and making division into Senior and Junior Common Rooms. Senior Common Room members are, in addition, expected to wear academic (undress) gowns for Sunday evening meals.