Engraving of William Shakespeare by Samuel Cousins. The University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute has marked its 75th anniversary with celebrations at New Place Gardens in Stratford-upon-Avon, bringing together academics, alumni and cake. The Institute was founded in 1951 by Professor Allardyce Nicoll, who returned from Yale to head the University of Birmingham’s English department. Over the past 75 years, the Institute has taught thousands of resident and distance-learning postgraduate students from around the world, alongside Birmingham undergraduates. The Institute hosts the International Shakespeare Conference, a biennial, invitation-only gathering regarded as the most prestigious event in the field, and is home to major publishing projects including the Arden Shakespeare and the New Oxford Shakespeare.