   the russell group is an association of 24 prestigious british public research universities. the term russell group has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism. russell group is headquartered in london and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to government and parliament; 19 smaller british research universities formed the 1994 group in response, which has since dissolved. in 2010, russell group members received approximately two-thirds of all university research grant and contract income in the united kingdom. it is equivalent to ivy league schools in usa. as of may 2004, russell group members awarded 56% of all doctorates awarded in the united kingdom, and over 30% of all students studying in the united kingdom from outside the eu. in the 2001 national research assessment exercise, 78% of the staff in grade 5* departments and 57% of the staff in grade 5 departments were located in russell group universities. the russell group is so named because the first informal meetings of the group took place at the hotel russell in russell square, london, generally shortly before meetings of the committee of vice-chancellors and principals (now universities uk) in nearby tavistock square, close to the university of london buildings. ==history== the russell group was formed in 1994 by 17 british research universities â birmingham, bristol, cambridge, edinburgh, glasgow, imperial college london, leeds, liverpool, london school of economics, manchester, newcastle, nottingham, oxford, sheffiel
1994_establishments_in_the_United_Kingdom College_and_university_associations_and_consortia_in_the_United_Kingdom Organizations_established_in_1994 Russell_Group