Australian National University

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"ANU" redirects here. For other uses, see ANU (disambiguation).
The Australian National University
Australian National University crest.png
Coat of Arms of ANU
Motto Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum (Latin)
First to learn the nature of things
Established 1946
Type Public
Endowment A$1.237 billion[1]
Chancellor The Hon Gareth Evans AC
Vice-Chancellor Ian Young AO
Admin. staff 3,819
Undergraduates 10,231
Postgraduates 8,283
Location Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Campus Urban, 358 acres (1.45 km2)
Affiliations Group of Eight, IARU, APRU, AURA, ASAIHL
Website anu.edu.au
Australian National University logo.png

The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Located in the suburb of Acton adjacent to the Canberra CBD, the main campus encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national institutes.[2]

Founded in 1946, it is the only university to have been created by the Parliament of Australia. Originally a postgraduate research university, ANU commenced undergraduate teaching in 1960 when it integrated the Canberra University College, which had been established in 1929.[3] As of 2011, the university employed 3,819 staff and instructed 10,231 undergraduate and 8,283 postgraduate students.[4]

ANU is currently ranked 1st and 2nd among Australian universities, and 24th and 37th among world universities, by the QS[5] and Times Higher Education[6] rankings respectively. ANU counts six Nobel laureates among its staff and alumni.[7] ANU is a member of the Group of Eight and the International Alliance of Research Universities.

Contents

History [edit]

Post-war origins [edit]

Remains of the ANU homopolar generator designed by Mark Oliphant

Calls for the establishment of a national university in Australia began as early as 1900.[8] After the location of the nation's capital, Canberra, was determined in 1908, land was set aside for the university at the foot Black Mountain in the city designs by Walter Burley Griffin.[8] Planning for the university was disrupted by World War II but resumed with the creation of the Department for Post-War Reconstruction in 1942, ultimately leading to the passage of the Australian National University Act 1946 by the Parliament of Australia on 1 August 1946.[8]

A group of eminent Australian scholars returned from overseas to join the university, including Sir Howard Florey (co-developer of medicinal penicillin), Sir Mark Oliphant (a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project), Sir Keith Hancock (the Chichele Professor of Economic History at Oxford) and Sir Raymond Firth (a professor of anthropology at LSE).[8] Economist Sir Douglas Copland was appointed as ANU's first Vice-Chancellor and former Prime Minister Stanley Bruce served as the first Chancellor.[9] ANU was originally organised into four centres—the Research Schools of Physical Sciences, Social Sciences and Pacific Studies and the John Curtin School of Medical Research.[8]

The first resident's hall, University House, was opened in 1954 for faculty members and postgraduate students.[3] Mount Stromlo Observatory, established by the federal government in 1924, became part of ANU in 1957.[3] The first locations of the ANU Library, the Menzies and Chifley buildings, opened in 1963.[3] The Australian Forestry School, located in Canberra since 1927, was amalgamated by ANU in 1965.[3]

Canberra University College [edit]

Canberra University College (CUC) was the first institution of higher education in the national capital, having been established in 1929 and enrolling its first undergraduate pupils in 1930.[8][10] Its founding was led by Sir Robert Garran, one of the drafters of the Australian Constitution and the first Solicitor-General of Australia.[11] CUC was affiliated with the University of Melbourne and its degrees were granted by that university.[8] Academic leaders at CUC included historian Manning Clark, political scientist Finlay Crisp, poet A. D. Hope and economist Heinz Arndt.[11]

ANU School of Art located at the former Canberra High School building

In 1960, CUC was integrated into ANU as the School of General Studies, initially with faculties in arts, economics, law and science.[3] Faculties in Oriental studies and engineering were introduced later.[3] Bruce Hall, the first residential college for undergraduates, opened in 1961.[3]

Modern era [edit]

The Canberra School of Music and the Canberra School of Art were amalgamated by ANU in 1992.[3]

ANU established its Medical School in 2002, after obtaining federal government approval in 2000.[12]

On 18 January 2003, the Canberra bushfires largely destroyed the Mount Stromlo Observatory.[13] ANU astronomers now conduct research from the Siding Spring Observatory, which contains 10 telescopes including the Anglo-Australian Telescope.[14]

In February 2013, financial entrepreneur and ANU graduate Graham Tuckwell made the largest university donation in Australian history by giving $50 million to fund an undergraduate scholarship program at ANU.[15]

Academics [edit]

Main article: Academic structure of the Australian National University

ANU is governed by a 15-member Council, whose members include the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.[16] Gareth Evans, a former Foreign Minister of Australia, has been ANU Chancellor since 2010 and Ian Young, a research engineer, was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 2011.[17] Ian Chubb, Vice-Chancellor from 2001 to 2011, is presently the Chief Scientist of Australia.

Chifley Library

Undergraduate students are represented by the Australian National University Students' Association (ANUSA) and postgraduates by the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association (PARSA). The Australian National University Union manages catering and retail outlets and function amenities on behalf of all students.

In its most recent disclosure at the end of 2010, ANU recorded an endowment of A$1.237 billion.[1]

Rankings [edit]

ANU has consistently been ranked 1st or 2nd among universities in Australia. In the 2012 QS Rankings, ANU was ranked 1st in Australia and 24th in the world.[5] The university was ranked 2nd in Australia and 27th in the world by the 2012 Times Higher Education Rankings,[6] which also placed the university 1st in Australia for arts and humanities[18] and social science.[19] The 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked ANU 2nd in Australia and 64th in the world,[20] but 1st in Australia for social science[21] and natural sciences and mathematics.[22] Since 2002, the ANU has had the highest ranked philosophy department in Australia.[23]

Colleges [edit]

ANU was reorganised in 2006 to create seven Colleges, each of which conducts both teaching and research.[3]

Arts and Social Sciences [edit]

The ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences is divided into the Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) and the Research School of Humanities and the Arts (RSHA). Within RSSS there are schools dedicated to history, philosophy, sociology, political science and international relations, Middle Eastern studies and Latin American studies.[24] RSHA contains schools focusing on anthropology, archaeology, classics, art history, English literature, drama, film studies, gender studies, linguistics, European languages as well as an art and music school.[25]

Asia and the Pacific [edit]

The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific is a specialist centre of Asian and Pacific studies and languages, with the largest number of experts in these fields of any university in the English-speaking world.[26] It also houses the Crawford School of Public Policy.

ANU College of Law

Business and Economics [edit]

The ANU College of Business and Economics comprises four Research Schools, which in turn conduct research and teaching in economics, finance, accounting, actuarial studies, statistics, marketing and management.[27]

Engineering and Computer Science [edit]

The ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science is divided into two Research Schools, which study a range of engineering and computer science topics respectively. ANU is home to the National Computational Infrastructure National Facility and was a co-founder of NICTA, the chief information and communications technology research centre in Australia.

Law [edit]

The ANU College of Law conducts legal research and teaching, with centres dedicated to commercial law, international law, public law and environmental law.[28] In addition to numerous research programs, the College offers the professional LL.B. and J.D. degrees. It is the 7th oldest[29] of Australia's 36 law schools and was ranked 3rd among Australian and 14th among world law schools by the 2012 QS Rankings.[30] The College imposes a grade limiting policy, which caps scores of >80 to 2-5% of students and scores of 70-79 to 10-20% of students.[31]

John Curtin School of Medical Research

Medicine, Biology and Environment [edit]

The ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment encompasses the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), the ANU Medical School, the Fenner School of Environment & Society and Research Schools of Biology, Psychology and Population Health.[32] JCSMR was established in 1948 as a result of the vision of Nobel laureate Howard Florey.[33] Three further Nobel Prizes have been won as a result of research at JCSMR—in 1963 by John Eccles and in 1996 by Peter Doherty and Rolf M. Zinkernagel.[33]

Physical and Mathematical Sciences [edit]

The ANU College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences comprises the Research Schools of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Physics. Under the direction of Mark Oliphant, nuclear physics was one the university's most notable early research priorities, leading to the construction of a 500 megajoule homopolar generator and a 7.7 megaelectronvolts cyclotron in the 1950s.[34] These devices were to be used as part of a 10.6 gigaelectronvolt synchrotron particle accelerator that was never completed, however they remained in use for other research purposes.[34] ANU has been home to 8 particle accelerators over the years and currently operates the 14UD and LINAS accelerators.[35]

Campus [edit]

Linnaeus Way at ANU
University House

The main campus of ANU extends across the Canberra suburb of Acton, which consists of 358 acres (1.45 km2) of mostly parkland with university buildings landscaped within.[36] ANU is roughly bisected by Sullivans Creek, part of the Murray–Darling basin, and is bordered by the native bushland of Black Mountain, Lake Burley Griffin, the suburb of Turner and the Canberra central business district. Many university sites are of historical significance dating from the establishment of the national capital, with over 40 buildings recognised by the Commonwealth Heritage List and several others on local lists.[37]

With over 10,000 trees on its campus,[38] ANU won an International Sustainable Campus Network Award in 2009[39] and was ranked the 2nd greenest university campus in Australia in 2011.[40]

Four of Australia's five learned societies are based at ANU—the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law. The Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and the National Film and Sound Archive are also located at ANU, while the National Museum of Australia and CSIRO are situated next to the campus.

ANU occupies additional locations including Mount Stromlo Observatory on the outskirts of Canberra, Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, a campus at Kioloa on the South Coast of New South Wales and a research unit in Darwin.[41]

Library [edit]

Main article: Australian National University Library

The library of ANU originated in 1948 with the appointment of the first librarian, Arthur McDonald.[3] Presently the library holds over 2.5 million physical volumes[42] distributed across six branches—the Chifley, Menzies, Hancock, Art & Music and Law Libraries and the external Print Repository.[43]

Residential halls and colleges [edit]

Eight residential facilities are affiliated with ANU—Bruce Hall, Ursula Hall, Burgmann College, John XXIII College, Toad Hall, Burton & Garran Hall, Graduate House and Fenner Hall.[44] All are located on campus except Fenner Hall, which is located in the nearby suburb of Braddon. Students also reside in the privately run units adjoining the campus—Davey Lodge, Kinloch Lodge, Warrumbul Lodge and Lena Karmel Lodge.[45] In 2010, the non-residential Griffin Hall was established for students living off-campus.

Notable alumni and faculty [edit]

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, 2007-10
Main article: List of Australian National University people

Notable past faculty members include Mark Oliphant, Keith Hancock, Manning Clark, Derek Freeman, H. C. Coombs, Hedley Bull and Frank Fenner. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to former ANU Chancellor Howard Florey and faculty members John Eccles, John Harsanyi, Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Peter Doherty and Brian Schmidt.[7]

ANU alumni are especially visible in government. Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd, former Prime Ministers of Australia, both attended the university, as did senior politicians Barry O'Farrell, Nick Minchin, Kim Beazley Sr, Peter Garrett, Craig Emerson, Stephen Conroy, Gary Gray, Warren Snowdon and Joe Ludwig. Graduates also include Australian Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson, ASIS director-general Nick Warner, ACCC chairman Rod Sims, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Gordon Darcy Lilo, former British cabinet minister Patricia Hewitt and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.

Other notable alumni include High Court of Australia judge Stephen Gageler, Chief Federal Magistrate John Pascoe, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, Kellogg's CEO John Bryant, former Singapore Airlines CEO Cheong Choong Kong, Indiana University president Michael McRobbie, University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellors Alan Gilbert and Glyn Davis, mathematician John H. Coates, public intellectual Clive Hamilton and economists Ross Garnaut, Peter Drysdale and John Quiggin.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "Investment Performance Summary 2010". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  2. ^ "Academic Structure". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Timeline". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  4. ^ "Quick Stats". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  5. ^ a b "World University Rankings 2012". Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  6. ^ a b "World University Rankings 2012-13". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  7. ^ a b "Nobel Prize winers". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "History of ANU". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  9. ^ "Chancellors & Vice-Chancellors". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  10. ^ "Ordinance establishing Canberra University College". ACT Legislation Register. Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  11. ^ a b "Canberra University College". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  12. ^ "History of ANU Medical School". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  13. ^ "Mount Stromlo Observatory". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  14. ^ "Telescopes". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  15. ^ "Billionaire gives back with $50m uni donation". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  16. ^ "ANU Council". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  17. ^ "Council membership". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  18. ^ "Top 50 arts and humanities universities 2012-13". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  19. ^ "Top 50 social sciences universities 2012-13". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  20. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2012". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  21. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities in Social Science 2012". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  22. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities in Natural Sciences and Mathematics 2012". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  23. ^ "The Philosophical Gourmet Report - Overall Rankings". Brian Leiter. Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  24. ^ "RSSS Schools". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  25. ^ "RSHA Schools". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  26. ^ "Our story - CAP". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  27. ^ "Schools & centres - ANU College of Business and Economics". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  28. ^ "ANU College of Law research centres". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  29. ^ "ANU Brochure". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  30. ^ "QS Rankings - Law". Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  31. ^ "ANU LLB and JD Handbook 2013". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  32. ^ "About us - Science, Medicine & Health". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  33. ^ a b "About us - JCSMR". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  34. ^ a b "The Big Machine". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  35. ^ "The Accelerators of Nuclear Physics". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  36. ^ "ANU Tour". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  37. ^ "ANU Heritage Strategy". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  38. ^ "Acton Tree Trail". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  39. ^ "Sustainability awards". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  40. ^ "Australia's 10 greenest universities". The Australian. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  41. ^ "Campus - About ANU". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  42. ^ "Collections - ANU Library". The Australian. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  43. ^ "Branches- ANU Library". The Australian. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  44. ^ "Residential Halls and Colleges". Australian National University. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 
  45. ^ "UniLodge in Canberra". UniLodge. Retrieved 6 April 2013. 

External links [edit]

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