University of Notre Dame Australia

University of Notre Dame, Australia
Motto	In principio erat Verbum (In the beginning was the Word)
Established	1989
Type	Private
Location	Fremantle, Western Australia
Campus	Fremantle, Western Australia Broome, Western Australia Sydney, New South Wales
Website	http://www.nd.edu.au

St Benedict's Church and University of Notre Dame, Sydney

The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) is a private Roman Catholic university established in 1989 in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle, 32°3′24″S 115°44′37″E. Although it is a 'private university', Notre Dame receives significant government funding. While The University of Notre Dame Australia has "strong collegial links" with the American University of Notre Dame located in Notre Dame, Indiana, they are separate institutions.

History

In line with the Commonwealth Government's priorities for higher education, in 2009 Notre Dame signed an interim agreement for Mission based compacts with the Commonwealth, outlining its goals as well as its vision for a unique place in Australian higher education.

Founding President and Vice Chancellor was Reverend David T. Link, who continued serving as Dean of the University of Notre Dame Law School during the two years it took to establish Notre Dame, Australia.

Hammond era: 2008—present

On 5 August 2008, Notre Dame appointed the third Vice Chancellor of the university's history, Professor Celia Hammond. Professor Hammond is a qualified lawyer and was previously the Head of the University's Fremantle School of Law.

Professor Hammond's goal is to ensure Notre Dame's vision continues of promoting humanity and humility in their graduates. She stated in her inauguration speech that knowledge and learning must be within a framework of humanity in order to ensure that students have love and respect for the world; not just wisdom. She also stated:

"At Notre Dame we are not simply transmitters of information, creators of knowledge. Our mission will always be to teach and to educate in an environment that encourages people to seek understanding, to seek wisdom, to seek to serve, to seek to live in a way that fulfils everyone’s higher purpose."

Crest

The University Crest is an open book (which is common in many universities). However, it is different from other university crests because the book is the Bible.

The waves below the open Bible represents the Fremantle area (the origin of the university) and Australia; a nation surrounded by water.

Campus

The University has campuses in Fremantle, Western Australia, Broome, Western Australia and in two locations in Sydney, New South Wales.

The Fremantle and Broome campuses form Western Australia's smallest university, with just over 7000 students enrolled. In percentage growth terms, however, it is one of Australia's fastest growing universities, with an increase in student load of more than 13% in 2008 compared with 2007.

In 2006, Notre Dame Australia established its first campus in Sydney in the suburb of Chippendale close to the CBD. The rapidly expanding campus occupies part of the complex of St Benedict's Church, with which it retains close ties. There are over 3000 students enrolled in Arts, Business, Law and Nursing courses. In 2008 the first cohort of students commenced at the new buildings for the Schools of Nursing and Medicine, Darlinghurst Campus. Students from the Schools of Nursing and Medicine complete practical components of their education at most major Sydney and rural New South Wales hospitals.

From its Darlinghurst location the Sydney School of Nursing offers both postgraduate and undergraduate studies.

University of Notre Dame Law School

The University of Notre dame Law School participates in Australian Law Students' Association competitions and the AAT Mooting Competitions as well as the International Maritime Moot competition. For the past two years, the Law school has recorded success; often finishing in the Top 5.^{[citation needed]}

The law school ensures that all students complete a 'moot' unit (known as Advocacy). It is generally expected that law students require at least some moot experience prior to graduating.

Notre Dame Law School Society provides a number of competitions throughout the year which consists of:

• Senior Mooting Competition
• Junior Mooting Competition
• Negotiations
• Client Interview
• AAT Moot

Organisation and adminstration

Governance

The governance structure of Notre Dame is determined largely by its enabling Act of Parliament and its Statutes. These specify the source, role and functions of its Trustees, Board of Directors and Board of Governors, and the Principal Officers and academic leaders of the University.

Trustees
Mr Danny Casey	Business Manager, Archdiocese of Sydney; Archbishop of Sydney nominee
Ms Margaret Fisher	Government Relations Consultant, New South Wales
Ms Tina D'Orsogna	Company Director, Western Australia
Prof Celia Hammond	Vice Chancellor
Mgr Michael Keating	Dean, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth; Archbishop of Perth nominee
Mgr Kevin Long	Rector, St Charles Seminary, Western Australia
Rev Fr Edward A Malloy CSC	President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame, Indiana USA
Hon Justice Neville Owen	Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia
Mr Michael Perrott AM	Company Director, Western Australia
Mr Peter Prendiville	Deputy Chancellor; Chairman, Prendiville Enterprises, Western Australia
Mr Michael Reutens	Archbishop of Perth nominee
Mr Terence Tobin QC	Chancellor; Barrister, New South Wales. Archbishop of Sydney nominee

Directors
Mr Danny Casey	Business Manager, Archdiocese of Sydney, New South Wales
Mr Justin Carroll	Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Western Australia
Ms Tina D'Orsogna	Company Director, Western Australia
Mr Ron Dullard	Director, Catholic Education Office of Western Australia
Mr Don Good	Trustee, Sisters of St John of God Healthcare, Western Australia
Prof Celia Hammond	Vice Chancellor
Prof Con Michael AO	Medical Director, St John of God Healthcare, Western Australia
Mr Karl Morris	CEO & Managing Director, Ord Minnett Ltd, New South Wales
Mr Stephen Newton	Joint Managing Director, Arcadia Funds Management, New South Wales
Mr Michael Perrott AM	Company Director, Western Australia
Mr Peter Prendiville	Deputy Chancellor; Chairman, Prendiville Enterprises, Western Australia
Mr Terry Prindiville	Managing Director, Prindiville Investments, Western Australia
Mr Terence Tobin QC	Chancellor; Barrister, New South Wales

Governors
Rev Fr William Beauchamp CSC	President, University of Portland, USA
Br Kelvin Canavan fms AM	Executive Director Emeritus, Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Sydney
Dr Rosanna Capolingua	General Practitioner, Western Australia
Dr Michael Casey	Private Secretary to the Archbishop of Sydney
Mr Fred Chaney	Architect and Director, Cox Howlett and Bailey Woodland
Mr Bruce Cullam	Business Manager, Western Australia
Mr Jerry Donovan	Chartered Accountant, Western Australia
Hon John Dunford QC	Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Hon Christopher Ellison	Former Senator and Commonwealth Government Minister
Ms Margaret Fisher	Government Relations Consultant, New South Wales
Mrs Catherine Harris AO	Senior Executive, Harris Farm Markets, New South Wales
Mr Toby Hicks	Partner, Steinepreis Paganin Lawyers and Consultants
Most Rev Gerard Holohan	Bishop of Bunbury, Western Australia
Mr Jack de Groot	CEO, Caritas Australia
Hon Justice Tricia Kavanagh	Judge, Industrial Court and Deputy President, Industrial Commission of New South Wales
Hon David Malcolm AC QC	Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Professor of Law, School of Law, Fremantle Campus
Mrs Rommie Masarei	Community Representative, Western Australia
Hon Justice Robert Mazza	Judge, Supreme Court of Western Australia
Dr John McEncroe OAM	General Practitioner, Victoria
Mr Michael McNulty	Partner, Deloitte Consulting, Western Australia
Hon Justice Tony Meagher	Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal
Rev Wilson D Miscamble CSC	Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, Indiana USA
Ms Serena Nathan	Journalist and writer, Western Australia
Mr John Prendiville	Chairman, Point Capital Pty Ltd
Rev Mark Poorman CSC	Executive Vice President and Associate Professor of Theology, University of Portland, USA
Mr Kevin Prindiville	Company Director, Western Australia
Mr Peter Quinlan SC	Senior Counsel, Western Australia
Mgr Vincent Redden	Vicar for Clergy; Parish Priest, St Mark's Drummoyne, New South Wales
Mr Bill Reed	Business Manager, Broome, Western Australia
Mr Mark Scatena	General Manager Finance- Property and Store Development,Coles Victoria
HE David Scarf AM	Ambassador of the Order of Malta
Rev Dr Charles Waddell	Parish Priest, St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Parish, Claremont Western Australia
Dr Dan White	Executive Director of Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Sydney
Mr Frank Wilson	Managing Partner, Wilson & Atkinson Lawyers, Western Australia
Prof Carolyn Y Woo	President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore USA
Mr Cedric Wyatt	Indigenous leader; former CEO of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Western Australia

Faculties

The University has three campuses offering courses in the following schools:

• School of Arts and Sciences (Broome, Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Business (Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Education (Broome, Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Health Sciences (Fremantle)
• School of Law (Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Medicine (Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Nursing and Midwifery (Broome and Fremantle); School of Nursing (Sydney)
• School of Philosophy and Theology (Broome, Fremantle and Sydney)
• School of Physiotherapy (Fremantle)

Academics

Objects

The University's Objects are defined in Section 5 of its Act of Parliament:

In pursuing these objects, the University seeks to be an outstanding Australian undergraduate university, and one of the best Catholic universities in the world.

The Objects of the University are:

• the provision of university education, within a context of Catholic faith and values; and
• the provision of an excellent standard of
  • teaching, scholarship and research;
  • training for the professions; and
  • pastoral care for its students.

Catholic ethos

The University ensures that it maintains its Catholic ethos by providing students and staff with various facilities. One of the most prominent expressions of this ethos is the daily Mass at the university chapels; 12:35 at both the Fremantle and Sydney campuses. Each School takes turns to facilitate Mass on Wednesdays (such as providing lectors for the readings), and a schola cantorum compused of students, staff and faculty sing Masses on both campuses.

Quality assurance

The University undergoes quality audits every five years by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA), like all Australian higher education providers. The last audit was conducted in 2008 and it resulted in a number of commendations and recommendations. Commendations included^{[citation needed]}:

• AUQA commends Notre Dame on the multifaceted admissions process that places importance on the fit between the student and the institution.
• AUQA commends Notre Dame on the strong commitment and dedication of its academic staff generally to be excellent teachers and to provide pastoral care and support to students

Notre Dame has one of Australia's highest graduate ratings for overall student satisfaction and teaching quality^{[citation needed]}. This was also noted in the AUQA report.^{[citation needed]}

In terms of recommendations, the panel raised concerns about Notre Dame's ability to establish a research culture consistent with the Commonwealth government's requirements for universities:

"Notre Dame managers and staff emphasise that during the years of establishing Notre Dame as a private university in Australia, most of the effort went into developing and enhancing teaching and learning and the pastoral care of students. This concentrated effort throughout the institution left little opportunity to develop a research culture throughout the University so that associated scholarly activities are currently not highly visible. AUQA has identified this as an issue of potential future concern in regard to the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes."

Facilities and services

Libraries

The main library on the Fremantle campus of Notre Dame Australia is named St Teresa's. The campus also contains the more specialised Craven Law Library and Galvin Medical Library.

Located on Sydney's Broadway campus is St. Benedict's Library and on campus at Darlinghurst is the Benedict XVI medical library. The holdings in the libraries are extremely minimal.

The libraries were included in the 2008 AUQA audit mentioned above and resulted in an urgent affirmation:

• [urgent] AUQA affirms that Notre Dame increase its efforts to improve library holdings and services in the two main Libraries (St Benedict's and St Teresa's) of Notre Dame in Sydney and Fremantle.

Student support

Although Notre Dame promotes itself as a University with small class sizes, Commonwealth statistics suggest that Notre Dame has a larger number of (full-time equivalent) students per (full-time equivalent) staff member. Overall, there are around 36 students per staff member, compared with the national average of 20.

The student life office provides students and staff with a number of services including:

• Counselling
• Academic Workshops
• Study Abroad
• Pastoral Care
• Sporting Events
• Community Service

See also

• Rural Clinical School of Western Australia

External links

• The University of Notre Dame Australia Online