University of Sydney

The University of Sydney

File:SydneyUniversityCrest.png
Motto	Sidere mens eadem mutato Latin: "The stars change, [but] the mind [remains] the same"
Type	Public
Established	1850
Endowment	AUD $1052 million
Chancellor	Justice Kim Santow
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Gavin Brown
Undergraduates	31,357 (as of 2005)
Postgraduates	14,609 (as of 2005)
Location	Sydney , NSW , Australia 33°53′16″S 151°11′14″E
Campus	Urban, parks
Affiliations	Member of Group of Eight, APRU
Website	www.usyd.edu.au

The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" Australian universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance; it is one of the country's largest and most prestigious educational institutions. In 2005, the University of Sydney had 45,966 students and 2,300 (full-time equivalent) academic staff making it the second largest in Australia.

The University of Sydney continues to rise in global rankings, confirming its place within the top 40 universities in the world. The UK’s Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings published in October 2006 ranked the University fifth best in the world for the arts and humanities, nineteenth for the social sciences and twentieth for biomedicine. The University as a whole was ranked 35th in the world in that same publication's league table, ranking third among Australian universities. In the Newsweek global 100 for 2006, the University of Sydney (together with the Australian National University) was one of two Australian universities placed in the top 50 in the world.

Centred on the Oxbridge-inspired grounds of the University's Main Campus on the south-western outskirts of Sydney's CBD, the University has a number of campuses as a result of mergers over the past 20 years. The University of Sydney is a member of the Group of Eight, Academic Consortium 21, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and the Worldwide Universities Network.

History

The Main Quadrangle

During 1848, William Wentworth proposed a plan to expand the existing Sydney College into a university in the Legislative Council. Wentworth argued that a state university was imperative for the growth of a society aspiring towards self-government, and that it would provide the opportunity for 'the child of every class, to become great and useful in the destinies of his country'. It would take two attempts on Wentworth's behalf however, before the plan was finally adopted.

The University was established via the passage of the University of Sydney Act, which was signed on October 1 1850. Two years later, the University was inaugurated on October 11, 1852 in the Big Schoolroom of what is now Sydney Grammar School. On February 27, 1858, the University received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, giving degrees conferred by the University equal rank and recognition as those given by universities in the UK . By 1859, the university had moved to its current site in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown.

In 1858, the passage of the Electoral Act provided for the university to become a constituency for the Legislative Assembly as soon as there were 100 graduates with higher degrees. This seat in Parliament was first filled in 1876, but was abolished in 1880 one year after its second Member, Edmund Barton, was elected to the Legislative Assembly.

Eastern Avenue on main campus

Campuses

The University has a number of campuses and has continued to expand over the years. Until recently, the University also operated the Museum of Contemporary Art.

As of 2005, the campuses are:

Camperdown/Darlington (main) campus

Clock Tower on the eastern side of the main quadrangle

Originally housed in what is now Sydney Grammar School, in 1855, the government granted the university land in Grose Farm, three kilometres from the city, which is now the main Camperdown campus. The architect Edmund Blacket designed the original Neogothic sandstone Quadrangle and Great Tower buildings, which were completed in 1862. The rapid expansion of the university in the mid-20th century resulted in the acquisition of land in Darlington across City Road. The Camperdown/Darlington campus houses the headquarters of the University, and the Faculties of Arts, Science, Education and Social Work, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Economics and Business, Architecture, and Engineering. It is also the home base of the large Faculty of Medicine, which has numerous affiliated teaching hospitals across the State.

The main campus is also the focus of student life at campus, with the student-run University of Sydney Union (often known simply as the Union) in possession of three buildings on-site - Wentworth, Manning and Holme Buildings. These buildings house a large proportion of the university's catering outlets, and provide space for gaming rooms, bars and function centres. One of the largest activities organised by the Union is the Orientation Week (or 'O-week'), centering on stalls set up by clubs and societies on the Front Lawns.

The University is currently undertaking a large capital works program (entitled "Campus 2010"), which will see the amalgamation of the smaller science and technical libraries into a larger library, and the construction of a central administration and student services building along City Road. A new building for the School of Information Technologies is under construction, as is the new home for the Sydney Law School alongside Fisher Library (on the site of the old Edgeworth David and Stephen Roberts buildings). The busy Eastern Avenue thoroughfare will be transformed into a pedestrian plaza, while a new footbridge will be built over City Road.

The new School of IT

Mallett Street campus

The Mallett Street campus is home of the Faculty of Nursing. As of 2005, the Faculty no longer offers undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing programs. A new Master of Nursing program (M.N) has been introduced, with its first intake of students in 2006. Other hybrid programs such as the Bachelor of Arts/Master of Nursing, Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing, Bachelor of Applied Science/Master of Nursing, Bachelor of Sports and Exercise Science/Master of Nursing have also been introduced.

Cumberland campus

Formerly an independent institution (the Cumberland College of Health Sciences), the Cumberland campus in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe was incorporated into the University as part of the higher education reforms of the late 1980s. It is home to the Faculty of Health Sciences, which covers various allied health disciplines, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, radiation therapy, occupational therapy, as well as exercise science and health information management.

Surry Hills campus

The Sydney Dental Hospital at Surry Hills houses the University's Dental School and Dentistry library. Situated between Chalmers Street and Elizabeth Street, it is adjacent to the eastern entrance to Central Station.

Sydney Law School

Main article: Sydney Law School

Near St. James Railway Station in the centre of Sydney's business and legal district, the Sydney Law School is located across the road from the Supreme Court of New South Wales building. In 2009, the Faculty of Law will move to the main campus following the completion of the new law building on Eastern Avenue.

Sydney Law School, located in Sydney's CBD

Sydney College of the Arts

Main article: Sydney College of the Arts

The Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) is based in a former sanitorium in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle, overlooking Sydney Harbour. The college specialises in the fine (visual) arts.

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Main article: Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Formerly the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) is located on the edge of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, a short distance from the Sydney Opera House. It became a faculty of the University in the 1990s, and as of 2005 incorporates the main campus Department of Music, which was the subject of the documentary Facing the Music.

Demolition of the Edgeworth David building to make way for the new Faculty of Law building

Orange Agricultural College

Located at Orange in rural NSW, the Orange Agricultural College joined in 1994. Orange campus was principally the domain of the former Faculty of Rural Management; however other undergraduate courses from the Faculties of Arts, Science, Nursing and Pharmacy were also taught at Orange.

The Orange Campus and the Faculty of Rural Management were transferred to Charles Sturt University in 2005 amid objections from the staff and students of at the University of Sydney.

Camden campus

Located on Sydney's southwest rural fringe, the Camden campus houses research farms for agriculture and veterinary science.

Narrabri Plant Research Centre

The Narrabri Plant Research Centre is located at Narrabri, near the Queensland border.

The Dawkins Reforms: Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989

Under the terms of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989 (NSW), the following bodies were incorporated into the University of Sydney in 1990:

• the Sydney Branch of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music
• the Cumberland College of Health Sciences
• the Sydney College of the Arts of the Institute of the Arts
• the Sydney Institute of Education of the Sydney College of Advanced Education
• the Institute of Nursing Studies of the Sydney College of Advanced Education
• the Guild Centre of the Sydney College of Advanced Education.

The Orange Agricultural College (OAC) was originally transferred to the University of New England under the Act, but then transferred to the University of Sydney in 1994, as part of the reforms to the University of New England undertaken by the University of New England Act 1993 and the Southern Cross University Act 1993. In January 2005, the University of Sydney transferred the OAC to Charles Sturt University.

The New England University College was founded as part of the University of Sydney in 1938, and separated to become the University of New England in 1954.

• 
  Sources of income for the University, 1900-2003
• 
  Enrolments at the University of Sydney
• 
  Proportion of enrolments by faculty, 1900-2005

Funding

Latest figures show that the University of Sydney has been confirmed as Australia’s leading research university in terms of funding. Sydney researchers have been awarded more than $49 million by the Australian Research Council for 120 research projects commencing in 2007, the largest amount awarded to any university in Australia. Of that total, Sydney has received $40.5 million for 97 new Discovery Grants commencing in 2007, $5.4 million more than its nearest national competitor.

The University of Sydney secured more than $46 million in funding in the 2007 round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant, Capacity Building and Fellowship awards, the largest allocation to any university in the state. Five of the University's affiliated medical research facilities secured $38 million in the Australian government’s 2006 budget, part of $163 million made available for a variety of development and expansion projects.

Colleges and faculties

The University is comprised of seventeen faculties, which have been grouped into three colleges :

• College of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Dentistry
  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Faculty of Pharmacy
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Arts
  • Faculty of Economics and Business
  • Faculty of Education and Social Work
  • Graduate School of Government
  • Faculty of Law
  • Sydney College of the Arts
  • Sydney Conservatorium of Music
• College of Sciences and Technology
  • Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Faculty of Architecture
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Veterinary Science

University of Sydney Library

Fisher Library, the main building of the University of Sydney Library.

Main article: University of Sydney Library

The University of Sydney Library consists of numerous individual libraries across its many campuses. Fisher Library was named after an early benefactor. The University library is the largest in the southern hemisphere, with a collection of more than 5.1 million items. It possesses many rare items such as one of the two extant copies of the Gospel of Barnabas, and a first edition of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton.

Museums and galleries

Nicholson Museum

Main article: Nicholson Museum

Nicholson Museum of Antiquities contains the largest and most prestigious collection of antiquities in Australia. It is also the country's oldest university museum, and features ancient artefacts from Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Rome, Cyprus and Mesopotamia, collected by the University over many years and added to by recent archaeological expeditions.

Macleay Museum

Main article: Macleay Museum

The Macleay Museum is named after Alexander Macleay, whose collection of insects begun in the late eighteenth century was the basis upon which the museum was founded. It has developed into an extraordinary collection of natural history specimens, ethnographic artifacts, scientific instruments and historic photographs.

University Art Collection

The University Art Collection was founded in the 1860s and contains more than 2500 pieces, constantly growing through donation, bequests, and acquisition. It is housed in several different places, including the Sir Hermann Black Gallery and the War Memorial Art Gallery.

Rare Books Library

The Rare Books Library is a part of the Fisher Library and holds 185,000 books and manuscripts which are rare, valuable or fragile, including eighty medieval manuscripts, works by Galileo, Halley and Copernicus and an extensive collection of Australiana. The copy of the Gospel of Barnabas, and a first edition of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton are held here. Regular exhibitions of rare books are held in the exhibition room.

Residential colleges

• St Andrew's
• St John's
• St Paul's
• Sancta Sophia
• Wesley
• The Women's College
• Mandelbaum House
• International House, University of Sydney

In 2003, the University completed the Sydney University Village (SUV), consisting of studio and apartment accommodation operated by a private company on behalf of the university.

There is also a university-affiliated housing cooperative, Stucco.

Student organisations, clubs and activities

Politically and academically, undergraduate students are represented by the Students Representative Council (SRC) and postgraduate students by the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA) [1].

Orientation Week at the University of Sydney is organised by the Union.

The University of Sydney Union provides student services and amenities and supports the university's strong debating, dramatic, and cultural traditions, through over a hundred clubs and societies. Unofficially, the University of Sydney ranks third in the world in debating behind Oxford and Cambridge[2]. The Labor Club is the oldest political campus club in Australia. Honi Soit, run by the SRC, is the only remaining weekly student newspaper in Australia.

Sydney University Sport [3] provides sport and recreation facilities and supports over 40 sporting clubs.

The future of these organisations is under a shadow with the passage of legislation implementing voluntary student unionism in late 2005. Such legislation will prohibit the compulsory collection of fees from students who enrol for the first time in the second semester of 2006 and all students from the beginning of 2007.

Sports

Sydney University Football Club, founded in 1863, is the oldest rugby union club in Australia. The club was a member of the inaugural Sydney club competition in 1874. The club currently competes in the NSWRU competition and in 2005 claimed the Tooheys New Cup, senior and colts club championships and were runners up in the Shute Shield.

In women's basketball, the Sydney Uni Flames compete in the WNBL. The men's and women's water polo clubs also compete in their national leagues, with the men's team winning the title in 2005.

The cricket club, founded in 1864, has competed in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition since its inception. The University fielded a rugby league team in the New South Wales Rugby League's Sydney premiership from 1920 to 1937. It currently competes in the NSW Tertiary Student Rugby League competition.

In netball, the Sydney Sandpipers were based at the university until they left the Commonwealth Bank Cup, and the university now fields a team in the NSW state league.

The Sydney University Soccer Football Club [4] was founded in 1946. The club fields elite teams for men and women in the Soccer NSW Super League. The club also fields all age men's teams in the Eastern Suburbs Soccer Football Association and all age women's teams in the North West Sydney Women's Soccer Association. They also have a number of junior girls team and an over 35 men's team.

The Australian rules football club has teams in the Sydney AFL and the women's SWAFL competitions.

The Sydney University Cheerleaders are 2006 New South Wales State Champions.

Recent disputes

In 2001, University of Sydney Chancellor Dame Leonie Kramer was forced to resign by the University’s governing body. In 2003, Nick Greiner, a former Premier of NSW, resigned from his position as Chairman of the University's Graduate School of Management because of academic protests against his simultaneous chairmanship of British American Tobacco (Australia). Subsequently, his wife, Kathryn Greiner, resigned in protest from the two positions she held at the University as Chairwoman of the Sydney Peace Foundation and a member of the executive council of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific. In 2005, the Public Service Association of NSW and the Community and Public Sector Union were in dispute with the University over a proposal to privatise security at the main campus (and the Cumberland campus.)

Threats against students

The University of Sydney has been prepared to threaten medical students with litigation, and un enrolment pursuant to threats made by the federal government to have students un enrolled who leave a federal bonding scheme without penalty. These threats came to light when the former Dean of Medicine, Professor Andrew Coats provided a HECS medical student with the letter containing the threat from the federal government. That University acquiesced to the federal government threats and un rolled the student who was then threatened by their teaching hospital Royal Prince Alfred (Sydney) with criminal allegations of trespass and assault if that student attempted to complete their Medical degree. This information was also offically obatined by exercise of an Freedom of Information (FOI) request under New South Wales State Law.

See also

• Host of February 2006 ACELL Australasian Chemistry Enhanced Laboratory Learning event
• Great Hall of the University of Sydney
• Honi Soit
• List of University of Sydney staff and alumni
• Frontiers of Science (1962–87)
• Power Institute of Fine Arts

References

• Williams, Bruce. Liberal education and useful knowledge: a brief history of the University of Sydney, 1850–2000, Chancellor's Committee, University of Sydney, 2002. ISBN 1-86487-439-2

External links

• University of Sydney website
• Map of the Main Campus
• Satellite image of the Main Campus, on Google Maps
• University of Sydney Library
• University of Sydney Union
• Sydney Uni Sport
• University of Sydney Act PDF (1989, current revision)
• National Archives of Australia
• World Debate Website Team Ranking by total Points won at Worlds (Unofficial)