Australian National University

Coordinates: 35°16′35″S 149°07′14″E / 35.276370°S 149.120489°E / -35.276370; 149.120489

The Australian National University
Latin: Australiana Populus Universitas
Motto	Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum ("First to learn the nature of things")
Established	1946
Type	Public
Endowment	AUD$1.1023 billion (as of December 2009)[1]
Chancellor	Professor The Hon Gareth Evans AO QC
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Ian Chubb AC
Admin. staff	3,600
Undergraduates	8,100
Postgraduates	4,382
Location	Acton, ACT, Australia
Campus	Urban, 350 acres (1.4 km2)
Affiliations	Group of Eight, APRU, IARU, AURA, ASAIHL
Website	www.anu.edu.au

The Australian National University (ANU) is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia. ANU was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia on 1 August 1946 with the legislated purpose of conducting and promoting research in Australia.^[2]

ANU is a member of several university alliances and cooperative networks, including the Group of Eight, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and the International Alliance of Research Universities.

ANU includes five Nobel laureates among its staff and alumni.

Contents 1 Arms 2 History 3 Governance 3.1 Endowment 4 Campus 4.1 Acton 4.2 Other Campuses 4.3 Residential Halls and Colleges 5 Academic Structure 5.1 Colleges 6 Library System 7 Rankings 8 Notable graduates 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Arms

The ANU logo is composed of three elements: the crest, the logotype, and the name of the University. The name of the University is printed in capitalised Rotis Semi Sans. The university's coat of arms is a blue shield bearing a stylised representation of Australia beneath the stars of the Southern Cross. The motto is written on a scroll beneath the shield, Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum ("First to learn the nature of things").

[edit] History

The Australian National University was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia, introduced by the then Prime Minister Ben Chifley and the Minister for Post-war Reconstruction J.J. Dedman. The bill was passed on 1 August 1946 with support of the Opposition Leader Robert Menzies. Its provisions came into effect on 7 February 1947. ANU is the only Australian university to be established by an act of the Federal Parliament;^[3] all other Australian universities were established by State or Territory parliaments.

A group of eminent Australian scholars were involved in the infancy of ANU, such as Sir Mark Oliphant, a leader in radar development and nuclear physics; Sir Howard Florey, a co-discoverer of the benefits of penicillin; Sir Keith Hancock, an eminent historian; and H. C. Coombs, a renowned economist and public servant.^[4]

After its establishment, the University conducted research and provided postgraduate education. In 1960, the former Canberra University College, which had operated since 1930, was amalgamated into ANU as the School of General Studies to provide for the education of undergraduate students.

[edit] Governance

The governing body is a 15 member Council which governs under the Australian National University Act 1991. The Council's key responsibilities include appointing the Vice Chancellor and Principal, approving the strategic direction and annual budget, establishing operational policies and procedures, and overseeing academic and commercial activities as well as risk management. The chair of the Council is the Chancellor, Professor The Hon Gareth Evans AO QC.

[edit] Endowment

In 2009, the university had an endowment of approximately $1.1023 billion.^[1]

[edit] Campus

[edit] Acton

The university's main campus occupies most of the Canberra suburb of Acton. The campus covers 1.45 square kilometres (360 acres) adjoining native bushland, Black Mountain, Lake Burley Griffin, the suburb of Turner and the city centre. The ANU campus is divided into eight precincts, with three on the west side of Sullivans Creek; Dickson Precinct, Linnaeus Precinct, Daley Precinct; and five on the east side; Kingsley Precinct, Baldessin Precinct, Ellery Precinct, Liversidge Precinct and Garran Precinct. With over 10,000 trees on its campus, the ANU was awarded the Silver Greenhouse Challenge Award at the annual Australian Engineering Excellence Awards in 2003.

• Map of campus - clickable with key to ANU buildings

[edit] Other Campuses

The Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) is located away from the main campus in Acton, at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, near Weston Creek in south Canberra. RSAA also runs the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales. Since the destruction of Mount Stromlo's telescopes in the Canberra bushfires of 2003, this is university's only telescope site. The university also runs a coastal campus at Kioloa on the South Coast of New South Wales dedicated to field work training, and a North Australia Research Unit in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Undergraduate students on all campuses are represented by the ANU Students' Association. Postgraduate students are represented by the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association (PARSA), a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. The Australian National University Union provides representation to all students in the provision of catering and retail services as well as functions amenities.

[edit] Residential Halls and Colleges

Eight of the university's nine affiliated halls and colleges are located on campus, while Fenner Hall is located on Northbourne Avenue in the nearby suburb of Braddon. The halls and colleges are: Bruce Hall, Ursula Hall, Fenner Hall, Burgmann College, John XXIII College, Burton & Garran Hall, UniLodge Davey, UniLodge Kinloch, Toad Hall, University House and Graduate House.

Burgmann and neighbouring John XXIII College are the only remaining independent residential colleges among the Australian National University's ten halls of residence. Burgmann and John XXIII continue to administer their own admissions processes separate from the university's central clearinghouse for accommodation.

Although the University accommodation houses more than 3,700 students, the ANU suffers from chronic shortage of student accommodation, due in part to over-enrolment.^[5]

[edit] Academic Structure

ANU has seven academic Colleges, which contain a network of inter-related faculties, research schools and centres.

[edit] Colleges

The ANU is divided into seven academic Colleges. Each College is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate education as well as research in its respective field.

Faculty	Est.	Notes
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences		The ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences encompasses the field of humanities, creative arts and social sciences. It incorporates the Research School of Social Sciences, delivering education and research in the fields of history, philosophy, politics, international relations, and sociology. It also incorporates the Research School of Humanities and the Arts, including the ANU School of Music and ANU School of Art.
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific		The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific hosts education and research in a wide range of fields with a focus on Australia's geographic neighbourhood. The Crawford School of Economics and Government conducts economic and public policy research on domestic and regional issues. Through three other Schools, the College also covers strategic studies, culture, language, and regulation in the Asia-Pacific region.
ANU College of Business and Economics		The ANU College of Business and Economics (CBE) comprises various schools and centres. These are the School of Accounting and Business Information Systems (ABIS), School of Economics, School of Finance, Actuarial Studies and Applied Statistics (FASS), School of Management, Marketing and International Business (MMIB), Research School of Economics (RSE) and the Research School of Business. The centres in CBE are the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, National Centre for Information Systems Research (NCISR) and the Australian National Centre for Audit and Assurance Research.
ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science		The College comprises the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Information Engineering and the Department of Engineering.[6] The college contains The Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering (RSISE).
ANU College of Law	1960	The ANU College of Law conducts research and teaching, and engages with the community in a wide range of outreach activities such as advising government, sitting on tribunals, giving pro bono legal advice.
ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment		The ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment embraces Medical Research, Life Sciences, Psychology and Environmental Science. It cover all aspects of medicine from fundamental research to clinical practice and population health. Research is carried out in areas such as agriculture, environment, neuroscience, visual science, neuroethology, health and technology. The John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) was formed in 1948 as a result of the vision of Nobel Laureate Howard Florey and Prime Minister John Curtin. Two Nobel Prizes (John Carew Eccles in 1963 and Peter C. Doherty and Rolf M. Zinkernagel in 1996) have been won by research performed at John Curtin.
ANU College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences		The College comprises Astronomy & Astrophysics; Chemistry; Earth Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Physics; and Science Communication. The college contains the Research School of Physics and Engineering, a body which focuses primarily on research into materials science and engineering; lasers, nonlinear optics and photonics; nanotechnology and mesoscopic physics; physics of atoms, molecules and the nucleus; plasma physics and surface science; physics and the environment

[edit] Library System

The Australian National University Library is part of the ANU's Division of Information. The Australian National University Library began with the appointment of the first University Librarian, Arthur Leopold Gladstone McDonald in early 1948. The establishment of the ANU Library was deemed so important to the development of the University, that McDonald was appointed by the Interim Council before any of the professors.

Initially McDonald and several assistants were housed in Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, where they began to form the collection. At the end of 1950s the collection, which had grown to approximately 40,000 volumes, was transferred to Canberra, to be located in the Canberra Community Hospital and nearby huts. Over the course of the 1950s the collection grew steadily, and by the time of McDonald's retirement in the 1960s, the collection had grown to 150,000 volumes.

The ANU Library collection is housed in 4 main locations; the R.G. Menzies Building (Asia Pacific material), the J.B. Chifley Building (Social Sciences & Humanities material), the W.K. Hancock Building (Science material) and the Law Library in the Law School Building. Additional services are provided by 5 science branch libraries; Art Library, Chemistry Branch Library, Earth Sciences Branch Library, Eccles Medical Sciences Library, and Music Library. The ANU owns a collection of rare books, housed in a closed access collection held in the Rare Book Room in the R.G. Menzies Building.

[edit] Rankings

The following publications ranked universities worldwide.

Publications	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	Comments
Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings					16	23	16	16	16	17	20		Ranking within Australia: 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, from 2004 to 2009 respectively.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings												43	Ranking within Australia: 2 in 2010.
QS World University Rankings												20	Ranking within Australia: 1 in 2010.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities[7]					49	53	53	54	57	59	59	59	Ranking within Australia: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 from 2003 to 2010 respectively.

The University currently has the highest ranking for universities in Australia. It is also one of the highest ranked universities in Asia^[8] and the Southern Hemisphere according to several compilations, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities,^[9] the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings (the latter two were amalgamated as the THE-QS World University Rankings until 2010).^[10] The Australian National University is the second highest ranked university outside North America and Britain, after ETH Zurich.

The QS World University Rankings^[11] consistently ranks the Australian National University highly. In 2010 it was ranked first in Australasia and twentieth in the World, one below McGill University, one above King's College London. It has dropped three places since the 2009 THE-QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.^[12] and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings) where it came seventeenth globally.

[edit] Notable graduates

Academic leaders have included Professors Manning Clark, Bart Bok, Derek Freeman, and Hanna Neumann. Notable political alumni include former Prime Ministers of Australia, Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke (who did not graduate), Patricia Hewitt and Kim Edward Beazley. Alumni in other fields include Supreme Court Judge Catherine Holmes, linguist Nicholas Evans and mathematician John H. Coates.

Nobel prize winners associated with the University include Lord Howard Florey, an early academic adviser to ANU and Chancellor from 1965–1968 and Professor John Eccles awarded in 1963 for Medicine - for his pioneering work on aspects of the mammalian central nervous system. Professor Eccles was founding Professor of Physiology at The John Curtin School of Medical Research. Professor John Harsanyi received the 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on game theory, providing a new tool for economic analysis. Professor Harsanyi taught economics at ANU from 1958 to 1961, completing some of his early research on game theory while at the University. Professor Rolf Zinkernagel and Professor Peter Doherty received the 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine for their revolutionary work in immunology; Professors Doherty and Zinkernagel first met and worked together at The John Curtin School of Medical Research.

[edit] See also

• Australian National University Library
• Australian National University Student Association
• Australian National University Union
• List of Australian National University people (notable alumni and faculty)
• NICTA - National Information and Communication Technology Research Centre, co-founded by ANU
• Woroni - The ANU student newspaper
• Group of Eight (Australian universities)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Australian National University

• Australian National University
• Group of Eight

v · d · eAustralian National University Canberra, Australia Campuses Acton Campus • Kioloa Coastal Campus • Mount Stromlo Observatory • Siding Spring Observatory The Colleges ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences • ANU College of Asia and the Pacific • ANU College of Business and Economics • ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science • ANU College of Law • ANU College of Medicine and Health Science • ANU College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences The Institute of Advanced Studies Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics • Research School of Biological Sciences • Research School of Chemistry • Research School of Earth Sciences • Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering • Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies • Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering • Research School of Social Sciences • The John Curtin School of Medical Research • The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies University Centres Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy • Crawford School of Economics and Government • Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute • Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research • Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics • Centre for Cross-Cultural Research • Centre for Mental Health Research • Centre for the Public Awareness of Science • Humanities Research Centre • National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health • National Graduate School of Management • Mathematical Sciences Institute • National Europe Centre • Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies Residence Halls and Colleges Bruce Hall • Ursula Hall • Fenner Hall • Burgmann College • John XXIII College • Burton & Garran Hall • Toad Hall • University House • Graduate House

v · d · e Universities in Australia Tertiary education in Australia Australian Capital Territory Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW accredited degrees) · Australian National University · University of Canberra New South Wales Charles Sturt University · Macquarie University · University of Newcastle · University of New England · University of New South Wales · Southern Cross University · University of Sydney · University of Technology, Sydney · University of Western Sydney · University of Wollongong Northern Territory Charles Darwin University Queensland Bond University · Central Queensland University · Griffith University · James Cook University · University of Queensland · Queensland University of Technology · University of Southern Queensland · University of the Sunshine Coast South Australia University of Adelaide · University of South Australia · Flinders University · Heinz College, Australia · UCL, Australia Tasmania University of Tasmania Victoria University of Ballarat · Deakin University · La Trobe University · University of Melbourne · Monash University · Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology · Swinburne University of Technology · Victoria University Western Australia Curtin University · Edith Cowan University · Murdoch University · University of Western Australia National Australian Catholic University · University of Notre Dame, Australia Education in Australia

v · d · eGroup of Eight universities Adelaide · Australian National · Melbourne · Monash · New South Wales · Queensland · Sydney · Western Australia

v · d · eAssociation of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) China Fudan · HKUST · Nanjing · Peking · Tsinghua · Hong Kong · USTC · Zhejiang Japan Keio · Kyoto · Osaka · Tohoku · Tokyo · Waseda South Korea Seoul National (SNU) · Korea (KU) Russia Far Eastern Federal (FEFU) Canada British Columbia (UBC) Mexico Monterrey Institute of Technology  · UNAM United States Caltech · Stanford · UC Berkeley · UC Davis · UC Irvine · UCLA · UCSD · UCSB · Oregon · Southern California (USC) · Washington Australia Australian National (ANU) · Melbourne · Sydney New Zealand Auckland Chile Chile Indonesia Indonesia Malaysia Malaya Philippines Philippines (UP) Singapore NUS Taiwan National Taiwan (NTU) Thailand Chulalongkorn

v · d · eInternational Alliance of Research Universities ANU • UC Berkeley • Cambridge • Copenhagen • ETH Zurich • Oxford • Peking • NUS • Tokyo • Yale