University of Canberra

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University of Canberra

Motto:	Australia's Capital University
Established:	1990
Type:	Public
Chancellor:	Prof. Ingrid Moses
Vice-Chancellor:	Prof. Stephen Parker^[1]
Staff:	853
Students:	~9,000
Location:	Bruce, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Campus:	Urban 290 acres (1.2 km²) (Bruce campus)
Affiliations:	ASAIHL, New Generation Universities
Website:	www.canberra.edu.au

The University of Canberra, also known as UC, is a university located in Canberra, ACT, the capital of Australia. UC is the second largest tertiary institution in Canberra. There are approximately 9,000 students and more than 800 staff.^{[citation needed]}

1 History
2 Campus
3 Academic structure
4 Notable staff and students
- 4.1 Alumni
- 4.2 Staff
5 Foundation stone and Stone Day
6 Research centres
7 Ranking
8 Recent history
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

[edit] History

The University of Canberra was founded in 1967 as the Canberra College of Advanced Education, and was accredited as a university on January 1, 1990 following the Dawkins reforms. It was initially sponsored by Monash University until 1993.^[2] In 2008, UC is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Along the UC concourse, towards the Library.

[edit] Campus

The University of Canberra (known as 'UC') is set on 120 hectares (297 acres). Located in the suburb of Bruce, 10 minutes drive from the city centre, UC is a single campus with student residential services, teaching and library facilities all within walking distance.

[edit] Academic structure

The University teaches in many disciplines including law, journalism, information technology, advertising, health, biological sciences, forensics and design.

As of January 2008, the university's teaching functions are delivered by eight academic faculties:

[edit] Notable staff and students

[edit] Alumni

Notable alumni, include:

Wil Anderson, comedian
Simon Corbell, ACT Minister and former President, Students' Association
Scott Fava, Western Force rugby union player
George Gregan, former Captain, Australian national rugby union team
Justin Heazlewood, aka The Bedroom Philosopher, comedian/folk singer
Kelly Hoare, member of the Australian House of Representatives
Hayley Jensen, singer
John M. Powell, Director, World Food Programme^{[citation needed]}
Garth Nix, author
Wayne Sievers, former police officer, trade union official, social justice campaigner and political figure
Petria Thomas, Olympic swimmer and multiple gold medal winner ^[3]
Alan Tongue, Canberra Raiders Rugby League player
David Vernon (writer), writer
Adam Boland, producer Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and The Morning Show - Channel Seven.
Jonathan Uptin, weekday presenter of National Nine News in Darwin.
Kate Taylor, journalist and co-host breakfast program, FM 104.7 Canberra

[edit] Staff

Notable staff members have included:

Arthur Hoyle, historian
Ingrid Moses, Chancellor
Susan Ryan, one-time Labor government Minister

[edit] Foundation stone and Stone Day

Building 11, Walkway connecting the refectory with the gym.

Main article: Stonefest

At the end of the year, after classes finish but before exams, Stone Day is usually held, a music festival with local bands, which lasts several days. The day before it is known as Stone Eve. It started as a celebration held annually to mark the placing of the foundation stone by Prime Minister John Gorton on 28 October 1968. This founded the Canberra College of Advanced Education, which became the University of Canberra in 1990.

The stone is under glass, outside, near Building 1 at the University, and an inscription on it reads:

This Stone was unveiled by the right honourable J.G. Gorton, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia, on 28 October 1968, to mark the establishment of the Canberra College of Advanced Education.

Over the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded to take up a whole week in 1976. In the 1980s and 1990s Stoneweek became a popular Canberra entertainment event, which in 2000 became Stonefest.

[edit] Research centres

The university has a number of research centres relating to its areas of research strength. These are:

Institute for Applied Ecology
National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM)[1]
eWater Cooperative Research Centre
Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism
Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre
Centre for Labour Market Research
Healthpact Research Centre for Health Promotion & Wellbeing
Australian Institute for Sustainable Communities
Centre for Customs & Excise Studies
Centre for Developing Cities
Centre for Research in Public Sector Management
Centre for Tourism Research
Communication & Media Policy Institute
Corrosion & Spectrochemistry Laboratory
Human Computer Communication Laboratory
Learning Communities Research Area
Lifelong Learning Network
National Centre for Corporate Law & Policy Research
National Institute for Governance
Ngunnawal Centre
Professional Management Programs
Schools & Community Centre

[edit] Ranking

UC was one of nine universities recognised by the Australian government in 2006 for high achievement in learning and teaching ^[4]^[5]^[6]. In 2005 and 2006 rankings of the international standing of Australian universities by the Melbourne Institute, UC received 44 and ranked approximately two-thirds down the list^[7]. In 2007, UC received 41^[8].

[edit] Recent history

In May 2007, the Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker announced a review of the university's administration that was expected to result in significant job cuts.^[9]^[10] The Administrative Review was completed in March, 2008.

The Vice-Chancellor announced on 5 August, 2007, that UC had received a Workplace Productivity Programme Grant from the Federal Government to help fund improvements to systems and processes, in particular relating to student administration, academic decision-making, budget modelling and financial management. The grant is worth AUD$4.75m over the next three years. The Review of Courses and Disciplines and the Review of Academic Structure is now proceeding.