University of New England, Australia

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The University of New England
Motto: Ex sapientia modus (Latin: "Out Of Wisdom Comes Moderation")
Established: 1954
Type: Public
Chancellor: John Cassidy
Vice-Chancellor: Alan Pettigrew
Staff: 1,332
Undergraduates: 13,463
Postgraduates: 4,433
Location: Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
Campus: Rural
Website: http://www.une.edu.au/

The University of New England (UNE) is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales.

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[edit] History

The university was originally formed in 1938 as the New England University College, a College of the University of Sydney. It became fully independent in 1954, and was the first Australian university established away from a capital city.

Since 1955, teaching off-campus students by distance education has been an important part of the University's activities. With more than 14,000 external students, it is one of Australia's major providers of awards to off-campus students. Approximately 4000 students study on-campus within historical buildings that were donated to the university on its establishment.

[This article completely omits any mention of the history of the University of New England as a network of colleges in various locations in the 1989-94 time frame. See the article on the Southern Cross University.]

In July 2006, the Commonwealth Prime Minister John Howard announced that a medical school would be established at the University of New England, Australia, in response to a well-known shortage of physicians in rural areas. The program will be run in conjunction with the University of Newcastle, Australia, and it will be designed to train medical practitioners who will commit to careers in mostly rural areas. Sixty new medical students will begin studying at the University of New England, Australia, each academic year.

[edit] Characteristics

The University of New England is a research and teaching university with prominent courses such as law and medicine on offer. Its law school is one of the largest law schools in Australia and is the largest law school outside of a capital city.

In research, among many areas, it is particularly active in agricultural science, economics, linguistics and archaeology. The university averages approximately 500 PhD candidates at a given time.

[edit] Campus

An aerial view of part of UNE’s Armidale campus, showing the historic Boolominbah building.
An aerial view of part of UNE’s Armidale campus, showing the historic Boolominbah building.

The main campus is home to some historic buildings. The old stately homestead Booloominbah and the Vice-Chancellor's residence Trevenna were both designed by architect John Horbury Hunt. As a campus, it enjoys the magnificence that comes with a majestic New England atmosphere with extensive foliage that is impressive during the Autumn fall.

[edit] Research

The university engages in projects with the CSIRO and high profile Cooperative Research Centres. The university attracts approximately $3.0 million in funding each year for its research programs.

A recent notable archaeological advance occurred in October 2004. Two university academics - Professors Mike Morwood and Peter Brown - were key players in the discovery of Homo floresiensis, a new hominid species from Flores, Indonesia.

[edit] Faculties and Schools

The research and teaching staff of the University of New England, Australia, is divided into two faculties, which are in turn divided into a number of multi-disciplinary schools. As of 2005, each faculty is headed by an Executive Dean. The faculties and schools are as follows:

  • Faculty of Arts and Sciences
    • School of Arts
    • School of Behavioral, Cognitive and Social Sciences
    • School of Humanities
    • School of Environmental and Rural Science
    • School of Science and Technology
  • Faculty of the Professions
    • School of Business, Economics and Public Policy
    • School of Law
    • School of Education
    • School of Health
    • School of Rural Medicine

[edit] Residential colleges

[edit] Administration

[edit] Chancellors

[edit] Vice-Chancellors

  • Sir Robert Madgwick (1954-1966)
  • Sir Zelman Cowen (1966-1970)
  • Alec Lazenby (1970-1977)
  • Ronald Gates (1977-1985)
  • Professor Lawrence W Nicol (1985-1988)
  • Professor Don McNicol (1988-1990)
  • Professor Robert HT Smith (1990-1994)
  • Professor Bruce Thom (1994-1996)
  • Professor Ingrid Moses (1997-2006)
  • Professor Alan Pettigrew (2006-present)

[edit] Alumni


[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Universities in Australia