University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide (colloquially Adelaide University or Adelaide Uni) is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia. It has produced five Nobel laureates, 101 Rhodes scholars and is a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities.

Its main campus is located on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in the city-centre alongside prominent institutions such as the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia. The university also has four other campuses throughout the state: Roseworthy College at Roseworthy; The Waite Institute at Urrbrae; Adelaide University Research Park at Thebarton; and the National Wine Centre in the Adelaide Park Lands, and a campus in Singapore.

History

Mitchell Building, University of Adelaide (with man and penny farthing bicycle) & the Mortlock Library, North Terrace, Adelaide (looking West), 1879–1886

The University of Adelaide was established on 6 November 1874 after a £20,000 donation by grazier and copper miner Walter Watson Hughes. It is the third oldest university in Australia.

The first Chancellor was Sir Richard Hanson and the first Vice-Chancellor was Dr Augustus Short. The first degree offered was the Bachelor of Arts and the University started teaching in March 1876. In 1881, the University of Adelaide was the first Australian university to admit women to science courses and its first female graduate was Edith Emily Dornwell.

The great hall of the University, Bonython Hall, was built in 1936 following a donation from the owner of The Advertiser newspaper, Sir Langdon Bonython.

Campuses

North Terrace

Mitchell Building from front, 2006.

View of eastern side of the Mitchell Building from North Terrace, 2007.

The main campus of the University forms the centre of Adelaide's main cultural precinct, North Terrace. It is bordered by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the "City East" campus of the University of South Australia, with the Adelaide University Medical and Dental Schools located in separate buildings across Frome Road, behind the grounds of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The vast majority of students and staff of the University are based at the North Terrace campus, where the majority of courses are taught and schools are based. The central administration of the University and the main library, the Barr Smith Library, are both located on this campus. While many other universities have law and business schools or satellite campuses within the central business district, the University of Adelaide is unique among sandstone Australian universities for having its main presence so close to the main business and shopping precinct.

Bonython Hall, the great hall of the University, is located on North Terrace and along with the Mitchell Building, the Elder Hall, and the Napier and Ligertwood buildings, forms the North Terrace street frontage of the campus. It is one of the many historic and heritage listed buildings located at the North Terrace campus. Others include Elder Hall, the Mitchell Building and the reading room of the Barr Smith Library.

The North Terrace campus also regularly hosts live music and cultural events, particularly on the Barr Smith Lawns, in Union Hall and in the UniBar.

Waite

The Waite campus has a strong focus on agricultural science, plant breeding and biotechnology. A number of other organisations are based on the site, including the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG). The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine is based on the Waite campus and the campus contains components of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

It is situated in Adelaide's south-eastern foothills, in the suburb of Urrbrae on 1.74 square kilometres of land. A large amount of the land was donated in 1924 by the pastoralist Peter Waite. This donation was initially used to establish the Waite Agricultural Research Institute which later became the Waite campus.

Roseworthy

Main article: Roseworthy College

Located north of the city, the Roseworthy campus comprises 16 km² of farmland and is a large centre for agricultural research. Other organisations linked to the campus include SARDI and the Murray TAFE.

Thebarton

The Thebarton campus, which is also known as Adelaide University Research Park, is the base of the University's Office of Industry Liaison. The campus works in conjunction with the University's commercial partners. Commercial enterprises at Thebarton campus include businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services. The campus also provides much of the infrastructure for the Graduate Entrepreneurial Program which allows recent graduates to start businesses with support from the University. The flames for the recent Sydney and Athens Olympic games were developed at the Thebarton campus by the TEC group.

Singapore Campus

The Singapore Campus (http://www.naaec.com.sg/), which is also Adelaide's first overseas campus, is a joint venture between two of the oldest and most respected institutions in the Asia Pacific region: the Ngee Ann Kongsi^[1] and the University of Adelaide.

The vision of the partners is to provide a high quality educational facility in Singapore combining under-graduate and post-graduate academic programs with applied executive and professional development courses taught by experienced consultants and professionals. Courses are taught at the completely renovated Teochew Building on Tank Road in the city centre. Dedicated facilities for students include multi-media equipped lecture rooms, a student computer network with Internet access, computer equipped syndicate rooms, a computer laboratory, a student lounge and private study rooms.

The Singapore Campus also serves as a platform for potential research collaboration in strategically important areas for both Australia and Singapore. Public lectures in the form of "3rd Tuesday"^[2] will also be presented by University of Adelaide professors on a regular basis. "3rd Tuesday" provides excellence opportuinities for Alumini to network with subject experts, industry leaders and catch up with old friends.

Residential colleges

The University of Adelaide, unlike most universities, did not set any land aside on its North Terrace campus for student accommodation, due mainly to an ideological opposition to the culture of live-in students.^[3] However, demand for residential college accommodation led to the establishment of private colleges affiliated to the University. St. Mark's College was founded by the Anglican Church (then called the Church of England) in 1925, Aquinas College in 1950 by the Catholic Church, Lincoln College in 1952 by the Methodist Church, and later St Ann's College, and Kathleen Lumley College. All are located within close walking distance of the University in the Adelaide suburb of North Adelaide. In addition to providing accommodation and meals for local, interstate and international students, each college organises academic support, social activities and sporting opportunities for its members.

Academia

Bonython Hall and Mitchell Building from North Tce (looking west).

The University is divided into five faculties, with various subsidiary schools:

• Faculty of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences: Australian School of Petroleum (ASP); School of Chemical Engineering; School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering; School of Computer Science; Education Centre for Innovation & Commercialisation; School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering; School of Mathematical Sciences; School of Mechanical Engineering.
• Faculty of Health Sciences: University of Adelaide School of Dentistry ; School of Medical Sciences; Medical School; School of Paediatrics & Reproductive Health; School of Population Health & Clinical Practice; School of Psychology.
• Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences: Elder Conservatorium of Music; School of History & Politics; School of Humanities; School of Social Sciences; Wilto Yerlo Centre for Australian Indigenous Research & Studies.
• Faculty of the Professions: School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design; Business School; School of Economics; School of Education; Law School.
• Faculty of Sciences: School of Agriculture, Food & Wine; School of Chemistry & Physics; School of Earth & Environmental Sciences; School of Molecular & Biomedical Science; School of Veterinary Science.

Through forward thinking strategies, the University of Adelaide has capitalised on a number of opportunities to commercialise its research. It engages in extensive contract research and collaborative work in conjunction with local and international companies, as well as Federal, State and Local Governments. This activity is managed by the University's commercial development company, Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd (ARI).

Some examples of recent influences to the University's teaching and research priorities are the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in Adelaide's northern suburbs to which the University provides many physics, engineering and IT graduates, the growth in South Australia's wine industry which is supported by the Waite and National Wine Centre campuses producing oenology and agriculture/viticulture graduates.

In addition, the university participates in the Auto-ID Labs.

Student life

Associations

Main articles: Adelaide University Union and Students' Association of the University of Adelaide

As of the first of July 2006, membership of the Adelaide University Union (AUU) has been voluntary for all students, following the passing of voluntary student unionism (VSU) legislation by the Federal Government. The AUU funds seven affiliates which carry out their functions autonomously. They are the Adelaide University Postgraduate Students’ Association (AUPGSA), the Clubs Association (CA), the Overseas Students’ Association (OSA), the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council (RACSUC), the Adelaide University Sports Association (AUSA), the Students’ Association of the University of Adelaide (SAUA) and the Waite Institute Students’ Association (WISA).

Singapore Adelaide Alumni Fund

At the 10th Anniversary dinner^[4] in Singapore, Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of Singapore’s National Research Foundation, launched the Singapore Adelaide Alumni Fund, which will provide financial assistance to undergraduate students who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents, and are studying full time at the University of Adelaide. The Ngee Ann Kongsi has generously agreed to match every dollar contributed up to SGD$250,000.

Media

Main article: On Dit

• Adelaidean
• Lumen

Sports

Main article: Sport at the University of Adelaide

Most University sport is organised by the Adelaide University Sports Association (AUSA). The Sports Association was founded in 1896 by the Adelaide University Boat, Tennis and Lacrosse Clubs. The Association is affiliated to the Adelaide University Union (AUU) and University of Adelaide. The AUSA supports 37 sporting clubs who provide a diverse range of sporting opportunities to students of the University of Adelaide (AU). The AUSA is a major stakeholder in the AU North Terrace Campus based Sports Hub fitness centre and the North Adelaide based university playing fields.

Student Enrolment

The University currently enrols in excess of 19,000 students, including 4,500 international students from more than 90 countries. Although large by comparative standards, such as when compared to North American Ivy League Schools, the University of Adelaide is Australia's second smallest Group of Eight university.

Notable people

Main article: List of University of Adelaide people

See also

• Confucius Institute
• Host of February 2007 ACELL Australasian Chemistry Enhanced Laboratory Learning event
• Adelaide Law School
• School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
• Centre for Automotive Safety Research
• Elder Conservatorium of Music
• Le Cordon Bleu Graduate Program in Gastronomy

External links

• The University of Adelaide website
• The University of Adelaide Singapore Campus
• Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd
• Confucius Institute
• Adelaide University Sports Association
• Web address for alumni and ex-students of the University of Adelaide so they can update their contact details with the Adelaide University's Development and Alumni office
• On Dit: The Adelaide University Student Newspaper
• Students' Association of the University of Adelaide
• Development and Alumni office of the University of Adelaide
• Libraries of the University of Adelaide
• Life Impact
• Adelaide University Union
• Creative Writing Programs at Adelaide University

References

Picture Gallery