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University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (or Adelaide University) is located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was founded in 1874, making it the third oldest university in Australia. It is a member of the "Group of Eight", an association of research intensive Australian universities. The main campus of the University is at North Terrace in the central business district of Adelaide, but it has four other campuses; Roseworthy, Waite and Thebarton, and more recently, the National Wine Centre.
As at 2004, the University of Adelaide teaches 18,690 students (comprising 13,769 undergraduates and 4,921 postgraduates) including 3,784 international students from 70 countries. It has 1,063 academic staff [1].
University of Adelaide - History
The University was established on 6 November 1874, after a 20,000 pound donation by grazier and copper miner Walter Watson Hughes. The first Chancellor was Sir Richard Hanson and the first Vice-Chancellor was Dr Augustus Short. Adelaide was the first university in Australia to admit women to academic courses and the first university in Australia to grant degrees in science.
University of Adelaide - Academia
The University is divided into five faculties, the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of the Professions and the Faculty of Sciences.
While marketable disciplines such as wine science, information studies and business studies have been given wide prominence recently, the university still has a reputation for quality basic research and teaching in mathematics, engineering and biotechnology. Some examples of 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. The Adelaide Law School is among the most highly-respected in Australia, producing the best graduates of either law school in South Australia, the other being Flinders University.
The university participates in the Auto-ID Labs.
Among the distinguished academics at the University of Adelaide is the renowned theoretical physicist Dr Rod Crewther, and the pure mathematician Mathai Varghese.
University of Adelaide - Alumni
Alumni include Dr Andy Thomas, the first Australian in space, Antarctic explorer and geologist Sir Douglas Mawson, nuclear physicist Sir Mark Oliphant, physician and anti-nuclear advocate Helen Caldicott, former president of Singapore Mr Ong Teng Cheong, the current deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Dr Tony Tan and Former Nova Scotian Minister for Sport and Recreation Dr Andrew Morris. Many Australian politicians are alumni including Natasha Stott Despoja, Christopher Pyne, Nick Bolkus, Penny Wong, Amanda Vanstone and Annette Hurley.
The university has produced four Nobel Prize-winners: x-ray pioneers Sir Lawrence and Sir William Bragg, penicillin pioneer Lord Florey and Helicobacter pylori discoverer Robin Warren in addition to 99 Rhodes Scholars.
JM Coetzee, the acclaimed South African novelist and Nobel Prizewinner for Literature in 2003, has retired to Adelaide and is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of English.
Perhaps the most well-known of the recent students of the university is Dr Azahari Husin, a Malaysian who studied Engineering. Although he failed, he later gained his doctorate elsewhere. He is the suspected bombmaker for the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Recent academic celebrities have included Paul Davies, a professor of Natural Philosophy, and Dr Nic Frost, inaugural Wood-Bright Professor of Women's Studies.
University of Adelaide - Student Organisations
Keeping with standard practice in Australia, membership of the Adelaide University Union (AUU) is compulsory for all students until the first of July, 2006 [2]. Compulsory payment of student fees at Australian universities will end in July 2006 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).
University of Adelaide - Campuses
University of Adelaide - North Terrace
The North Terrace campus is the main campus of the University. It teaches components of all teaching programmes taught by the University.
University of Adelaide - 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 Center 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 Glen Osmond 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.
University of Adelaide - Roseworthy
Located north of the city, the Roseworthy campus comprises 16 km² of farmland and is a large centre for agricultural research. Other organistations linked to the campus include SARDI and the Murray TAFE.
University of Adelaide - 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.
University of Adelaide - Residential Colleges
A number of residential colleges are affiliated with the University. They include Aquinas College, Lincoln College, St Ann's College, St Mark'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 varying degrees of academic support, social activities and sporting opportunities for its members.
University of Adelaide - External link
Other related archives1874, 1924, 6 November, Adelaide, Adelaide Law School, Adelaide University Sports Association, Adelaide University Union, Alumni, Amanda Vanstone, Annette Hurley, Antarctic, Australia, Auto-ID Labs, Azahari Husin, Christopher Pyne, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Dr Andy Thomas, Dr Rod Crewther, Flinders University, Glen Osmond, Group of Eight, Helen Caldicott, Helicobacter pylori, JM Coetzee, Jemaah Islamiyah, Lord Florey, Mathai Varghese, Natasha Stott Despoja, Nick Bolkus, Nobel Prize, Nobel Prizewinner for Literature, North Adelaide, Nova Scotian, Ong Teng Cheong, Paul Davies, Penny Wong, Peter Waite, Rhodes Scholars, Robin Warren, Roseworthy, Sir Douglas Mawson, Sir Lawrence, Sir Mark Oliphant, Sir Richard Hanson, Sir William Bragg, South African, South Australia, TAFE, agricultural research, agricultural science, biotechnology, farmland, oenology, pastoralist, plant breeding, politicians, viticulture, voluntary student unionism
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