Australian Catholic University - Signadou Campus

Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome.

History

Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia: * Catholic College of Education Sydney, New South Wales * Institute of Catholic Education, Victoria * McAuley College, Queensland * Signadou College of Education, Australian Capital Territory These institutions had their origins in the mid-1800s, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. Through a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities and diocesan initiatives, more than 20 historical entities have contributed to the creation of the university.

Governance and structure

ACU's vice-chancellor and president, Zlatko Skrbis, is responsible for representing the university both nationally and internationally and for providing strategic leadership and management. He holds a PhD in Sociology. Deputy vice-chancellors have delegated responsibility for assigned areas of policy. These areas are academic, administration and resources, and research.

Faculties and departments

Each faculty is headed by an executive dean and supported by a number of associate deans and heads of schools.

Campuses and buildings

ACU has seven campuses across Australia: Ballarat, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney (Blacktown, North Sydney, Strathfield) with a Leadership Centre in Adelaide and another in Townsville. In 2015, the university opened the Rome Centre, a collaboration with the Catholic University of America, located in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. The Mount St Mary Campus in Strathfield is heritage listed.

Academic profile

Research and publications

HDR students have objected to a change plan introduced in September 2023 that would eliminate positions occupied by their supervisors leaving them without supervisors with the relevant expertise for their projects.

Student life

Student union

Each ACU campus has a student representative council and there is a national student body called the Australian Catholic University National Students' Association (ACUNSA), which advocates on behalf of students both individually and collectively.

Sports and athletics

The university hosts an annual national sporting event – the ACU Games – and students also compete in Australia's largest annual multisport event, the Australian University Games.

Controversies

Position on LGBT visibility

In March 2023, controversy broke out on campus when librarians were ordered to remove the rainbow flags that had been displayed across campuses. Staff and students wrote an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the university's Vice-Chancellor Zlatko Skrbis claiming that his acts were "a direct affront to ACU's mission to act in truth and love in the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person, and the common good". The university's position against LGBT visibility appeared consistent with its earlier refusal to allow the Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Association to establish an LGBT+ support group on its Strathclyde campus, but to depart from Pope Francis' increasingly affirming stance on LGBT topics.

AGS investigation

In July 2023, ACU launched an internal investigation into its contracts with Asset Group Solutions. AGS had provided security and cleaning services to ACU but its founder had been charged with corruption. Stephen Weller (Chief Operating Officer and Deputy-Vice Chancellor) had been warned in 2018 about AGS's conduct but did not act on those warnings. ACU responded by denying knowledge of AGS’s criminal activities and has launched an internal investigation.

Job cuts

In September 2023, ACU announced plans to cut 113 full-time jobs, most of which were at the Melbourne campus. This was part of spending cuts intended to reduce a forecast $30 million deficit and respond to shrinking enrollments. The cuts were announced as a $250 million campus building, which was constructed to accommodate student and staff growth, neared completion. This has produced an international response in which many academics denounced the university. Timothy Williamson, a professor of philosophy at Oxford and Yale, told reporters that ACU's meteoric rise to the pinnacle of research in philosophy was "unprecedented" but that cuts would give ACU the reputation "as a Mickey Mouse university ... damaging the good international standing of the Australian university system as a whole".

Dean of Law School Removed for Pro-Choice Writings

In January 2024, ACU removed Kate Galloway, a newly appointed Dean of the Thomas More Law School, when it was discovered that she had pro-choice views. She was paid A$1.1 million to leave her position during a time when the university was facing financial turmoil and despite a 2019 model code that requires universities to respect the academic freedom of their staff.

Notable people

Notable alumni

* Matt Burke – former international rugby union player and sport presenter * Ellie Cole – paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player * Ben Cummins – former rugby league referee * Martin Dixon – politician * Sean Eadie – retired professional track cyclist * Paul Field – musician, filmmaker and author * Sam Hibbins – politician * Kristina Keneally – politician * John Kennedy – politician * Justin Madden – former Australian rules footballer and state politician * Simon Madden – former Australian rules footballer * Melina Marchetta – writer and teacher * Paul Mellor – former professional rugby league footballer * Bronwen Neil – Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University * Deborah O'Neill – politician * Camille Agnes Becker Paul – feminist, moral theologian and activist * Muriel Porter – journalist * Liam Simmons – basketball coach and former player * Gregory D. Smithers – professor of American history at Virginia Commonwealth University * Madeleine Steere – professional water polo centre back * Anba Suriel – bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles * James Tedesco – professional rugby league footballer *

Morris West Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels ''The Devil's Advocate (West novel), The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), ''The Shoes of the Fisherman (novel), The Shoes of the Fi ...

– novelist and playwright * Alan Whiticker – non-fiction author and publisher * Guy Zangari – former politician

References

External links

* {{Coord, 27.378, S, 153.089, E, type:edu_region:AU-QLD, display=title, name=Australian Catholic University (Brisbane Campus) Universities in Queensland Universities in Brisbane Universities in Sydney Universities in Melbourne Universities in the Australian Capital Territory Catholic universities and colleges in Australia Nursing schools in Australia Art schools in Australia Universities and colleges established in 1991 Banyo, Queensland Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities 1991 establishments in Australia Municipality of Strathfield Schools in Queensland North Sydney, New South Wales Australian Catholic University people Australian Catholic University alumni