The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an

intergovernmental organisation An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...

and is owned by the governments of 12 Pacific island countries: the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, an ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. USP is an international centre for teaching and research on Pacific culture and environment, with almost 30,000 students in 2017. The university's main campus is in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, Fiji, with subsidiary campuses in each member state.

History

Discussion of a regional university for the South Pacific began in the early 1950s, when an investigation by the South Pacific Commission recommended the creation of a "central institution" for

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

in the South Pacific, with a university as a distant goal. In December 1962, the Fijian Legislative Assembly discussed establishing a university in Fiji. In 1964, New Zealand proposed the establishment of a regional teachers' training college in Suva. In 1965, the governments of Great Britain and New Zealand appointed a "Higher Education Mission to the South Pacific", chaired by Sir Charles Morris, to investigate "the future education requirements of the South Pacific area" and recommend the type of level of institutions needed. In 1966 the Mission reported back, recommending the establishment of "fully autonomous university comprehending within itself, as well as Faculties of Arts and Science, the Fiji School of Medicine, the School of Agriculture in Fiji, a College for the education and training of secondary teachers, the

Pacific Theological College The Pacific Theological College (PTC) is an ecumenical theological college located in Suva, Fiji. Established in 1965, it opened for training in 1966 and was originally designed as the only regional institution to offer degree-level education in th ...

, and, in so far its activities in the field of diploma courses are concerned, the Derrick Technical Institute". The Mission recommended that it be called the University of the South Pacific. The former

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

seaplane base at Laucala Bay in Fiji was recommended as a suitable location. A subsequent report by Norman Alexander fleshed out the proposal, and in 1967 the Fijian government passed an ordinance establishing the university's interim council. In February 1970 this was replaced with a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. The university opened on 5 February 1968, with Colin Aikman as its first vice-chancellor. Initially teaching was limited to preliminary courses, the equivalent of New Zealand's School Certificate and University Entrance. Degree teaching began in 1969, with a school of natural resources, a school of education, and a school of social and economic development offering interdisciplinary courses. The first graduation ceremony took place on 2 December 1971, with 49 students receiving degrees, diplomas and certificates. PortVilauniversity2

In the 1970s the university began establishing regional extension centres to deliver continuing education, correspondence and extramural courses. It also began to advocate for Pacific regionalism and adopt a distinct "Pacific flavour", with Vice-Chancellor James Maraj arguing that the university should become "truly a university of the peoples of the Pacific". Its students and academics played a major role in the creative writing scene in the Pacific, with literary journals such as ''Mana'', ''Faikava'' and ''Sinnet'' arising from its campuses. In 1976 it established the Institute of Pacific Studies under Professor Ron Crocombe to deepen students' awareness of Pacific identity and the region. Over the next 20 years, the institute published works by over 2,000 Pacific authors. A foundation course in Pacific studies is still included in every USP undergraduate programme. In 1977 the government of

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...

leased the South Pacific Regional College of Tropical Agriculture in Alafua to the university to establish a school of agriculture. It is now the university's Alafua campus. In 1989 it opened the Emalus campus in Vanuatu, which since 1996 has hosted the university's law school and the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. In 1991 the Republic of the Marshall Islands became the university's 12th member country. An extension campus was opened there in 1993. In 2012 the university opened a

Confucius Institute Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs of the state of China. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilita ...

at the Laucula campus in partnership with the

Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In 2017 the university supplemented its governance arrangements with the University of the South Pacific Convention, providing for the recognition of the university by its member-states. The convention came into force on 16 June 2018.

Governance

The university is governed by a council, chaired by the pro-chancellor. The council consists of the ministers of education of member states, additional representatives from Fiji, Samoa, Australia and New Zealand, staff and student representatives, and additional members co-opted by the council. The titular head of the council is the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, a position which rotates among the heads of state and heads of government of the university's members. The Governor General of the Solomon Islands, David Vunagi, has served as chancellor since 1 July 2023. An independent University Grants Committee meets every three years to advise member and donor countries on funding levels. The following people have held the role of vice-chancellor: * Colin Aikman (1968–1974) * James Maraj (1975–1982) * Frank Brosnahan (1982–1983) * Geoffrey Caston (1983–1992) * Esekia Solofa (1992–2001) * Savenaca Siwatibau (2001–2003) * Anthony Tarr (2005–2007) * Rajesh Chandra (2007–2018) * Pal Ahluwalia (2018–present)

Dispute with Fijian government

In 2019, Ahluwalia raised concerns about mismanagement and abuse of office at USP under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Rajesh Chandra. An investigation by New Zealand accounting firm BDO substantiated the allegations, and the report was subsequently leaked online. In June 2020, a special council meeting led by Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson suspended Ahluwalia for unspecified "misconduct". Staff protesting the suspension were questioned by Fijian police. On 19 June Ahluwalia was reinstated by a full meeting of the USP council, and the allegations against him were dismissed in September 2020. The Fijian government refused to accept Ahluwalia's exoneration and on 24 September 2020 halted all funding to the university. On 4 February 2021, the Fijian government summarily deported Ahluwalia for being "a person who is or has been conducting himself in a manner prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, security or good government of the Fiji Islands". In response to Fiji government interference in the regional university, Samoa has proposed moving USP's headquarters to Samoa. Following Ahluwalia's deportation, Masasso Pāunga was appointed acting vice-chancellor by the USP Council. The Council also established a subcommittee to investigate the deportation. Following Ahluwalia's deportation, Samoan Prime Minister

Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi Susuga Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi (born 14 February 1944) is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and ...

announced that Samoa would be willing to provide a new home for the university. On 25 May the university's council issued a new three-year contract to Ahluwalia and relocate the vice-chancellor's office to the Alafua Campus in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

. In August 2021 the Fijian government announced that it would not fund the university as long as Ahluwalia was vice-chancellor. Following the 2022 Fijian general election, the new government led by Sitiveni Rabuka revoked the prohibition order on Ahluwalia and reinstated funding to USP. In March 2023 former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and former police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho were charged with abuse of office for allegedly terminating the police investigation into the 2019 claims of financial mismanagement.

Protest and Strike Action 2024

In second half of 2024, the relationship between the USP Staff Association and the Vice Chancellor got bitter after Dr Osborne-Naikatini was sacked for expressing an opinion about the lack of due processes being followed for the renewal of the contract of the Vice Chancellor. This issue led to USPSA calling for removal of Vice Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia from the university and call for strike action with 95 percent majority vote to go to strike.

Rankings

The

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

ranked USP in 1001-1200th for 2024. In 2021, the university was ranked in 1001-1200th by the

. The university claimed that this translated to being ranked in the top 10% of universities in the world, leading to criticism that they were exaggerating their ranking.

Campuses

Despite its multi-campus nature, the USP is not a

university system A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. It is a single university with several branches across the Pacific Region. USP's Laucala campus in Fiji is the main campus of the University, also serving as its administrative centre. USP's main campus, called Laucala, lies on Laucala Bay in Fiji's capital of

. It also has two other satellite campuses in Fiji: Labasa and Lautoka. The Alafua campus in Samoa hosts the School of Agriculture and Food Technology. The Emalus campus in Vanuatu is the location for the School of Law. The Nuku-alofa campus in Tonga is where the Institute for Education, directed by Seu'ula Johansson-Fua is based. USP operates 11 regional centres based in Pacific islands countries. The region served by USP covers 33 million km² of the Pacific Ocean, an area more than three times the size of Europe. In contrast, the total land mass of territories served corresponds to the area of Denmark. Populations of member countries vary from Tokelau with 1,500 people to Fiji with more than 900,000 people. (The population of the region is about 1.3 million.) The following are the extension campuses of the university, aside from its campuses in Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu.

Faculties and courses

After undergoing a restructuring process in early 2021, USP is organized into eight main faculties that include the following disciplines: *''School of Accounting, Finance and Economics'' (SAFE) **

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

*''School of Business and Management'' (SBM) **

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

Hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

Management **

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

and

Public Administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

Land Management Land management is the process of managing the land use, use and development of land resources. Those resources are used for a variety of purposes for example agriculture, forestry, water resource management, Human settlement, human settlements an ...

& Development **Graduate School of Business *''School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics'' (STEMP) **

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...

Information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

& Mathematical Science *''School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences'' (SAGEONS) **

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Food Technology Food technology is a branch of food science that addresses the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of food products. It may also be understood as the science of ensuring that a society is food secure and ha ...

Biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

& Chemical Sciences **

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

and Environment **Marine Studies *''School of Law and Social Sciences'' (SoLaSS) **

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, Development & International Affairs **

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

*''School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education'' (SPACE) **

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

**Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture & Pacific Studies *''Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development'' (PACE-SD) *''Pacific TAFE'' (PTAFE) **College of Foundation Studies **College of Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET). Among many other qualifications, the Diploma of Library and Information Services (Level 5) is available at this institution, a library technician qualification which is recognised in Australia as a paraprofessional library qualification.

Notable academics and staff

* Marjorie Crocombe – author * Ron Crocombe – father of Pacific Studies * Sitiveni Halapua – politician * Epeli Hauʻofa – anthropologist/sociologist/social scientist * Elisabeth Holland – climate scientist * Brij Lal – historian * Biman Prasad – politician * Mahendra Reddy – politician * Ganesh Chand – politician * Tupeni Baba – politician * Teleiai Lalotoa Mulitalao – lawyer * Virginia Tilley – political scientist * Konai Helu Thaman – poet and educator * Albert Wendt – novelist and literary scholar * Subramani – short story writer and literary scholar

Notable alumni

USP has produced a number of graduates that have played important roles in the South Pacific region. Its alumni include Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the

, Elizabeth Iro,

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

Chief Nursing Officer, Ludwig Scotty, former

President of Nauru The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament of Nauru, Parliament from among its members, and is both the head of state and the head of government of Nauru. Nauru's unicameral Parliament has 19 members, with an electoral term of three years. ...

; Bikenibeu Paeniu, former Prime Minister of Tuvalu; ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, former

Prime Minister of Tonga The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) is the head of government of Tonga. Tonga is a monarchy with the List of monarchs of Tonga, king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state. The current p ...

; Joe Natuman, former

Prime Minister of Vanuatu The prime minister of Vanuatu is the head of government of the Vanuatu, Republic of Vanuatu. The office of prime minister was created under the Constitution of Vanuatu upon the country's independence in 1980, with independence campaigner Walt ...

; archaeologist Tarisi Vunidilo,

women's activist Alice Pollard, women's rights activist Michelle Reddy, and Tongan environmental scientist Netatua Pelesikoti.

Contemporary Pacific Art Collection

USP has a large Contemporary Pacific Art collection, including works by Rennie Peyroux, Mike Tavioni, Eruera Nia, Ian George, Kay George, Mahiriki Tangaroa, Apii Rongo, Varu Samuel, Krick Barraud, Joan Gragg, Nanette Lela’ulu, Johnny Penisula, Filipe Tohi, Sam Thomas and Dominique Crocombe.

References

External links

Sources