University of Newcastle (Australia)

Not to be confused with Newcastle University.

The University of Newcastle
Latin: Universitas Novocastrium
Motto	I look ahead
Established	1965
Type	Public
Chancellor	Professor Trevor Waring AM
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Caroline McMillen
Admin. staff	2,190 FTE (excluding Controlled Entities)
Students	30,340 (2008)
Undergraduates	23,948
Postgraduates	6,388
Location	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia 32°53′34″S 151°42′16″E / 32.89278°S 151.70444°E / -32.89278; 151.70444Coordinates: 32°53′34″S 151°42′16″E / 32.89278°S 151.70444°E / -32.89278; 151.70444
Campus	Urban
Organisations	Member of IRU Australia
Colours	Maroon and White
Website	http://www.newcastle.edu.au

The University of Newcastle (UoN) is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales. The University also has campuses in Ourimbah, Port Macquarie, Singapore and Sydney CBD.^[1]

The university has enrolled approximately 15,256 full-time students and 15,080 part-time students (including more than 23,948 undergraduates).

Historically, the University of Newcastle Medical School has implemented the Problem-based learning system for its undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine programme - a system later mandated for use by the Australian Medical Council throughout Australia. It was also the university that introduced Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) in the early 1990s. UMAT has since been accepted widely by different medical schools across Australian as an additional selection criteria.^[2]

The University of Newcastle is a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia).

History

The origins of the University of Newcastle can be traced back to the establishment of the Newcastle University College at the Newcastle Technical College site on 3 December 1951.^[3] The college was established under the authority of the then University of Technology New South Wales, which is now known as the University of New South Wales. At the time of its establishment the Newcastle University College had just five full-time students and study was restricted to engineering, mathematics and science.^[4]

The university became autonomous through the University of Newcastle Act 1964 (NSW) which constituted the university on 1 January 1965 through a Proclamation of His Excellency the Governor of New South Wales. A document known as the University’s Grant of Arms is cited as being its very own Declaration of Independence.^[3]

Each year the University’s student body celebrates autonomy day on 1 July. According to unverified sources the official autonomy of the University began on 1 January 1965 with a “symbolic ceremonial bonfire held at the site of the Great Hall”.^[3] This celebration is said to have been officiated by Professor Godfrey Tanner who is said to have poured wine libations onto the ground as to “sanctify the land upon which the University rests”.^[3] Since the university technically became autonomous on 1 January 1965 autonomy day should be held on 1 January. The 1 July actually coincided with the University of Technology New South Wales’s autonomy from the Public Service Board’s authority on 1 July 1954.^[3] According to Don Wright, students interpreted Autonomy Day as celebrating the autonomy of the University of Newcastle from the University of New South Wales. The students were entitled to give the celebration whatever meaning they chose. The fact that they called it ‘autonomy day’ heightened the students’ sense of the importance of autonomy and their need to defend it against outside interference.^[5]

In 1998, the University established a partnership with the Institut Wira, a Malaysian private business school. In 2002, Ian Firms, a lecturer, failed a large number of student papers from Wira for academic dishonesty, but his actions were reversed by the Newcastle administration and he was discharged. He then appealed to the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption, which made a finding of corruption against Dr Paul Ryder, a failure by Vice Chancellor Roger Holmes in the execution of his duty and recommended disciplining the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Brian English.^[6][7]

In 2003, The University of Newcastle, together with five other Australian universities (Macquarie, La Trobe, Flinders, Griffith and Murdoch) established Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA).

Forty years after obtaining autonomy, The University of Newcastle has developed a reputed history in their national and international university standings; ranked in the 10-14 range of the 38 universities in Australia by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and 215th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2007.^[8]

The university unveiled a new logo on 31 March 2007 as part of a brand refresh to better align the university's image with the its new strategic direction.^[9]

On 11 May 2007, the university launched its new campus at the PSB Academy's two main campuses in Singapore.^[10]

Faculties and schools

The Medical Sciences Building

The University has five faculties offering a wide range of programs. The faculties are Business and Law, Education and Arts, Engineering and the Built Environment, Health, and Science and Information Technology.

The Faculty of Business and Law contains the following schools:

• Newcastle Business School
• Newcastle Law School

The Faculty of Education and Arts contains the following schools:

• School of Drama, Fine Art and Music (incorporating the Conservatorium)
• School of Education
• School of Humanities and Social Science

Nursing Lecture Theatre near Hunter Building, Callaghan Campus (formally the Richardson Theatre)

The Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment contains the following schools:

• School of Architecture and Built Environment
• School of Engineering
• School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

The Faculty of Science and Information Technology contains the following schools:

• School of Design, Communication and Information Technology
• School of Environmental and Life Sciences
• School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
• School of Psychology

The Faculty of Health contains the following schools:

• School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
• School of Health Sciences
• School of Medicine and Public Health
• School of Nursing and Midwifery

The University also offers programs tailored to Indigenous students through the The Wollotuka Institute. Additionally, the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre provides preparatory programs for both domestic and international students wishing to be admitted to tertiary programs.

Campuses

The university has five campuses, located at Callaghan, Ourimbah, Port Macquarie, Singapore and Sydney CBD. The university also has three premises within the Newcastle city centre.

Newcastle (Callaghan campus)

The Callaghan campus is the university’s main and largest campus. It is located in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan situated approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) from Newcastle CBD. The campus is placed on 140 hectares (346 acres) of natural bushland within which the university’s numerous buildings are located.^[11] Many of the university's operations are run out of the Callaghan campus, including student administration, course and degree program planning, and the university's Teaching and Learning division. All the major faculties are based on the campus. The campus also has access to the Auchmuty and Huxley libraries. Various other facilities are available on the campus, including several sporting fields, a sports and aquatic centre, and four on-campus residential colleges (Edwards Hall, International House, Evatt House and Barahineban).^[11][12]

Central Coast (Ourimbah campus)

Ourimbah Campus is a cross-institutional campus with both the University of Newcastle, TAFE NSW - Hunter Institute, and the Central Coast Community College having a presence on campus.^[13] It is located in the Central Coast suburb of Ourimbah. The Faculties of Business and Law, Education and Arts, Science and Information Technology, and Health all have a presence on the campus. In total they provide sixteen degree programs, five of these are exclusive to the campus.^[14]

Port Macquarie campus

The University of Newcastle has a presence on the TAFE NSW - North Coast Institute Port Macquarie Campus.^[15] The university provides three degree programs at the campus, including one of the university’s enabling programs – Open Foundation.^[16]

Singapore campus

The Singapore Campus is the university's first overseas campus, which includes both the Delta Campus and the Henderson Campus of PSB Academy in the Central Region (Tiong Bahru) of Singapore. This new campus covers an area of 19,000 square metres (204,514 sq ft) behind the Tiong Bahru Plaza.

Sydney CBD campus

The University of Newcastle Sydney CBD campus provides a number of postgraduate degree programs from the Faculty of Business and Law and the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre. The campus is located in the Sydney CBD.^[17]

Newcastle city precinct

The University of Newcastle also has a presence on three sites within the Newcastle CBD. The School of Music and Conservatorium is located in the Civic Theatre precinct, the School of Law, Legal Centre, and Graduate School of Business are located in University House, and the Newcastle Institute of Public Health is located in the David Maddison Building on the site of the Royal Newcastle Hospital. University House is a landmark Art Deco sandstone building directly opposite Civic Park.

Student body and organisations

The University has a student population of just over 30,300 (including part time students) as of 2008, including 6773 international students from more than 115 countries.

The university is recognised for its commitment to equity in education and consistently enrols more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders than any other Australian university. The university has also graduated more than 60% of the nation's indigenous doctors.^[18]

Students at the Callaghan Campus of the university are represented by the Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA), UoN Services Limited (UoN Services), Newcastle University Postgraduate Student Association (NUPSA); while students at Ourimbah Campus are represented by Campus Central.

UoN Services is responsible for the social life of the university, as well as most of the commercial facilities on campus. It organises all the main entertainment events, usually performed at the University's two licensed venues, the Bar on the Hill and the Tanner Bar. Apart from student contributions (which have dropped significantly since the abolition of universal student unionism), the UoN Services generates income from the stores, restaurants and bars on the Callaghan and city campuses.

NUSA and NUPSA are primarily advocacy organisations, representing students on a variety of issues from political activism to the internal organisation of the University. NUSA also produces Opus, the University's magazine written by and for students.

Campus Central (Central Coast Campus Union Limited T/A Campus Central) is a single organisation looking after all the interests (commercial, sporting and advocacy) of students at the Ourimbah campus.

Facilities and services

Library

The University of Newcastle library consists of numerous libraries across a number of the university’s campuses. This includes The Auchmuty library, The Huxley library, The Ourimbah library and the City Precinct library. The largest of these libraries is The Auchmuty Library on the Callaghan campus which holds a significant traditional collection, including rare books and archives. In addition to The Auchmuty library, the Callaghan campus has a smaller secondary library known as The Huxley library. The Huxley library primarily supports a collection for a number of schools, including education, nursing, and fine arts. The Ourimbah library on the Central Coast campus holds a collection of both university and TAFE texts to facilitate the needs of the joint campus. An information common similar to the one located in the Auchmuty library is also available. The City Precinct library is also part of The University of Newcastle library.^[19] The whole catalogue of the library is available across any of the libraries. The library is a member of the Council of Australian University Librarians. The University library also holds New South Wales state archives that have been held by the university since 1975. The state archives reside within the University Archives and consists of a collection of approximately 600 linear shelf metres.^[20]

Sporting facilities

The university offers access to a number of sporting facilities across its campuses. The Callaghan campus has the majority of these facilities; this includes six sporting ovals,^[21] squash & tennis courts, and a sports and aquatic centre. NUsports manages these facilities through an organisation known as "The Forum".^[22] "The Forum Sports & Aquatic Centre, University" boasts an olympic-sized swimming pool, one of the highest climbing walls in the country, and various other sporting facilities.^[23] It is also the site of training for sport teams including the Newcastle Knights from National Rugby League (NRL), the Newcastle Jets from the A-League and the Hunter Hurricanes National League Water Polo team. The Forum also has a centre near the Newcastle CBD known as "The Forum, Harbourside".^[24]

Rankings and reputations

Research produced by the Melbourne Institute in 2006 ranked Australian universities across seven main discipline areas: Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, and Science. For each discipline, University of Newcastle was ranked^[25]:

Discipline	R 1	No.	R 2	No.
Arts & Humanities	15	38	14	38
Business & Economics	20	39	26	38
Education	15	35	17	32
Engineering	8	28	7	28
Law	20	29	22	28
Medicine	10	14	10	13
Science	16	38	14	35

• R1 refers to Australian and overseas Academics' rankings in tables 3.1 - 3.7 of the report.
• R2 refers to the Articles and Research rankings in tables 5.1 - 5.7 of the report.
• No. refers to the total number of institutions in the table against which University of Newcastle is compared.

Notable alumni

• David Berthold, Australian theatre director.
• John Bell, Founder of Bell Shakespeare Company.
• Jonathan Biggins, Australian actor, singer, writer and comedian.
• Paul A. Broad, CEO of Infrastructure NSW
• John Doyle, Australian actor, broadcaster and comedian, better known as Rampaging Roy Slaven, one half of broadcasting duo Roy and HG with Greig Pickhaver.
• Professor Sandra Eades, Australia's first Aboriginal medical practitioner and researcher to be awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy, and NSW Woman of the Year for 2006.^[26]
• Pete Gray, Australian environmental activist.
• John Hughes (writer) Sydney-based Australian writer and teacher.
• Cheryl Kernot, former Australian Democrats leader and Australian Labor Party MP.
• Kevin Lindgren, Australian Federal Court Judge.^[27]
• Gary Quinlan, Australian Ambassador to the United Nations.^[28]
• Mikey Robins, Australian comedian and television personality.
• Madhav Dahal, Vice president of technology, YAVA technologies, Canada
• Tony Vinson, Australian academic.
• Janeen Webb, author and critic.
• Khaw Boon Wan, cabinet minister in Singapore.
• Steve Abbott, Australian actor and comedian, better known as his comedic character, The Sandman.
• Juan Carlos Eugene Soler, Architect, 2009 grand winner of International Glass Architectural Design Competition in Tokyo, Japan.

References

1. ^ "Locations". The University of Newcastle. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/location. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
2. ^ "UMAT: A Validity Study". Australian Council for Educational Research. http://umat.acer.edu.au/documents/UVSExecutive%20Summary.pdf. Retrieved 27 December 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Grant of Arms – The University of Newcastle’s Declaration of Independence". Archives Outside. NSW Government. http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/grant-of-arms-the-university-of-newcastles-declaration-of-independence. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
4. ^ "History". The University of Newcastle. http://newcastle.edu.au/about/history.html. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
5. ^ Looking back, a history of the University of Newcastle, Don Wright, 1992):113
6. ^ "Report on investigation into the University of Newcastle’s handling of plagiarism allegations" (PDF). Independent Commission Against Corruption. June 2005. http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/documents/doc_download/3361-report-on-investigation-into-the-university-of-newcastles-handling-of-plagiarism-allegations-operation-orion-30-june-2005. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
7. ^ David Cohen (14 October 2005). "A Tarnished Reputation". The Chronicle of Higher Education. p. 52(8) A39. http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i08/08a03901.htm. (subscription required)
8. ^ "University of Newcastle". TopUniversities.com. http://www.topuniversities.com/schools/data/school_profile/default/universitynewcastle. Retrieved 17 January 2010. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "About our new brand". The University of Newcastle. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/mpr/branding. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
10. ^ "The University of Newcastle, Singapore". The University of Newcastle. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/location/singapore. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Callaghan About the campus". The University of Newcastle. http://newcastle.edu.au/location/newcastle/callaghan.html. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
12. ^ "Houses / On-Campus Accommodation / Accommodation / Services & Facilities / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://newcastle.edu.au/service/accommodation/on-campus/houses/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "Central Coast / Locations / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://newcastle.edu.au/location/central-coast/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
14. ^ "Central Coast Campus". The University of Newcastle. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/What%20Can%20I%20Study/Brochures/2010-UoN-central-coast-prospectus.pdf. Retrieved 17 January 2010. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ "Port Macquarie / Locations / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://newcastle.edu.au/location/port-macquarie/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
16. ^ "Degree Programs / Port Macquarie / Locations / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://newcastle.edu.au/location/port-macquarie/degree-programs.html. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
17. ^ "Sydney CBD / Locations / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://newcastle.edu.au/location/sydney-cbd/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
18. ^ The Medical Journal of Australia
19. ^ "About the Library / Library / University Services / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. 24 February 2009. http://newcastle.edu.au/service/library/about/index.html. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
20. ^ "Archives Outside » University of Newcastle Library". Archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au. 12 June 2009. http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/regional-repositories/university-of-newcastle-library/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
21. ^ "Home". The Forum. http://www.theforum.org.au/page3237/Ovals.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
22. ^ "Home". The Forum. http://www.theforum.org.au/page1915/Our-Profile.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2010. ^{[dead link]}
23. ^ "Home". The Forum. http://www.theforum.org.au/page3233/The-Forum-University.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
24. ^ "Home". The Forum. http://www.theforum.org.au/page1918/The-Forum-Harbourside.aspx. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
25. ^ "Melbourne Institute Rankings" (PDF). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928095310/http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/publications/reports/dr_aus_uni/Paper_Rating.pdf. Retrieved 17 October 2007. 
26. ^ "Newcastle Graduate Named As NSW Woman of the Year / Current news / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2006/03/womanofyear.html. Retrieved 28 July 2010. ^{[dead link]}
27. ^ "The Hon. Justice Kevin Edmund LINDGREN". Fedcourt.gov.au. http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/aboutct/lindgren.html. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
28. ^ "University Alumnus appointed UN Ambassador / Current news / The University of Newcastle, Australia". Newcastle.edu.au. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2009/02/universityalumnusappointedunambassador.html. Retrieved 28 July 2010. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• The University of Newcastle
• NUSA - Newcastle University Students' Association
• NUPSA - Newcastle University Postgraduate Student Association