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Public university in Adelaide, South Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. The main campus is in Bedford Park, about 12 km (7.5 mi) south of the Adelaide city centre. Other campuses include Tonsley, Adelaide central business district, Renmark, Alice Springs, and Darwin.
| |
Former name | The Flinders University of South Australia[1] (1966–1991) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | 1 July 1966 |
| Accreditation | TEQSA[2] |
Academic affiliation | Innovative Research Universities (IRU) |
| Budget | A$614.24 million (2023)[3] |
| Chancellor | John Hood[4] |
| Vice-Chancellor | Colin J Stirling[5] |
Academic staff | 957 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
Administrative staff | 1,232 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
Total staff | 2,189 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
| Students | 25,921 (2023)[3] |
| Address | Sturt Road , , , 5042 , Australia[6] |
| Campus | Suburban, parkland, and regional, 156 hectares (1.6 km2) (Bedford Park campus)[citation needed] |
| Named after | Matthew Flinders[7] |
| Colours | Gold Midnight |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Website | flinders.edu.au |
 | |
Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the Australian and South Australian coastline in the early 19th century. In 2022 there were 25,247 students enrolled at the university.
By the late 1950s, the University of Adelaide's North Terrace campus was approaching capacity. In 1960, Premier Thomas Playford announced that 150 hectares (370 acres) of state government-owned land in Burbank (now Bedford Park) would be allocated to the University of Adelaide for the establishment of a second campus.[8]
Planning began in 1961. The principal-designate of the new campus, economist and professor Peter Karmel, was adamant that the new campus should operate independently from the North Terrace campus. He hoped that the Bedford Park campus would be free to innovate and not be bound by tradition.[8]
Capital works began in 1962 with a grant of £3.8 million from the Australian Universities Commission. Architect Geoff Harrison, in conjunction with architectural firm Hassell, McConnell and Partners, designed a new university that, with future expansions, could eventually accommodate up to 6000 students.[8]
In 1965, the Australian Labor Party won the state election and Frank Walsh became premier. The ALP wished to break up the University of Adelaide's hegemony over tertiary education in the state, and announced that they intended the Bedford Park campus to be an independent institution.[8]
On 17 March 1966, a bill was passed by state parliament officially creating The Flinders University of South Australia.[9][10] Although the Labor Party had favoured the name "University of South Australia", academic staff wished that the university be named after a "distinguished but uncontroversial" person. They settled upon British navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in 1802. Its original coat of arms, designed by a professor in the Fine Arts faculty, included a reproduction of Flinders' ship Investigator and his journal A Voyage to Terra Australis, open to the page in which Flinders described the coast adjacent the campus site.[8]
Flinders University was opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 25 March 1966.[9]
Originally created as an extension of the University of Adelaide, the university council resolved in August 1965 that it would become a separate, independent institution, functioning under its own council from 1 July 1966. Peter Karmel was the first Vice-Chancellor, and teaching at "the University of Adelaide at Bedford Park" began in 1966 with 400 students.[11]
A significant early initiative was the decision to build the Flinders Medical Centre on land adjacent to the campus and to base the university's Medical School within this new public hospital – the first such integration in Australia. Flinders accepted undergraduate medical students in 1974, with the FMC opening the following year.[9]
In 1990, the biggest building project on campus since the mid-1970s saw work commence on three new buildings – Law and Commerce; Engineering; and Information Science and Technology. Approval for the establishment of a School of Engineering was given in 1991 and degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering,[12] and Biomedical Engineering[13] were established shortly afterwards.
In 1991, as part of a restructuring of higher education in South Australia, Flinders merged with the adjacent Sturt Campus of the former South Australian College of Advanced Education.[14]
In 1992 a four-faculty structure was adopted.
In 1998, the Centre for Remote Health, a rural teaching hospital based in Alice Springs, was established jointly with the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University). This was expanded further in 2011 with the establishment of the Northern Territory Medical Program.[15]
Since 2000 the university has established new disciplines in areas including Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and more disciplines of Engineering.[16][17]
In 2011, the bacteria genus Flindersiella was named after the university after the strain was found on a tree on campus grounds.[18]
In 2015, the university opened a new campus at Tonsley,[19] the former site of the Mitsubishi Motors Australia plant in Southern Adelaide. This campus houses the university's School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics,[20] along with the Medical Device Research Institute,[21] the Centre for Nanoscale Science and Technology (now known as the Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology)[22] and Flinders technology start-up company Re-Timer.[23]
In 2016, the university celebrated its 50th anniversary with a calendar of public events,[24] and a publication[25] summarising the highlights of the university's history, research, and alumni achievements over the last 50 years.[26] 2016 also saw the opening of the award-winning student hub and plaza, transforming the central campus.[27]
The university's strategic plan Making a Difference - The 2025 Agenda released in 2016 set an ambitious vision for the coming decade for Flinders to reach the top ten of Australian Universities, and the top one per cent in the world.[28]
On 1 July 2017, the university restructured from a two-tier academic system of four faculties and 14 schools, to a single-tier structure consisting of six colleges.[29]
In 2019 the university announced an additional $100 million investment in research and a further $100 million in education over a five-year period to support it to meet its strategic goals.[30]
The university also in 2019 announced plans for a substantial development on a tract on land on the northern portion of the Bedford Park Campus adjacent to the Flinders hospitals precinct. Known as Flinders Village the decade-long development will deliver research facilities, student accommodation, commercial premises and amenities.[31] The catalyst for the initiative was the extension of the Clovelly Park rail line to the Flinders precinct. The $141m rail line and Flinders Station project began operation in December 2020.[32][33] Stage one of the Flinders Village development is the construction of a Health and Medical Research Building. Construction began in December 2021 and the building, which will be home to Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, is scheduled for completion in 2024.[34]
In 2021 the university announced it would be expanding its Central Business District presence, establishing a vertical campus as the anchor tenant in Festival Tower, a major development scheduled for completion in 2024 adjacent to Parliament House and the Adelaide Railway Station on North Terrace.[35]
In 2022, the newly elected state Labor government led by Peter Malinauskas proposed setting up a commission to investigate the possibility of a merger of South Australia's three public universities: the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide, and Flinders.[36] The University of Adelaide and University of South Australia indicated their intention to merge. Flinders University chose to remain an independent entity.[37]
The responsibilities of the university council are set out in the Flinders University Act, and include:[38]
The chief executive consists of the president and vice-chancellor, who is supported by the senior executive team. The senior executive team includes the vice-president and executive dean of each of the six colleges.[39] As of August 2024[update] the vice-chancellor is Colin J Stirling.[40]
The chancellor is John Hood, a chartered accountant and alumnus of the university, who has served two terms on the council (since 2004).[41]
There are six colleges, covering teaching and research expertise in various areas:[39]
The College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is subdivided into three areas:[42]
In 2022 the university's budget was A$516.79 million.[49] It had 907 full-time academic and 1,147 administrative members of staff (total 2,054).[50]
Flinders' main campus at Bedford Park in Adelaide's southern suburbs is set upon 156 acres (63 ha) of gardens and native bushland,[citation needed] about 12 km (7.5 mi) south of the Adelaide city centre.[51] Other campuses include Tonsley,[52] Adelaide central business district, Renmark, Alice Springs, and Darwin.[citation needed]
The city campus is on North Terrace,[53][54] in the centre of the city.[55] It also maintains a number of external teaching facilities in regional South Australia, south-west Victoria and the Northern Territory. As of 2020 international students made up 19.5% of the on-campus student population[56] and a number of offshore programmes are also offered, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
The university website acknowledges that its campuses cover land traditionally associated with a number of Aboriginal Australian peoples, including Arrernte, Dagoman, Jawoyn, Kaurna, Larrakia Ngadjuri, Ngarrindjeri, Ramindjeri, and Warumungu peoples.[57]
The university is a member of the Innovative Research Universities network, which comprises seven universities "committed to inclusive excellence in teaching and research in Australia".[58]
Flinders University is also affiliated with the following institutions:
In 2021 Flinders University led the nation in postgraduate employment outcomes[68] according to the "2021 Graduate Outcome Survey – Longitudinal",[69] released by the Australian Government's Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching.[70]
Flinders University is amongst the world's top 300 institutions at 266 according to the 2022 Times Higher Education rankings.[71]
In 2022 there were 25,247 students enrolled across all campuses.[50]
Flinders University Student Association (FUSA), formerly Student Association of Flinders University (SAFU), is a student union.[72][73][74]
Empire Times is Flinders University's student newspaper.[75] It has been published by the Flinders University Student Association since 1969, but ceased publication in 2006 as a result of voluntary student unionism, before resuming in 2013 with the reintroduction of SSAF.[76][77][78] The founder and first editor of the newspaper was Martin Fabinyi, and the newspaper was originally printed in the back of his house by fellow student Rod Boswell. Empire Times had a history of controversial humour and anti-establishment discussion. Notable former editors and contributors included Martin Armiger and Greig (HG Nelson) Pickhaver, Steph Key, and Kate Ellis.[79]
Flinders University has many sports teams that compete in social and competitive competitions. It has affiliated sporting clubs, including aikido, athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, fencing, football, hockey, judo, lacrosse, men's soccer, netball, squash, table tennis, volleyball, and women's soccer.[80]
Flinders has two options for on-campus accommodation:[81]
For off-campus accommodation, Flinders Living run a free, up-to-date accommodation service which lists private accommodation available on the rental market.[82]
The university has also partnered with a student accommodation facility located in the city called The Switch, which provides rooms, shared facilities and living areas.[83]
Graduates of Flinders University include:
Flinders University has been served by seven chancellors and eight vice-chancellors since its establishment in 1966. They are:[87]
| Name | Years | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Karmel AC CBE | 1966–1971 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Sir Mark Mitchell | 1966–1971 | Chancellor |
| Sir Charles Hart Bright | 1971–1983 | Chancellor |
| Roger Russell | 1972–1979 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Keith Hancock AO | 1980–1987 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Francis Robert Fisher AO | 1983–1988 | Chancellor |
| John Francis Lovering AO | 1987–1994 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Deirdre Frances Jordan AC | 1988–2002 | Chancellor |
| Ian Chubb AC | 1995–2000 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Anne Edwards AO | 2001–2007 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Sir Eric Neal | 2002–2010 | Chancellor |
| Michael Barber AO | 2008–2014 | Vice-Chancellor |
| Stephen Gerlach AM | 2010–2023 | Chancellor |
| Colin Stirling | 2015–present | Vice-Chancellor |
| John Hood | 2023–present | Chancellor |
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