University of Sydney
Established in
1850, the
University of Sydney is the oldest
university in
Australia and is located in
Sydney, capital city of the state of
New South Wales. It is one of Australia's "
Group of Eight" leading universities and remains one of the country's largest educational institutions: in
2004, the University of Sydney reported an enrolment of 46,194 students and employed 2,345 academics.
Focused on the
Oxbridge-inspired grounds of the Main Campus on the southern outskirts of the City of Sydney, the University of Sydney now possesses a number of campuses as a result of amalgamations in recent years.
The motto of the University of Sydney is
Sidere mens eadem mutato (the stars change, but the mind is constant), ostensibly reflecting the early goal of matching English institutions in terms of quality of education.
Campuses
The University has a number of campuses and is has continued to expand over the years. Until recently, the university also operated the Museum of Contemporary Art.\nThe University Library actually consists of numerous individual libraries, with the main Fisher Library being the largest in the southern hemisphere (and possessing one of the two extant copies of the Gospel of Barnabas).
As of 2004, the campuses are:
Camperdown/Darlington (Main) campus
\n
Originally housed in what is now Sydney Grammar School, in 1855 the government granted the university land in Grose Farm, three kilometers from the city which is now the main Camperdown campus. The architect Edmund Blacket designed the original Neogothic sandstone Quadrangle and Great Tower buildings, which were completed in 1862, although there are many departmental buildings now. The great expansion of the university in the mid-20th century resulted in the acquisition of land in Darlington across City Road. The Camperdown/Darlington campus houses the headquarters of the University, and the Faculties of Arts, Science, Education and Social Work, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Economics and Business, Architecture, and Engineering. It is also the home base of the large Faculty of Medicine, which has numerous affiliated teaching hospitals across the State.
The University is currently undertaking a large capital works program, which will see the amalgamation of the smaller science and technical libraries into a larger library, and the construction of a central administration and student services building along City Road.
Mallett Street campus
\n
The Mallett Street campus is home of the Faculty of Nursing. The University has advised that of 2005, there will be no further admissions into undergraduate nursing courses; however postgraduate programmes will remain.
Cumberland campus
\nFormerly an independent institution (the Cumberland College of Health Sciences), the Cumberland campus in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe was incorporated into the University as part of the higher education reforms of the late 1980s. It is home to the Faculty of Health Science, which covers various allied health disciplines, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, radiation therapy, occupational therapy, etc.
Law campus
\nNear St. James station in the centre of Sydney, this is located across the road from the New South Wales Supreme Court. In 2007, it is expected that the Faculty of Law will move to the main campus following the construction of the new law building in the vicinty of Fisher Library.
Conservatorium of Music
\nSee also for more information: Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Located near the botanic gardens, the conservatorium of music was acquired in the 1990s. The conservatorium was the subject of a notable documentary called Facing the Music dealing with the characters of this department.
Orange Agricultural College
\nLocated at Orange in rural NSW, the Orange Agricultural College joined in 1994.
Camden campus
\nLocated on Sydney's southwest rural fringe, the Camden campus houses research farms for agriculture and veterinary science.
Narrabri Plant Research Centre
\nThe Narrabri Plant Research Centre is located at Narrabri, near the Queensland border.
Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989
Under the terms of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989, the following bodies were incorporated into the University of Sydney in 1990:\n* the Sydney Branch of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music\n* the Cumberland College of Health Sciences\n* the Sydney College of the Arts of the Institute of the Arts\n* the Sydney Institute of Education of the Sydney College of Advanced Education\n* the Institute of Nursing Studies of the Sydney College of Advanced Education\n* the Guild Centre of the Sydney College of Advanced Education.
The Orange Agricultural College was originally transferred to the University of New England under the Act, but then transferred to the University of Sydney in 1994, as part of the reforms to the University of New England undertaken by the University of New England Act 1993 and the Southern Cross University Act 1993.
The New England University College was founded as part of the University of Sydney in 1938, and separated to become the University of New England in 1954.
Museums and galleries
Museums and galleries which are part of the university include the Nicholson Museum of Antiquities and the Macleay Museum
Alumni
The University of Sydney boasts a large number of alumni, some quite famous and influential, who have gone on to make significant contributions in their chosen fields of endeavour. These include:
- Prime Ministers of Australia - Edmund Barton, William McMahon, Gough Whitlam and John Howard\n* Governors-General of Australia - Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir John Kerr, Sir William Deane\n* Governors of New South Wales - Sir Roden Cutler\n* Premiers of New South Wales - Neville Wran, Nick Greiner\n* Justices of the High Court - Michael Kirby, William Gummow\n* Former Lord Mayor of Sydney - Frank Sartor\n* Nobel Laureates - Sir Robert Robinson (Sydney's first Professor of Pure and Applied Organic Chemistry 1912 - Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1947), Sir John Cornforth (graduated with BSc 1938 and University Medal and MSc 1939 - Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1975), John Harsanyi (graduated with Masters in Economics 1966 - Nobel Prize in Economics 1994)\n* Archaeologists - Vere Gordon Childe (1913), Basil Hennessy (1950), Stephen Bourke, Alison Betts, Karin Sowada, Paul James Cowie (1991)\n* Writers - Kate Grenville, Les Murray, Germaine Greer, Robert Hughes and Clive James\n* Film Directors - Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford\n* Geologist and Antarctic explorer, Sir Douglas Mawson\n* President of the United Nations General Assembly (1948-1949), Dr Herbert Vere Evatt\n* Aboriginal leaders Charles Perkins and Noel Pearson\n* Opera divas Dame Joan Sutherland and Yvonne Kenny
External links
\n*University of Sydney website\nCategory:Australian universities
