University of Newcastle (Australia)

Not to be confused with Newcastle University.

The University of Newcastle
Coat of Arms of the University of Newcastle
Latin: 'Universitas Novocastrium'
Motto	"I look ahead"
Established	1965
Type	Public
Chancellor	Paul Jeans
Vice-Chancellor	Caroline McMillen
Visitor	Governor of New South Wales
Academic staff	1,066
Administrative staff	1,477
Students	39,131
Undergraduates	24,445
Postgraduates	8,150
Other students	4,597
Location	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia 32°53′34″S 151°42′16″E
Campus	Urban
Colours	Maroon and White
Affiliations	Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, Association of Commonwealth Universities
Website	www.newcastle.edu.au

The University of Newcastle (UoN), informally known as Newcastle University, is an Australian public university established in 1965. The university's primary campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales. The university also operates from campuses in Ourimbah, Port Macquarie, Singapore and the central business districts of Newcastle and Sydney.

Historically, the University of Newcastle Medical School has implemented the problem-based learning system for its undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine program – 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.

The University of Newcastle is a member of Universities Australia and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

History

The earliest origins of the present-day University of Newcastle can be traced to the Newcastle Teachers College (est. 1949) and Newcastle University College (NUC, est. 1951). NUC was created as an offshoot of the New South Wales University of Technology (now known as the University of New South Wales) and was co-located with the Newcastle Technical College at Tighes Hill. At the time of its establishment, NUC had just five full-time students and study was restricted to engineering, mathematics and science. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Newcastle residents campaigned for NUC to be re-constituted as a university in its own right. The campaign was ultimately successful, with the University of Newcastle being established as an autonomous institution on 1 January 1965 by gubernatorial proclamation under the University of Newcastle Act 1964 (NSW). The new university was granted a heraldic coat of arms by the College of Arms in London, an event seen by many in the community as signifying the new institution's independence. In 1966, the University relocated from Tighes Hill to a largely undeveloped bushland site in Shortland. As enrolments grew, the University embarked on a major building program and redeveloped the Shortland site into the Callaghan campus, named for Sir Bede Callaghan, foundation member of the University council and chancellor from 1977 to 1988.

Students at the university celebrate Autonomy Day on 1 July of each year. According to unverified sources, official autonomy was marked on 1 January 1965 with a "symbolic ceremonial bonfire held at the site of the Great Hall". 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". Since the university technically became autonomous on 1 January 1965 autonomy day should be held on 1 January. 1 July actually coincided with the New South Wales University of Technology’s autonomy from the Public Service Board’s authority on 1 July 1954. 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.

In 1989, the Dawkins reforms amalgamated the Hunter Institute of Higher Education with the University of Newcastle. Newcastle Teachers College had been established in 1949 and was later renamed the Newcastle College of Advanced Education and finally the Hunter Institute of Higher Education as it had expanded its educational offerings beyond teacher education to nursing, other allied health professions, business, and fine arts. The Hunter Institute was located in a series of buildings on land immediately adjacent to the University at Callaghan and amalgamation expanded the campus to some 140 hectares. Under the reforms, the University also gained the Newcastle branch of the NSW Conservatorium of Music located in the city's central business district.

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.

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 reputable position in 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.

The university unveiled a new logo on 31 March 2007 as part of a brand refresh to align the university's image more closely with its new strategic direction.

On 11 May 2007, the university launched a campus at the PSB Academy's two main campuses in Singapore.

Faculties and schools

The Medical Sciences Building

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

The University offers certificates, diplomas and degrees through five faculties and twelve schools.

List of faculties and schools
Faculty of Business and Law Newcastle Business School Newcastle Law School
Faculty of Education and Arts School of Creative Arts School of Education School of Humanities and Social Science
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment School of Architecture and Built Environment School of Engineering School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty of Science and Information Technology School of Design, Communication and Information Technology School of Environmental and Life Sciences School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences School of Psychology
Faculty of Health School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy School of Health Sciences School of Medicine and Public Health School of Nursing and Midwifery

The University offers Indigenous studies through The Wollotuka Institute. Additionally, the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre provides tertiary preparation programs for both domestic and international students.

Campuses

The university offers online, face-to-face, or a mix of the two, with campuses 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. The land is traditionally owned by the Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal people, a connection which has been developed by the University and is seen as a selling point for academics.

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).

Central Coast (Ourimbah campus)

Ourimbah Campus is a cross-institutional campus, with the University of Newcastle, TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute, and the Central Coast Community College each having a presence. 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 each have a presence on the campus. In total, they provide sixteen undergraduate degree programs and one postgraduate program, five of which are exclusive to the campus.

Port Macquarie campus

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

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. It is located in the Sydney CBD.

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.

GradSchool (Online)

GradSchool is the University of Newcastle's dedicated hub for postgraduate coursework students. Since 2001, GradSchool has been responsible for online learning, offering graduate students from around the world convenient access to more than 60 postgraduate qualifications delivered by the University of Newcastle. Online interaction is via "Blackboard", a web based learning system which hosts our courses. Through Blackboard, communication is entirely online. Students interact with instructors and fellow students on discussion boards, submit assignments, view grades and check announcements. As is the case with on-campus study, online students have access to all University facilities such as online library resources and support tools, including over 300 information technology, management, interpersonal and professional development skills training courses.

Student body and organisations

In 2011, the University had a total enrolment of approximately 36,000 students, including over 7,500 international students from more than 115 countries.

The university is recognised for its commitment to equity in education, and consistently enrols more students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background than any other Australian university. It has graduated more than 60% of the nation's indigenous doctors.

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 Students' 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 Godfrey Tanner (GT) 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. UoN Services also funds the production of Yak Media. Yak Media includes Yak Magazine and Yak TV (formerly UTV). Yak Magazine is a monthly publication run by an editorially independent student team. Yak TV is produced by a student media production team and reports on upcoming university events, gigs and services.

NUSA and NUPSA are primarily advocacy organisations, representing undergraduate and postgraduate students respectively 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. They include The Auchmuty library, The Huxley library, The Ourimbah library and the City Precinct library. The largest of these is The Auchmuty Library on the Callaghan campus, which holds a significant traditional collection, including rare books and archives. In addition, the Callaghan campus has a smaller secondary library known as The Huxley library. This 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.

The whole catalogue of the University library is available across any of its constituent libraries. The library is a member of the Council of Australian University Librarians. It also keeps New South Wales state archives that have been held by the university since 1975. The state archives reside within the University Archives, and consist of a collection of approximately 600 linear shelf metres.

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, squash & tennis courts, and a sports and aquatic centre. NUsport manages these facilities through an organisation known as "The Forum". "The Forum Sports & Aquatic Centre, University" boasts an olympic-sized swimming pool, the second highest climbing wall in the southern hemisphere and various other sporting facilities. 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, Health and Wellness centre, Habourside".

Internship services

The university works with partners including CRCC Asia and The Intern Group to arrange internship placements outside of Australia for its students.

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:

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

• Steve Abbott, Australian actor and comedian, better known as his comedic character, The Sandman.
• David Berthold, Australian theatre director.
• Scott Bevan, ABC News journalist and television presenter.
• 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.
• 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.
• Gary Quinlan, Australian Ambassador to the United Nations.
• Mikey Robins, Australian comedian and television personality.
• Senator Arthur Sinodinos AO, Senator for New South Wales in the Australian Senate and former President of the NSW branch of the Liberal Party.
• Peter Stutchbury, Architect.
• Tony Vinson, Australian academic.
• Janeen Webb, author and critic.
• Khaw Boon Wan, cabinet minister in Singapore.
• Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Australian actor

Coat of arms

Arms of University of Newcastle

Notes Newcastle University's arms, granted on 1 June 1965 by Garter King-at-Arms, comprise: Escutcheon Azure, a Sea Horse naiant, in dexter chief a representation of the Constellation of the Southern Cross of five Mullets all Argent. Motto I look Ahead Symbolism Seahorse and other heraldic elements taken from the arms of Newcastle's founder Commander John Shortland RN, with the Southern Cross in addition.

See also

• List of universities in Australia

External links

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