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Monash University
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Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Australia. It is Australia's largest university with about 55,000 students.
The University has a total of eight campuses: six in Victoria, Australia (Clayton, Caulfield, Berwick, Peninsula, Parkville and Gippsland), one in Malaysia and one in South Africa. The university also has a centre in Prato, Italy.
Monash University is a member of the prestigious "Group of Eight", a group composed of some of the most research-intensive universities in Australia.
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Encyclopedia
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Australia. It is Australia's largest university with about 55,000 students.
The University has a total of eight campuses: six in Victoria, Australia (Clayton, Caulfield, Berwick, Peninsula, Parkville and Gippsland), one in Malaysia and one in South Africa. The university also has a centre in Prato, Italy.
Monash University is a member of the prestigious "Group of Eight", a group composed of some of the most research-intensive universities in Australia. It was recently ranked by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) at number 47 in its annual ranking of the world's top 200 universities for 2008. It is one of only three post World War II universities in the world's top 50. With 11 universities in Victoria, Monash attracts 33% of the top 5% of students from Victorian schools. Places at Monash are the most highly sought after of any university in Victoria.
Monash University won over $50 million in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants in 2007. Monash researchers also dominate the NHMRC Awards, winning a quarter of all prizes in 2007. It is home to the Monash Science Technology Research and Innovation Precinct (STRIP), the Australian Stem Cell Centre, 100 research centres and 17 co-operative research centres.
The university is named after the prominent Australian general Sir John Monash. One of his most well known statements is inscribed along a walkway between the Robert Blackwood Hall and Performing Arts Centre at the Clayton campus: Adopt as your fundamental creed that you will equip yourself for life, not solely for your own benefit, but for the benefit of the whole community.
The University's motto is Ancora imparo (Italian), meaning 'I am still learning', a saying attributed to Michelangelo.
History
Early history
Monash University is a commissioned Victorian university. It was established by an Act of the State Parliament of Victoria in 1958 as a result of the Murray Report which was commissioned in 1957 by the then Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies to establish the second university in the state of Victoria. The university was named after the prominent Australian general Sir John Monash. This was the first time in Australia that a university had been named after a person, rather than a city or state.
The original campus was in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Clayton (falling in what is now the City of Monash). The first University Council, led by Monash's first Chancellor Robert Blackwood, selected Sir Louis Matheson, to be the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, a position he held until 1976. The University was granted an expansive site of 100 hectares of open land in Clayton.
From its first intake of 347 students at Clayton on 13 March 1961, the university grew rapidly in size and student numbers so that by 1967, it had enrolled more than 21,000 students since its establishment. In its early years, it offered undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in engineering, medicine, science, arts, economics and politics, education and law. It was a major provider for international student places under the Colombo Plan, which saw the first Asian students enter the Australian education system.
In its early years of teaching, research and administration, Monash had the advantage of no entrenched traditional practices. This enabled it to adopt modern approaches without resistance from those who preferred the status quo. A modern administrative structure was set up, Australia's first research centres and scholarships devoted to Indigenous Australians were established, and, thanks to Monash's entirely new facilities, students in wheelchairs were able to enroll.
1970s onwards
From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, Monash became the centre of student radicalism in Australia. It was the site of many mass student demonstrations, particularly concerning Australia's role in Vietnam War and conscription. By the late 1960s, several student organisations, some of which were influenced by or supporters of communism, turned their focus to Vietnam, with numerous blockades and sit-ins.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Monash's most publicised research came through its pioneering of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Led by Professors Carl Wood and Alan Trounson, the Monash IVF Program achieved the world's first clinical IVF pregnancy in 1973. In 1980, they delivered the first IVF baby in Australia. This eventually became a massive source of revenue for the University at a time when university funding in Australia was beginning to slow down.
In the late 1980s, the Dawkins Reforms changed the landscape of higher education in Australia. Under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Mal Logan, Monash transformed dramatically. In 1988, Monash University had only one campus, Clayton, with around 15, 000 students. Just over a decade later, it had 8 campuses (including 2 overseas), a European research and teaching centre, and more than 50,000 students, making it the largest and most internationalised Australian university.
Expansion in the 1990s
The expansion began in 1990, with a series of mergers between Monash, the Chisholm Institute of Technology, the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education. In 1991 a merger with the Victorian College of Pharmacy created a new faculty of the University. Monash University's expansion continued in 1994, with the establishment of the Berwick campus.
In 1998, the University opened the Malaysia campus, its first overseas campus and the first foreign university in Malaysia. In 2001, Monash South Africa in opened its doors in Johannesburg, making Monash the first foreign university in South Africa. The same year, the University secured an 18th Century Tuscan Palace to open a research and teaching centre in Prato, Italy.
At the same time, Australian universities faced unprecedented demand for international student places, which Monash met on a larger scale than most, to the point that today around 30% of its students are from outside Australia. Today, Monash students come from over 100 different countries, and speak over 90 different languages. The increase in international students, combined with its expansion, meant that Monash's income skyrocketed throughout the 1990s, and it is now one of Australia's top 200 exporters.
2000 onwards
In recent years, the University has been prominent in medical research. A highlight of this came in 2000, when Professor Alan Trounson led the team of scientists which first announced to the world that nerve stem cells could be derived from embryonic stem cells, a discovery which led to a dramatic increase in interest in the potential of stem cells. It has also led to Monash being ranked in the top 20 universities in the world for biomedicine.
On October 21, 2002 Huan Yun "Allen" Xiang shot two people dead and injured five others on the Clayton campus.
The current Vice-Chancellor of Monash University is Professor Richard Larkins (since September 2003). Professor Larkins has been appointed as chair of Universities Australia, effective 2008. On 30 May 2008, Monash University celebrated its 50th Anniversary.
Campuses
Clayton campus
The Clayton campus covers an area over 1.1 kmē and is the largest of the Monash campuses. Clayton is the flagship campus for Monash, demanding higher ENTER scores than all the other campuses, with the exception of Parkville. Clayton is home to the faculties of Arts, Business & Economics, Education, Engineering, IT, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and Science.
In 2001, the State Government of Victoria decided to build the first Australian synchrotron adjoining the campus. The Australian Synchrotron opened in July 2007 and creates beam light to make it capable to view matter at the molecular level. Monash University contributed $5M towards the $220M cost of the synchrotron as a member of the funding partnership for the initial suite of beamlines. The campus is also home to a number of halls of residence, colleges and other on-campus accommodation that house several thousand students.
The Clayton campus has its own suburb and postcode (3800).
Six halls of residence are located at the Clayton campus in Clayton, Victoria.
- Howitt Hall is the tallest Monash residential building, standing 12 stories high, with a good view of the other halls and the university. Howitt Hall is the third oldest hall, and was opened in September 1966. The hall is named after Alfred Howitt, a scholar and prominent figure in early Gippsland.
- Farrer Hall is divided into two buildings, Commons and Lords, with an annex to Commons called Chastity which is located above the common room. The Hall has more focus on floors, with kitchens, laundries and common rooms shared across them.
- Richardson Hall (Richo) is the newest of the Halls of Residence at Monash University. Richardson is home to 190 residents. Richardson 'has' been known as the 'International hall' to residents of other halls, due to the high numbers of international students residing in Richardson.
- Deakin Hall was the first residence hall established at Monash University in Australia, in September, 1962. The residence hall was named after Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister from 1903-1910 and father of the Australian Constitution.
- Roberts Hall is named after Tom Roberts, an Australian artist who was affectionately known as 'the bulldog'. The mascot of Roberts Hall is a bulldog in recognition of this.
- The South East Flats is located at the south-eastern corner of the university's Clayton campus. It is made up of two block of flats|blocks of flats, and the flat sizes range from 2 bedrooms to 5 bedrooms. There are 30 flats in total, designed to accommodate 130 students.
The campus is also adjacent to Mannix College, a residential college affiliated with Monash University.
Caulfield campus
The Caulfield campus is Monash University's second largest campus. Its multifaceted nature is reflected in the range of programs it offers through the faculties of Arts, Art & Design, Business & Economics, Information Technology and Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. A major building program has been announced, to expand teaching facilities, provide student accommodation and redevelop the shopping centre. The Law faculty for Monash University will relocate to the Caulfield campus by the end of 2011.
Other Australian campuses
One of Monash's newest, Berwick campus was built on the old Casey airfield in the south-eastern growth corridor of Victoria, Australia. The town of Berwick has experienced an influx of people and development in recent times, which includes the new campus of Monash University. With a presence in the area since 1994, the first Monash Berwick campus building was completed in 1996 and the third building in March 2004. It is situated on a 55-hectare site in the City of Casey, one of the three fastest growing municipalities in Australia
The Gippsland campus is home to 2,000 on-campus students, 5,000 off-campus students and nearly 400 staff. The campus sits in the Latrobe Valley town of Churchill, 142km east of Melbourne on 63 hectares of landscaped grounds. It is the only non-metropolitan campus of Monash University. The campus offers many undergraduate degrees, and attracts many students from the Latrobe Valley, East and West Gippsland. The Gippsland Medical School, offering postgraduate entry Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) courses was officially opened by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon in June 2008, providing students with a unique opportunity to learn medicine in a rural setting working with rural practitioners.
The Parkville campus is situated in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, around 2km north of the Melbourne CBD on Royal Parade. The campus is the home of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Phamaceutical Sciences. The faculty has a reputation for innovation, particularly in the areas of formulation science and medicinal chemistry and offers the Bachelor of Pharmacy and Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science undergraduate degrees, the latter replacing the Bachelor of Formulation Science in 2007 and the Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry in 2008. Double degrees are also offered including the Bachelor of Pharmacy/Commerce with the Business and Economics faculty at Clayton, and also the Bachelor of Engineering/Pharmaceutical Science with the Engineering faculty. It also offers postgraduate degrees.
The Peninsula campus has a teaching and research focus on health and wellbeing, and is a hub of undergraduate and postgraduates studies in Nursing, Health Science, Physiotherapy and Psychology - and particularly in Emergency Health (Paramedic) courses.
The campus is located in the bayside suburb of Frankston on the edge of Melbourne.
Peninsula campus also offers a range of courses including those from its historic roots with early childhood and primary education (during the 1960s and 1970's the campus was the State Teacher's College), and Business & Economics (since the merger of the State Teacher's College with the Caulfield Institute of Technology to create the Chisholm Institute of Technology in 1982). The campus was also home to the Peninsula School of Information Technology, which in 2006 was wound back with Information Technology units previously offered being relocated to the Caulfield campus.
Overseas campuses
The Monash University Sunway campus in Malaysia opened in 1998 in Bandar Sunway, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Sunway campus offers various undergraduate degrees through its faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering, Information Technology, Business, and Arts and Sciences. It is currently home to almost 4,000 students.
The new purpose-built campus opened in 2007, providing a high-tech home for Monash in Malaysia. In addition to a wide range of undergraduate degrees, the campus also offers both postgraduate Masters and PhD programs. Its degrees in Medicine and Surgery are the first medical degrees outside Australia and New Zealand to be accredited by the Australian Medical Council.
Monash South Africa is situated on the western outskirts of Johannesburg, and opened its doors in 2001. The campus is expanding, with student numbers growing at 35% per year and expected to be 2,400 in 2008. A new learning commons opened in 2007 and in early 2008, new housing will mean the campus will be able to provide secure on-campus accommodation for 1,000 students. The campus offers undergraduate courses from the faculties of business and economics, arts and IT.
The Monash University Prato Centre is located in the 18th Century Palace, Palazzo Vaj, in the historic centre of Prato, a city near Florence in Italy. Primarily, it hosts students from Monash's other campuses for semesters in Law, Art and Design, History, Music, as well as various international conferences. The Department of Business Law and Taxation, in the Faculty of Business and Economics also runs subjects in Prato. It was officially opened in 2001 as part of the University's vigorous internationalisation policy. It is now the largest Australian academic institution of its kind in Europe.
Monash College
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monash University, Monash College is an educational institute providing students with an alternative point of entry to Monash University. The institution offers pathway studies for students who endeavor to undertake studies at one of Monash University's many campuses. Monash College's specialised undergraduate diplomas (Diploma Part 2 is equivalent to first-year university) provide an alternative entry point into more than 50 Monash University bachelor degrees, taught intensively in smaller classes and an environment overall similar to that offered by the university.
Monash College offers programs in several countries throughout the world, with colleges located in Australia (Melbourne), China (Guangzhou), Indonesia (Jakarta), Singapore and Sri Lanka (Colombo).
Monash University English Language Centre
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monash University, Monash University English Language Centre (MUELC) is an educational organisation providing students with an alternative pathway to Monash College and Monash University courses.
Faculties
Monash is divided into 10 faculties. These incorporate the University's major departments of teaching and research centres.
Stand-alone, interdisciplinary research centres, which are not located within one faculty, include:
- Monash University Accident Research Centre
- Asia Pacific Centre for Science and Wealth Creation
- Institute for Regional Studies (IRS)
- Monash Asia Institute (MAI)
- Monash e-Research Centre
- Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy
- Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science
- Monash Sustainability Institute
- Monash Institute for Nanosciences, Materials and Manufacture
- Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements
Rankings
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, Monash University was ranked:
| Discipline | R1* | No. | R2* | No. |
|---|
| Arts & Humanities | 4 | 38 | 4 | 35 | | Business & Economics | 5 | 39 | 4 | 34 | | Education | 2 | 35 | 3 | 32 | | Engineering | 4 | 28 | 5 | 28 | | Law | 5 | 29 | 5 | 28 | | Medicine | 3 | 14 | 4 | 13 | | Science | 6 | 38 | 8 | 31 | |
.* 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 number of institutions in the table against which Monash is compared.
The following publications ranked universities worldwide. Monash University ranked:
.*AsiaWeek is now discontinued.
Other rankings:
- In engineering, Monash was ranked number 1 in Australia and approximately number 16 in the world, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement 2004/2005
- Its MBA was ranked number 2 in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the category of "personal development and educational experience" The Monash MBA is the only Australian MBA in the world's top 50.
- In biomedicine, Monash was ranked number 19 in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement 2006
- In technology, it was ranked number 28 in the world by Times Higher Education Supplement 2006
- In social sciences, Monash was ranked number 26 in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2007.
- Monash Clayton was ranked number 1 in Australia for student experience by the National Union of Students in 2007
- The Monash University Debating Team is ranked 4th in the world in the 2008 World Universities Debating Ranking
Notable alumni and faculty
Monash has a long list of alumni who have become prominent in a wide range of areas. 1100 Monash graduates (or 8.33% of the total) are listed among the 13,200 biographies of Australia's most notable individuals in the 2008 edition of Who's Who in Australia.
Monash graduates who are currently leaders in their fields include the Governor of Victoria, the Chief Justice of Victoria, the Treasurer of Victoria, the Australian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, the Australian Minister for Trade, the Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria, the Chief Magistrate of Victoria, the Coroner of Victoria, the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the Chief Justice of Norfolk Island, two of the past three Australians of the Year, several Australian Living Treasures, the Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), numerous Government Ministers throughout Australia and overseas, Ambassadors to the United Nations, prominent entrepreneurs, economists, public servants, diplomats, film producers (including this year's only Australian winner of an Academy Award), artists (including winners of the Dobell Prize), actors, playwrights (including winners of AWGIE Awards), novelists (including winners of the Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award), journalists, musicians (including winners of ARIA Awards and the Grand Prix du Disque), mayors, philanthropists, scientists, surgeons and sportspeople (including Olympic Games Gold medallists).
Libraries, Museums and Galleries
Monash University Library
Monash University Library is one of Australia's leading academic libraries, with a long-standing reputation for technological innovation and excellence in customer service. Currently it operates several libraries in all of its campuses, spanning over 3 continents. Monash University Library has just under 3 million items.
Rare Books Collection
Located at the Sir Louis Matheson Library on the Clayton Campus, the Rare Books Collection consists of over 100,000 items, unique due to their age, uniqueness or physical beauty, which can be accessed by Monash staff and students. The collection was started in 1961 when the University Librarian purchased original manuscripts by Jonathan Swift and some of his contemporaries. The Collection now consists of a range of items including photography, children's books, 15th-17th century English and French literature, original manuscripts and pamphlets. A variety of exhibitions are hosted throughout the year in the Rare Books area.
Monash University Museum of Art
The Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) was founded in 1961 and is located in a large building on the University's Clayton Campus. The establishment of the Museum reflected a desire by the University's founders for students to obtain a broad education, including an appreciation and understanding of the arts. Its collection has now grown to over 1500 works, including a variety of items from artists such as Arthur Boyd, William Dobell, Sidney Nolan, Howard Arkley, Tracey Moffatt, John Perceval, Fred Williams and Bill Henson. While the gallery's focus is on Australian art, it houses a number of international works and exhibitions. It hosts regular exhibitions which are open to Monash students and staff, as well as the general public. The current Curator of the Museum is Geraldine Barlow.
Switchback Gallery
The Switchback Gallery was opened in 1995 in the landscaped gardens of the University's Gippsland Campus, and has become a cultural focal point for the region. It hosts a diverse range of exhibitions each year, from work by Monash students, to displays by international artists.
Monash Faculty of Art and Design Gallery
The Art and Design Faculty houses its own collection of artwork. It is located at the University's Caulfield Campus. Its collection includes a wide range of media including painting, tapestry, printmedia, ceramics, jewellery, photomedia, industrial design, digital media and installation. In addition to being a public gallery, it runs a Visiting Artists program which attracts artists from around the world to spend a year at the gallery.
Vice-Chancellors & Chancellors
The Vice-Chancellor is the chief executive of the University, who is head of Monash's day-to-day activities. The Vice-Chancellor is also the University President. In North America and parts of Europe, the equivalent role is the President or Principal.
The Chancellor is chair of the University Council and provides advice to the Vice-Chancellor, but serves primarily as the ceremonial figurehead.
Vice-Chancellors
Chancellors
Colleges and Halls of Residence
Monash Residential Services (MRS) is responsible for co-ordinating the operation of on-campus halls of residence. MRS manages a variety of facilities at all five Australian campuses and South Africa.
The following residences are based at the Clayton Campus:
List of colleges| College | Affiliation | | Howitt Hall | 1966- | | Farrer Hall | 1965- | | Richardson Hall | 1972- | | Deakin Hall | 1961- | | Roberts Hall | 1971- | | Normanby House | 1960s- | | Mannix College | 1969- | | South East Flats | | |
Facilities in are diverse and vary in services offered. Information on residential services at Monash University, including on-campus (MRS managed) and off-campus, can be found at http://www.mrs.monash.edu.au/.
Student organisations
There are approximately 55,000 students at the university, represented by individual campus organisations and the university-wide Monash Postgraduate Association.
Other notable student organisations include:
See also
External links
Further reading
- Sir Robert Blackwood, Monash University: the first ten years, Melbourne, Hampden Hall, 1968
- Simon Marginson, Monash: Remaking the University, Allen & Unwin, 2000
- Sir Louis Matheson, Still learning, South Melbourne, Macmillan, 1980
- Janette Bomford, Victorian College of Pharmacy: 125 years of history, 1881-2006
- H.V. Feehan, Birth of the Victorian College of Pharmacy
- Louise Gray and Karen Stephens, Victorian College of Pharmacy: 125 stories for 125 years, 1881-2006
- Geoffrey Hutton, The Victorian College of Pharmacy: an observer's view
- Victorian College of Pharmacy, The Search for a partner : a history of the amalgamation of the Victorian College of Pharmacy and Monash University
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