Deakin University

Deakin University is a commissioned Victorian university. Its establishment was the result of the efforts of the Fourth University Commission which was created by the State Government of Victoria in 1973 to establish Victoria's fourth university in regional Victoria. Three locations at Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong were considered.

In its report on 14 December 1973, the Federal Government's Australian Universities Commission recommended that a university be established at Geelong. This led to the declaration of Deakin University as a university in 1974, by an Act of Parliament referred to as the DEAKIN UNIVERSITY ACT 1974. Act No. 8610/1974.^[2]^[3] Ballarat and Bendigo became independent Colleges of Advanced Education.

Upon establishment, Deakin took over the Waurn Ponds campus of the Gordon Institute of Technology (now the Gordon Institute of TAFE), and that institution's higher education courses. It also absorbed State College of Victoria, Geelong (a teacher's college). Deakin enrolled its first students at its Waurn Ponds campus in 1977.

Deakin remained a single campus university for approximately fifteen years until the Federal Government's Dawkins Revolution of higher education in the late 1980s came into effect. As a result, Deakin became a larger university by merging with the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education in August 1990 and most of Victoria College in December 1991.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, debate ensued in Geelong about the fate of the city's historic waterfront woolstores, which were dilapidated amidst an area which was undergoing major development.^{citation needed} Some buildings were demolished despite a community outcry, and the fate of the remaining buildings was unclear until Deakin University acquired the site for a sixth campus. Major renovations took place over several years, and in 1997, the Woolstores campus (now the Geelong Waterfront campus) opened.

The result of the developments created a large multi-campus university spanning 300 kilometres covering six campuses in the cities of Melbourne (Burwood, "Rusden" (Clayton) and "Toorak" (Malvern)), Geelong (Waurn Ponds and Geelong Waterfront) and Warrnambool.

In the early 2000s, the university decided to close the Rusden campus, which held mainly the Environmental Science Department. The campus was progressively closed between 2001 and 2003, with students and courses relocated to the extensively redeveloped Burwood campus. Rusden's buildings have been converted into student accommodation and now forms part of Monash University's Clayton campus.

In 2007, the Toorak Campus in Malvern was closed and sold. Its courses were moved to the Burwood campus.

On 1st May, 2008, Victoria's third Medical School was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Australia Mr Kevin Rudd and the Victorian Premier Mr John Brumby.^[4] There are now three Medical Schools in Victoria with the first being established at University of Melbourne in 1862, and subsequently Monash University in 1958.

Campuses

Burwood^[5]

The largest campus of the university is in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Burwood, on Burwood Highway. Located alongside Gardiner's Creek parklands between Princess Elizabeth Junior School for Deaf Children on the North-West border and Mount Scopus Memorial College on the East border, it is Deakin's metropolitan campus, attracting 16,000 undergraduate and postgraduate on-campus students. The campus is well served by public transport and is about 45 minutes by tram (route 75) from the city centre.

In terms of area, the campus is relatively small but the campus layout manages this well with many multi-story buildings. The campus is based around Mutant Way which acts as a giant centralised courtyard which is enjoyed by students on sunny days.

For several years, the campus has undergone major capital works with the construction of many buildings. Recent developments include the construction of Building P (Arts) and Building T (Science) for the students who transferred over from the closed Rusden campus. Recent works on a new building precinct, including a new gymnasium, classrooms, lecture theatre and food outlets has been opened.

In addition to these facilities, Motion.Lab, an $800,000^[6] 24-camera motion capture studio, was opened in September 2006^[7]. It is utilised by four courses offered by the University: Interactive Media, Contemporary Arts, Information Technology, and Multimedia Technology, but its commercial activities are managed by Melbourne based animation-house, Act3animation.

The campus offers programs in Arabic Studies, Arts, Biological Science, Biomedical Science, Chinese Studies, Commerce, Computer Science, Dance, Drama, Exercise and Sport Science, Food Science, Health Science, Indonesian Studies, Information Technology, International Studies, Law, Media Arts, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Psychology, Science, Sports Management, Teaching, Visual Arts and Wildlife and Conservation Biology.

Geelong Waterfront^[8]

The Geelong Waterfront campus is located in Geelong's Central Business District and it comprises a structurally superb set of refurbished woolstores buildings directly opposite the city's waterfront on Corio Bay. The refurbishments, which were undertaken throughout the mid-1990s, retained most of the original internal elements. The Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library^[9] and Costa Hall, a world-class and state-of-the-art, 1500 seat concert auditorium are located here. Many public events take place in this Hall including graduation ceremonies and concerts.

Around 1800 on-campus students study programs in Architecture, Construction Management, Nursing and Occupational Therapy.

Geelong Waurn Ponds^[10]

The original campus of Deakin University is located in the regional city of Geelong in the suburb of Waurn Ponds on a 365 hectare site. The site also contains part of Gordon Institute of TAFE, and is adjacent to Marcus Oldham College. Located an hour from Melbourne's CBD, it has over 1,000 staff and over 13,500 students with more than 9000 studying in the off-campus mode.

The campus offers programs in Arts, Biotechnology, Commerce, Communication and Media, Computer Science and Software Development, Engineering, Forensic Science, Games Design and Development, Government and Community Studies, Information Systems, Information Technology, International Studies, Law, Medicine, Public Relations, Psychology, Science, Social Work, Teaching and Wine Science.

Deakin's medical school opened on the campus in 2008. The government's final decision to establish it was given by the then Prime Minister, John Howard who, in his speech delivered at the Victorian Liberal Party State Council in Melbourne on 8 April 2006, said: “I am particularly pleased to announce the medical school at Deakin University which will ensure the development of a strong rural and regional medical workforce throughout western Victorian region.” ^[11] The medical school provides 120 Commonwealth supported places to successful applicants.

Warrnambool^[12]

The Warrnambool campus is situated on the Hopkins River in the coastal city of Warrnambool. The 94 hectare site is approximately 5 kilometres from the CBD serviced by the Princes Highway. The university's Marine and Freshwater Sciences Research Program is undertaken here and the university's law school began offering the first two years of its Bachelor of Laws degree there in 2007.

The campus is located in a picturesque area in close proximity to the Great Ocean Road and the The Twelve Apostles. The buildings are all low-rise constructions of modern design. The sporting facilities includes a football oval and a 9-hole golf-course.

Programs are offered in Arts, Commerce, Communication and Media, Environment (including Marine Biology and Freshwater Science, Fisheries Management and Aquaculture), Law, Nursing, Psychology, Teaching, Tourism Management and Hospitality and Visual Communication.

More than 3600 students are enrolled here. More than 2000 of the students studying at Deakin are studying in off-campus mode

Distance Education

Deakin University is a major provider of academic programs by distance learning. Students undertaking their courses in this mode are classified as off-campus students, and they study through one or more of its campuses at the Geelong, Melbourne and Warrnambool campuses. They enrol in the same units as on-campus students except instead of attending lectures and classes, they receive course and study materials by post and online via the internet. Many courses have a residential component which provides opportunities for networking with other students and staff face-to-face. Many students study a combination of modes which involves on-campus and off-campus studies enabling students to tailor their courses depending on their needs and circumstances. Nearly 10,0000 students enrolled at Deakin University study in off-campus mode.

Former Campuses

Rusden

The Rusden campus was closed in 2003 and all courses were transferred to the Burwood campus. It was subsequently acquired by Monash University for its student accommodation purposes.

Toorak

The former Toorak campus is located in Malvern and was sold in 2007 as the university considered the campus surplus to its requirements. The courses and resources were relocated to the Burwood campus in November 2007.

The main building on the site is the 116 year old historic Stonnington Mansion and is located amongst traditional gardens. The Stonnington Stables art gallery and the University's contemporary art collection were located here.

The sale of the campus provoked public outrage as it involved the mansion which was at risk of redevelopment by property developers.^[13]

Organization

Chancellors

Vice-Chancellors

Notable Associates of the University

Academics

Awards and Achievements

Deakin has twice been awarded the Good University Guide's University of the Year.

The first award came in 1995-1996 for "Outstanding Technology in Education" in which the then Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating presented Deakin with the award and commended it on its success despite its lack of "sandstones" referring to its short period of existence as a university.^[16]

On 25 August 1999, Deakin won its second award when it tied with the University of Wollongong to win the 1999-2000 prize. Deakin's success was for its "Outstanding Education and Training Partnerships". In presenting the award, the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello commended Deakin and Wollongong in stating: "These are two great institutions. They are the best of the best at what they do".^[17]

Notable Faculty

Research

Deakin is Australia's fastest growing research university.^[18] Its combined research funding had increased from $4.5 million in 1997 to $22 million in 2005.^[19]

In its 2007 allocations, the Australian Research Council awarded Deakin $3.6 million in funding for research programs. A total of 15 discovery and linkage grants were awarded and will engage in issues such as the arts, citizenship, education, science, engineering and new materials.^[20]

Research Centres & Institutes

Rankings

The Australian Good Universities Guide publishes an annual rating of the status and standing of Australian universities. The university's status and standing for each criterion was:

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.

.*R1 refers to Academics' rankings in tables 3.1 - 3.7 in the report. R2 refers to Articles and Research rankings in tables 5.1 - 5.7. No. refers to the number of institutions compared with Deakin.

.**As Deakin's Medical School will commence operations in 2008 there are no data available.

Deakin ranks 24 in Australia, 29 in the Oceania, and 609 in the world in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities:^[34]

DeakinPrime

DeakinPrime is the commercial arm of Deakin University which provides education and development programs and services to corporates and industry groups.

Many large Australian and international organisations are associated with DeakinPrime's activities.

Controversies

In 2005, an academic article co-authored by two Deakin staff, including Professor Mirko Bagaric, Head of the School of Law, suggested circumstances in which torture is morally justifiable.^[36] This was published in the Spring 2005 Edition^[37] of the University of San Francisco Law Review, and led to some outraged responses in the press. Vice-Chancellor Sally Walker defended the academic freedom of university academics.^[38]

Alumni

Deakin University Student Association

The Deakin University Student Association (DUSA4U) is the dominant student representative organisation operating across all campuses and courses. As well as representation, DUSA4U provides a range of services and benefits to members, and coordinates all other clubs and societies operating on campus.

References

^ Australian National Business Schools
^ Legislation
^ Cabinet Records
^ Official Opening of Deakin Medical School
^ Burwood campus
^ "New Digital Motion Lab Bringing Animation to Life", Multimedia Victoria (2006-09-26). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
^ "Deakin Motion.Lab Media Release", Deakin University (2006-09-26). Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
^ Waterfront campus
^ Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library
^ Waurn Ponds campus
^ Prime Minister's announcement
^ Warrnambool Campus
^ Save Stonnington!
^ Philosophical Fox on Philanthropy
^ Research
^ First University of the Year award
^ Second University of the Year award
^ Deakin University Research
^ Deakin University Research
^ 2007 ARC Research Grants
^ Australian Centre on Quality of Life
^ Centre for Business Research
^ Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
^ Centre for Health and Risk Behaviours and Mental Wellbeing
^ Centre for Health through Action on Social Exclusion
^ Centre for Leisure Management Research
^ Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation
^ Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research
^ WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention
^ Deakin's World Ranking Breakthrough
^ THE AGE: The Good Universities Guide, 2001 edition
^ The Hobson Guides to universities: The Good Universities Guide, 2007 edition and previous editions
^ Melbourne Institute rankings
^ Deakin's Webometric ranking
^ Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
^ Mirko Bagaric paper extract - When torture is permissible, retrieved 9 May 2006
^ University of San Francisco Law Review - Spring 2005 Edition, retrieved 12 May 2006
^ Deakin University statement regarding paper on torture, retrieved 9 May 2006
^ High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago
^ Miss India Australia

Contents

History