Editing Australian Catholic University

{{short description|Public Catholic university in Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Australian Catholic University
 | image                  = Australian Catholic University Coat of Arms.png
 | image_upright          = .7
 | image_alt              = 
 | caption                = [[Emblem]]
 | latin_name             = 
 | other_name             = 
 | former_name            = {{Collapsible list|{{ubl
|Mount Saint Mary College{{br}}(1908–1982)<ref name=":0" />
|Catholic Teachers’ College{{br}}(1971–1982)<ref name=":0" />
|Catholic College of Education{{br}}(1982–1990)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=ACU's history |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/reputation-and-ranking/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223054423/https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/reputation-and-ranking/history |archive-date=23 February 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
}}}}
 | motto                  = ''Truth in love''<ref>{{Cite web |title=ACU Flags Policy |url=https://policy.acu.edu.au/download.php?id=595&version=1&associated |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240906223203/https://policy.acu.edu.au/download.php?id=595&version=1&associated |archive-date=6 September 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | motto_lang             = eng
 | mottoeng               = 
 | top_free_label         = 
 | top_free               = 
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]] [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[research university]]
 | established            = {{ubl
| 1908 (antecedent)<ref name=":0" />
| 1991 (as university)<ref name=":0" />
}}
 | closed                 = 
 | founder                = 
 | parent                 = 
 | affiliation            = 
 | religious_affiliation  = [[Catholic education in Australia|Roman Catholic]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Catholic University (ACU) |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/faith-and-values |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710141907/https://www.acu.edu.au/faith-and-values |archive-date=10 July 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | academic_affiliation   = {{hlist
|[[International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas|ICUSTA]]
|[[International Federation of Catholic Universities|IFCU]]
|[[Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities|ACCU]]
|[[Open Universities Australia|OUA]]
|[[Universities Australia|UA]]
}}
 | endowment              = 
 | budget                 = {{AUD}}491.81 [[1,000,000|million]] (2023)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2023 |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/-/media/feature/pagecontent/richtext/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/_docs/2024/annual-reports-2023.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815223551/https://www.acu.edu.au/-/media/feature/pagecontent/richtext/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/_docs/2024/annual-reports-2023.pdf |archive-date=15 August 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | chancellor             = [[Martin Daubney (judge)|Martin Daubney]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chancellor |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/governance/chancellor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723015058/https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/governance/chancellor |archive-date=23 July 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | vice_chancellor        = Zlatko Skrbis<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vice-Chancellor and President |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/leadership/vice-chancellor-and-president/biography |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525114945/https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/leadership/vice-chancellor-and-president/biography |archive-date=25 May 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | provost                = Julie Cogin<ref>{{Cite web |title=Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/leadership/the-vice-chancellors-advisory-committee/provost-and-deputy-vice-chancellor-academic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240906223618/https://www.acu.edu.au/500.html?aspxerrorpath=/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/leadership/vice-chancellor-and-presidehttps:/www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/leadership-and-governance/leadership/the-vice-chancellors-advisory-committee/provost-and-deputy-vice-chancellor-academicnt/biography |archive-date=6 September 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | academic_staff         = 1,207.8 ([[Full-time equivalent|FTE]], 2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | administrative_staff   = 1,296 ([[Full-time equivalent|FTE]], 2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | total_staff            = 2,503.8 ([[Full-time equivalent|FTE]], 2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | students               = 32,283 (2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | undergrad              = 25,037 (2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | postgrad               = 5,841 coursework (2023)<br />290 research (2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | doctoral               = 
 | other                  = 1,115 (2023)<ref name=":1" />
 | address                = 
 | city                   = {{plainlist|
[[Brisbane]], [[Canberra]], [[Melbourne]], [[North Sydney, New South Wales|North Sydney]], [[Blacktown]], [[Ballarat]], [[Strathfield]] and [[Rome]]<ref name="Our locations">{{Cite web |title=Locations |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/locations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730230510/https://www.acu.edu.au/locations |archive-date=30 July 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
}}
 | campus_type            = [[Urban area|Urban]] and [[Rural area|regional]] with multiple sites<ref name="Our locations" />
 | language               = 
 | colours                = <span style="background:#F2120C; border:1px solid #000; color:#fff; padding:2px 14px;">Red</span> <span style="background:#3C1053; border:1px solid #000; color:#fff; padding:2px 14px;">Purple</span><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Colour palette |url=https://staff.acu.edu.au/-/media/staff-site-rte-docs-only/acu-brand/colour-pallete-acu-brand-guidelines-jan2020.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501223931/https://staff.acu.edu.au/-/media/staff-site-rte-docs-only/acu-brand/colour-pallete-acu-brand-guidelines-jan2020.pdf |archive-date=1 May 2024 |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=Australian Catholic University |language=en-AU}}</ref>
 | athletics_nickname     = 
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist |[[UniSport]] |[[Australian Institute of Sport#Elite Athlete Education Network|EAEN]] |[[University Basketball League Australia|UBL]] }}
 | mascot                 = ''Varies by campus''
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.acu.edu.au/|acu.edu.au}}
 | logo                   = Australian Catholic University logo 2024.svg
 | logo_size              = 175px
 | logo_alt               = 
 | footnotes              = 
}}
[[File:Australian Catholic University - Signadou Campus.jpg|thumb|Australian Catholic University Signadou Campus in the [[Canberra]] suburb of Watson]]

'''Australian Catholic University''' ('''ACU''') is a [[public university]] in [[Australia]]. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome.<ref name="acu">{{cite web|url=https://www.acu.edu.au/|title=Australian Catholic University|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=21 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821060007/https://www.acu.edu.au/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==  History ==

Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurian |first1=George Thomas |last2=Lamport |first2=Mark A. |title=Encyclopedia of Christian Education |date=7 May 2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-8493-9 |page=104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6YoCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |language=en}}</ref>
* Catholic College of Education Sydney, New South Wales
* Institute of Catholic Education, Victoria
* McAuley College, Queensland
* Signadou College of Education, Australian Capital Territory

These institutions had their origins in the mid-1800s, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. Through a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities and diocesan initiatives, more than 20 historical entities have contributed to the creation of the university.<ref>{{cite web |title=ACU's history |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/reputation-and-ranking/history |website=www.acu.edu.au |language=en}}</ref>

== Governance and structure ==

ACU's vice-chancellor and president, Zlatko Skrbis, is responsible for representing the university both nationally and internationally and for providing strategic leadership and management. He holds a PhD in Sociology.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKezNAEACAAJ | title=Cosmopolitanism: Uses of the Idea | isbn=9781849200639 | last1=Skrbis | first1=Zlatko | last2=Woodward | first2=Ian | date=17 May 2013 | publisher=SAGE Publications }}</ref>

Deputy vice-chancellors have delegated responsibility for assigned areas of policy. These areas are academic, administration and resources, and research.

=== Faculties and departments ===
Each faculty is headed by an executive dean and supported by a number of associate deans and heads of schools.

== Campuses and buildings ==
[[File:Acu-rome-italy.jpg|thumb|ACU campus in Rome, Italy]]
[[File:(1)Mount Royal (Australian Catholic University) Strathfield-1.jpg|thumb|ACU campus in Strathfield, New South Wales]]
ACU has seven campuses across Australia: Ballarat, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney (Blacktown, North Sydney, Strathfield) with a Leadership Centre in Adelaide and another in Townsville. In 2015, the university opened the Rome Centre, a collaboration with the [[Catholic University of America]], located in [[Rome]], Italy.<ref>[http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/campuses/rome_centre "Rome Centre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821060034/https://www.acu.edu.au/locations/rome |date=21 August 2022 }}, ACU website</ref>

The [[Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University|Mount St Mary Campus]] in [[Strathfield, New South Wales|Strathfield]] is heritage listed.<ref name=nswshr-1965>{{cite NSW SHR|5061554|Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University|hr=01965|fn=EF14/6340|accessdate=8 February 2019}}</ref>

[[File:ACU Saint Teresa of Kolkata building, Melbourne campus.jpg|thumb|Saint Teresa of Kolkata building at ACU's Melbourne campus, Victoria]]

[[File:Acu-north-sydney.jpg|thumb|ACU campus in North Sydney, New South Wales]]

== Academic profile ==
{{Expand section|needs more content to adequately cover the topic|date=November 2024|section=yes}}

=== Research and publications ===
HDR students have objected to a change plan introduced in September 2023 that would eliminate positions occupied by their supervisors leaving them without supervisors with the relevant expertise for their projects.<ref name="Groch-2023">{{Cite web |last=Groch |first=Sherryn |date=2023-09-23 |title=An Australian uni headhunted them from Oxford, Cambridge and Yale. Now they face redundancy |url=https://www.theage.com.au/education/an-australian-uni-headhunted-them-from-oxford-cambridge-and-yale-now-they-face-redundancy-20230915-p5e4y7.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref>

== Student life ==

=== Student union ===
Each ACU campus has a student representative council and there is a national student body called the Australian Catholic University National Students' Association (ACUNSA), which advocates on behalf of students both individually and collectively.

=== Sports and athletics ===
The university hosts an annual national sporting event – the ACU Games – and students also compete in Australia's largest annual multisport event, the Australian University Games.

== Controversies ==

=== Position on LGBT visibility ===
In March 2023, controversy broke out on campus when librarians were ordered to remove the [[rainbow flags]] that had been displayed across campuses. Staff and students wrote an [[open letter]] to the university's Vice-Chancellor Zlatko Skrbis claiming that his acts were "a direct affront to ACU's mission to act in truth and love in the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person, and the common good".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Lucy Carroll, Christopher |date=2023-03-15 |title=University orders staff to remove public display of rainbow flags |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/university-orders-staff-to-remove-public-display-of-rainbow-flags-20230315-p5csaa.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> The university's position against [[LGBT pride|LGBT visibility]] appeared consistent with its [[Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Association#Dismissals under anti-discrimination law exemptions|earlier refusal]] to allow the [[Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Association]] to establish an LGBT+ support group on its Strathclyde campus,<ref>Leech, Graeme. (7 October 1992). 'Campus Rejects Gay Support Group'. Page 14: 'Higher Education'. ''[[The Australian]]''.</ref> but to depart from Pope Francis' increasingly [[Pope Francis and LGBT topics|affirming stance on LGBT topics]].

=== AGS investigation ===
In July 2023, ACU launched an internal investigation into its contracts with Asset Group Solutions. AGS had provided security and cleaning services to ACU but its founder had been charged with corruption. Stephen Weller (Chief Operating Officer and Deputy-Vice Chancellor) had been warned in 2018 about AGS's conduct but did not act on those warnings.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-07-12 |title='I was told to shut up': Australian Catholic University accused of ignoring concerns about security contractor |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-13/acu-inquiring-into-security-contractor-asset-group-solutions/102584740 |access-date=2023-10-11}}</ref> ACU responded by denying knowledge of AGS’s criminal activities and has launched an internal investigation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ACU response to ABC story |url=https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/news/2023/july/acu-response-to-abc-news-story |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.acu.edu.au |language=en}}</ref>

=== Job cuts ===
In September 2023, ACU announced plans to cut 113 full-time jobs, most of which were at the Melbourne campus. This was part of spending cuts intended to  reduce a forecast $30 million deficit and respond to shrinking enrollments. The cuts were announced as a $250 million campus building, which was constructed to accommodate student and staff growth, neared completion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Adam |date=2023-02-15 |title=Australian Catholic Uni cuts 110 jobs, 40 in Melbourne, as enrolments shrink, costs rise |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-catholic-uni-cuts-110-jobs-mostly-in-melbourne-as-enrolments-shrink-costs-rise-20230215-p5cko6.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> This has produced an international response in which many academics denounced the university. [[Timothy Williamson]], a professor of philosophy at Oxford and Yale, told reporters that ACU's meteoric rise to the pinnacle of research in philosophy was "unprecedented" but that cuts would give ACU the reputation "as a Mickey Mouse university ... damaging the good international standing of the Australian university system as a whole".<ref name="Groch-2023"/>

=== Dean of Law School Removed for Pro-Choice Writings ===
In January 2024, ACU removed Kate Galloway, a newly appointed Dean of the Thomas More Law School, when it was discovered that she had pro-choice views. She was paid A$1.1 million to leave her position during a time when the university was facing financial turmoil and despite a 2019 model code that requires universities to respect the academic freedom of their staff.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-26 |title=Catholic university pays A$1.1 million to abortion row law dean |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/catholic-university-pays-a11-million-abortion-row-law-dean#:~:text=Firm%20whose%20lawyer%20helped%20initiate,position%20%E2%80%9Cwith%20immediate%20effect%E2%80%9D. |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref>

== Notable people ==

=== Notable alumni ===
{{Category see also|Australian Catholic University alumni}}

*[[Matt Burke (rugby union, born 1973)|Matt Burke]] – former international rugby union player and sport presenter
*[[Ellie Cole]] – paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player
*[[Ben Cummins]] – former rugby league referee
*[[Martin Dixon (politician)|Martin Dixon]] – politician
*[[Sean Eadie]] – retired professional track cyclist
*[[Paul Field (musician)|Paul Field]] – musician, filmmaker and author
*[[Sam Hibbins]] – politician
*[[Kristina Keneally]] – politician
*[[John Kennedy (Australian politician)|John Kennedy]] – politician
*[[Justin Madden]] – former Australian rules footballer and state politician
*[[Simon Madden]] – former Australian rules footballer
*[[Melina Marchetta]] – writer and teacher
*[[Paul Mellor]] – former professional rugby league footballer
*[[Bronwen Neil]] – Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University
*[[Deborah O'Neill]] – politician
*[[Camille Agnes Becker Paul]] – feminist, moral theologian and activist
*[[Muriel Porter]] – journalist
*[[Liam Simmons]] – basketball coach and former player
*[[Gregory D. Smithers]] – professor of American history at Virginia Commonwealth University
*[[Madeleine Steere]] – professional water polo centre back
*[[Anba Suriel]] – bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles
*[[James Tedesco]] – professional rugby league footballer
*[[Morris West]] – novelist and playwright
*[[Alan Whiticker]] – non-fiction author and publisher
*[[Guy Zangari]] – former politician

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Australia|Victoria}} }}
* [[Catholic Health Australia]]
* [[List of universities in Australia]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.acu.edu.au/}}

{{Australian universities}}
{{ICUSTA}}
{{authority control}}
{{Coord|27.378|S|153.089|E|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|display=title|name=Australian Catholic University (Brisbane Campus)}}

[[Category:Australian Catholic University| ]]
[[Category:Universities in Queensland]]
[[Category:Universities in Brisbane]]
[[Category:Universities in Sydney]]
[[Category:Universities in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Universities in the Australian Capital Territory]]
[[Category:Catholic universities and colleges in Australia]]
[[Category:Nursing schools in Australia]]
[[Category:Art schools in Australia]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1991]]
[[Category:Banyo, Queensland]]
[[Category:Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities]]
[[Category:1991 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Municipality of Strathfield]]
[[Category:Schools in Queensland]]
[[Category:North Sydney, New South Wales]]
[[Category:Australian Catholic University people]]
[[Category:Australian Catholic University alumni]]