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Griffith University

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Griffith University
Griffith logo
TypePublic
Established1971
ChancellorLeneen Ford
Vice-ChancellorIan O'Connor
Academic staff
3,500(including staff)
Undergraduates25,000 (2006)
Postgraduates6,000
Location
Brisbane
,
Qld.
,
Australia
CampusGold Coast, Nathan, Mt Gravatt, Logan, South Bank (includes Queensland College of Art & Queensland Conservatorium)
Websitewww.griffith.edu.au

Griffith University is an Australian public university with five campuses in Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. In 2006 there were more than 33,000 enrolled students and 3500 staff. The Griffith University campuses are: Gold Coast campus with more than 12,000 students is the largest university campus in Queensland, and the fastest growing campus in Australia.

Nathan Campus with 10,000 students is located in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan and was the first Griffith University campus to be established. There are further Brisbane campuses at Mount Gravatt with more than 4,000 students as well as the Queensland Conservatorium and the Queensland College of Art) close to the city centre at Southbank. The Logan campus with more than 2,500 students is located midway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Recent projects have been given the stamp of approval by some famous names such as: Kim Phuc, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Ray Charles, and Bob Geldof. They were promoting centres for photojournalism arts, assisting the wrongly accused, educating children with a visual impairment and promoting responsible ecological practices, respectively.

History

The university was formally founded in 1971 and opened its doors in 1975 to 451 students in four schools: Australian Environmental Studies, Humanities, Modern Asian Studies and Science. The University started with its Nathan campus, known for its peaceful and nature based setting. The expansive cluster of buildings, sports facilities, bushland reserves and recreational areas are all connected by an integrated network of walking paths. The university soon became famous for its modern environmental science, Asian studies and international business courses. The university now boasts a full suite of award winning programs including arts, education, medicine, dentistry, engineering, business, science, and law.

The University is named after the former Premier of Queensland, and High Court of Australia judge, Sir Samuel Griffith. who was also the principal author of the Australian constitution.

In 2004, Griffith University made the controversial decision to abandon its traditional shielded coat of arms for a red and white book motif, symbolising Griffith’s strong connections with corporate enterprise. Many were quick to criticise the change but, given its continued rise in popularity, the university's reputation has not diminished.

Griffith University Law School

Main article: Griffith University Law School

The Griffith University Law School was opened in 1992, and is spread across three of the five Griffith University campuses, with undergraduate combined degree programs taught from the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses, and postgraduate and professional programs taught from the Legal Practice Centre located at the South Bank campus.

The law school at Griffith University is noted for its leftist culture of social justice and provides an interdisciplinary legal education.

Professor Rob McQueen is currently the Dean of the law school [1]. Previous Deans include Justin Malbon, Rosemary Hunter, John Dewar and Sandra Berns.

More information about the law school can be found here

Griffith University International Alumni Network

The network was launched in October 2005 and includes Griffith alumni from China, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Brazil, Thailand and UK. Several more countries are expected to join the network in the future. The network has a website [2] that enables alumni to stay in touch when they go home to their respective countries and exchange information for prospective students. The website is multi-lingual, written in the native language of each of the participating countries.

Notable alumni

Sporting, Social and Cultural

Griffith University boasts a wide array of cultural, intellectual, sporting and social groups. Its Student Guild is an organisation within the university which takes care of these clubs, as well as student issues, accommodation, employment,publication, events, sport and recreation.

Established in 1981 the Griffith University Aikido Club was one of the first aikido dojos established in Brisbane. Today it is active at Nathan, Logan and South Brisbane and has more than 100 members.

GU also boasts the Greendoggs basketball club. The Greendoggs were runners up in 2005 at the Australian University Games. The female basketball club is called the Foxes and placed 3rd last year at Australian University Games.

Griffith University is the only university in Australia to have a cheerleading club, established on the Gold Coast campus.

The Griffith Organised Debating Society (GODS) is another notable extra curricular club, winning the BCC River Debates in 2003-2005. In addition the society competes in the annual World Universities Debating Championships and the annual Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships.

The Griffith University Australian Football Club (GUAFC) is an Australian rules football club formed in 2001, competing in the AFLQ State Association. The Griffith University Gladiators finished runners up in two of their first five seasons in the AFLSQ. The club plays out of Griffith's Nathan Campus, which features one of Queensland's leading amateur Australian football grounds with state-of-the-art playing lights and club rooms. There are currently plans underway to establish a team at the Gold Coast campus for entry into the AFLQ for season 2007.

The Griffith Medical School beat Bond University Medical School in the inaugural touch football series of 2005.

Student Union and Representation

Griffith University students are uniquely represented by two statutory embedded student organisations. The Griffith University Student Representative Council (GUSRC) represents undergraduate students and the Griffith University Postgraduate Students Association (GUPSA) represents post-graduate students in all campuses apart from the Gold Coast. GUPSA is a constituent member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. Unique to the Gold Coast is the Student Guild (GUSG) which represents all students from this campus and holds an administrative structure that is apparently independent to the university.

Student Representative Council

Sean Fitzgerald currently holds the position of GUSRC President. Past Presidents and Chairpersons include Leon Bertrand (2006), Glen Chatterton (2005/6, resigned), David Allen (2005, resigned) and Monique Bielanowski (2004). Most recent past Presidents of the SRC are members of the Labor Club, with that club having won five out of the previous six elections (four in landslides), including the last three. The main rivals to the Labor Club, the Trotskyist National Broad Left, had a history of being successful throughout the 1990s but, by the early 2000s, their grip on power had begun to wane. The only victory they have achieved in the last six years was the close-run 2002 election but they were subsequently defeated the next year in a then-record victory to the Labor Club.

In 2005, there were many forced resignations in the SRC, most of which Glen Chatterton was responsible for. Chatterton made David Allen resign, and replaced him as President before getting re-elected later that year. In early 2006 he also resigned, and Leon Bertrand was appointed as President and moved to reverse the plan to wind up the GUSRC in spite of Chatterton's efforts to stop him.

The GUSRC has recently been allocated rent-free premises and continues to function despite the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism and is currently broadening its revenue base.

Academic Structure

The latest information on Griffith's academic and administrative elements is available online at http://www.griffith.edu.au/elements/

Arts, Education and Law

  • School of Arts
  • School of Arts, Media and Culture
  • School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
  • School of Languages and Linguistics
  • School of Theology
  • Griffith Film School
  • Queensland College of Art
  • School of Cognition, Language and Special Education
  • School of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
  • School of Education and Professional Studies
  • School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education
  • Griffith Law School

Business

  • Griffith Business School
  • Graduate School of Management

Science and Technology

  • School of Science
  • Griffith School of Engineering
  • School of Aviation
  • School of Information and Communication Technology
  • Australian School of Environmental Studies
  • School of Environmental and Applied Science
  • School of Environmental Planning
  • School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science

Health

  • School of Medicine
  • School of Pharmacy
  • School of Dentistry and Oral Health
  • School of Anatomy
  • School of Human Services
  • School of Medical Science
  • School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science
  • School of Psychology
  • School of Public Health

Research Facilities

Research Centres

  • Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Research Centre
  • Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture
  • Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention
  • Centre for Applied Language, Literacy & Communication Studies
  • Centre for Aquatic Processes and Pollution
  • Centre for Forestry and Horticultural Research
  • Centre for Governance and Public Policy
  • Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management
  • Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies
  • Centre for Learning Research
  • Centre for Organisational Governance & Performance Management
  • Centre for Public Culture and Ideas
  • Centre for Quantum Dynamics
  • Centre for Environmental Systems Research
  • Centre for Riverine Landscapes
  • Centre for Wireless Monitoring and Applications
  • Centre for Work, Leisure & Community Research
  • Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
  • Forensic Science Research and Innovation Centre
  • Genomics Research Centre
  • Griffith Asia Institute
  • Griffith Centre for Coastal Management
  • Griffith Islamic Research Unit
  • Griffith Medical Research College
  • Griffith Psychological Health Research Centre
  • Heart Foundation Research Centre
  • Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law
  • Institute for Integrated & Intelligent Systems
  • Institute for Glycomics
  • International Centre for Ecotourism Research
  • International Fruit Fly Research Centre
  • Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance
  • Nanoscale Science and Technology Centre
  • Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre
  • Queensland Microtechnology Facility
  • Research Centre for Clinical Practice Innovation
  • Service Industry Research Centre
  • Socio-Legal Research Centre
  • Software Quality Institute
  • Urban Research Program
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