Brisbane University (University of Queensland)

University Information, Campus and History
(Brisbane, Queensland - QLD, Australia)

Brisbane University is the main campus of the University of Queensland, the other two campuses located in Gatton and Ipswich. Smaller units can be found in Herston, South Brisbane, and Moggill, where the University's teaching hospitals and research centres are based.

The Brisbane campus (also known as the St Lucia campus) is often considered the most attractive university campus in the country. Bordered by the Brisbane River, the campus occupies 114 hectares and boasts of sprawling landscaped grounds, lush rainforests, and ample playing fields. It is home to several historic structures, the most notable of which is the Great Court, a cluster of towering sandstone buildings decorated with historical art and coats of arms.

Founded in 1910, the university is the oldest in Queensland and the fifth oldest in Australia. It was established to celebrate the 50th year of Queensland's independence from New South Wales. The first campus in St Lucia was built on what used to be a sugar plantation, and the present-day university boat shed sits on the former site of a sugar mill.

The University of Queensland is now one of Australia's leading research and higher education institutions. It is a founding member of Universitas 21, an international network of research universities, and the national Group of Eight, its Australian equivalent.

Facilities

The University has an extensive library system consisting of 16 libraries, nine of which are in the Brisbane campus. Each branch library specialises in a particular field of study; the Brisbane libraries contain resources in science, engineering, business, law, social sciences, and several fields of art and communication. One branch, the UQ Archives, contains official records of the University, including administration files, student and staff records, and committee minutes and papers. There are also exhibits showing former university professors and honouring students who died in service during World War II.

To ensure students' safety while on campus, the university developed UniSafe, a personal security programme now licenced to several other universities. The programme includes such services as a safety bus and a network of emergency call points connecting the three main campuses.

Each campus has a Student Centre, an information resource for student matters such as accommodation, student loans, scholarships, and admission and enrolment procedures. All Student Centres can be accessed on the university website, where students can view the current academic calendar, add or drop courses, request programme changes or shifts, access student email, and carry out a wide range of university transactions.

As you would expect in any large city, Brisbane comes with a good choice of accommodation, with many hotels and Queensland vacation rentals being within easy reach of the university campus itself. The majority of hotels stand outside of the Central Business District, with the most popular enjoying good connections to the public transport network. Worth considering is the accommodation within the inner suburbs of Petrie Terrace and Paddington, as well as the north-easterly suburb of Fortitude Valley.

Famous Students

The university has produced dozens of graduates who became prominent in their respective fields. University of Queensland alumni have made their marks in government, science, literature, and several other areas.

One of the university's most distinguished alumni is Professor Peter Doherty, a Nobel Laureate for Medicine with many award-winning research papers to his name. Professor Doherty won the 1996 Nobel prize with Rolf Zinkernagel for discovering the immune system's recognition of infected cells. Dr Rita Rossi Colwell, Honorary Professor of Microbiology at the university, is internationally acclaimed for her work in microbial ecology and marine buiotechnology. In 1998 she was appointed Director of the United States National Science Foundation, said to be the most influential scientific position in the US.

Many former Queensland governors were educated at the Brisbane campus, including Quentin Bryce, Leneen Forde, and Sir Walter Campbell. Sallyanne Atkinson, former Brisbane Lord Mayor, is an active member of the Australian Olympic committee, having led the Brisbane bid to host the Olympics in 1992. Singapore's Minister for Information, Dr Lee Boon Yang, went to the university as well.

In literature, notable graduates include Janette Turner Hospital (Due Preparations for the Plague), the late Thea Astley (The Well-Dressed Explorer; Drylands), and Dr David Malouf (An Imaginary Life; Child's Play).

Contact Brisbane University (University of Queensland):
Address: St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland (QLD), 4072, Australia
Tel: +61 (0)7 3365 1111 Fax: + 61 (0)7 3365 2061 Email: AdmissionsEnquiries@admin.uq.edu.au Website: http://www.uq.edu.au