Charles Darwin University

Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with 20,000 students from more than 55 nationalities across 11 campuses and training centres, in over 100 regional and remote locations; and across the nation through flexible, online learning.

CDU is one of Australia's strongly multicultural universities and is deeply engaged with Indigenous people and culture. No other single Australian university serves such a large area of the continent, with the Northern Territory campus locations showcasing the best of a tropical cosmopolitan lifestyle right on Asia’s doorstep. The university and the people in the wider community warmly welcome international students. CDU has campuses in the Darwin CBD, Sydney, Casuarina, Palmerston, and the towns of Alice Springs, Katherine, Jabiru, Tennant Creek and Yulara.

Charles Darwin University
TypePublic
Established2003
ChancellorPaul Henderson AO[1]
Vice-ChancellorSimon Maddocks[2]
Administrative staff
1,366 (2018)
Students20,124 (2018)
Address
Darwin Northern Territory 0810 Australia
,
Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Jabiru, Tennant Creek and Yulara
,
Northern Territory
,
Australia
CampusMetropolitan and Regional
Named afterCharles Darwin
AffiliationsInnovative Research Universities ASAIHL
Websitewww.cdu.edu.au

It was established in 2003[3] after the merger of Northern Territory University (NTU) of Darwin with the Menzies School of Health Research and Centralian College of Alice Springs, and was named after Charles Darwin, the celebrated English naturalist.

In a relatively short space of time, CDU has developed a reputation as one of the most innovative teaching and learning, and most research-intensive universities in Australia. CDU qualifications are recognised globally, and graduates are highly valued and sought after. CDU is one of the leading universities Australia wide for Graduate Employment and Salary Outcomes and consistently performs on global university rankings. 

CDU is a member of the group of seven Innovative Research Universities in Australia.[4]

The university offers a wide range of higher education degrees and vocational education and training courses with flexible study options, including part-time, external and online.

History

Charles Darwin University has evolved over the years through the merging of several higher education institutions.

Darwin Community College

Darwin Community College, founded in 1974 and renamed Darwin Institute of Technology in 1984, was a combined College of Advanced Education and a TAFE College. It was situated on what is now the Casuarina Campus, although it used other buildings at various times in Darwin. By the time of the formation of the Northern Territory University, it gave degrees in arts, education, business and applied science.[5]

Menzies School of Health Research

The Menzies School of Health Research was established in 1985 as a body corporate of the Northern Territory Government under the Menzies Act 1985. This act was amended in 2004 to formalise the relationship with Charles Darwin University (CDU). Menzies is now a major partner of CDU and constitutes a school within the university on campus at CDU Casuarina offering post-graduate degrees and higher degrees by research.[6]

University College of the Northern Territory

On several occasions the Government of the Northern Territory requested the Australian Commonwealth Government to finance a university in the territory. The response was always that the population was too small. In 1985, it took the unusual step of financing the University College of the Northern Territory itself for a five-year period from 1987 to 1991. The college was governed by a council, chaired by Austin Asche and led by a warden, Professor Jim Thomson, from the University of Queensland. An arrangement was made with the University of Queensland that the college would award degrees from that institution. Staff were recruited in 1986 and housed in the old Darwin Primary School buildings. Just prior to taking the first students in February 1987, the college moved to converted building of the former Darwin Hospital at Myilly Point in Darwin. The former nurses' hostel became a student residence, named International House. The college had two faculties, of arts and science. It awarded, through the University of Queensland link, the first Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the Northern Territory.

Centralian College

Centralian College was founded in 1993 from the merger of Sadadeen Senior Secondary College and the Alice Springs College of TAFE. During its life, the college delivered senior secondary, TAFE and higher education through its main campus in Alice Springs, and to a lesser extent the whole Northern Territory.[7] Centralian College is a co-educational senior secondary school, for students from Year 10 to Year 12. Centralian College shares its campus with the Charles Darwin University campus of Alice Springs. Centralian College uses the university's facilities and students attending Centralian College can participate in VET courses (as early as Year 10) offered by CDU.

Northern Territory University

The Northern Territory University (NTU) was founded in January 1989 by a merger of the Darwin Institute of Technology and the University College of the Northern Territory. The merger was controversial, but forced by the so-called Dawkins Revolution under federal Minister of Education John Dawkins. The new university started life on 1 January 1989. Degrees of the University of Queensland continued to be awarded for a few years.

The first vice-chancellor was Professor Malcolm Nairn from Murdoch University in Western Australia. Under his leadership the university prospered and morale was high among both staff and students. However funding declined as student numbers rose. During his term of office the various study centres on the territory, that previously had been run directly by the NT Government, became part of the university. The Palmerston campus, for a few years previously a TAFE College, also became part of the university. The Palmerston campus is situated on University Avenue as this was the proposed site for a new university in a submission to the federal government in 1981.

The second vice-chancellor was Professor Roger Holmes from Griffith University. After an initial excellent start to his period of office, he disappointed the university and local community by resigning after serving for only one semester to take up the post of vice-chancellor at University of Newcastle.

He was replaced as third vice-chancellor by the then deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Ron McKay. Under his leadership, the financial constraints on the university increased. The environment of having to provide as wide as possible a tertiary education to a small population living in a very large area far from alternative institutions became even more hostile and the university did not prosper. In January 2001, the Katherine Rural College, including Mataranka Station, became part of the university.

After McKay's resignation due to ill health in 2002, an interim vice-chancellor, Professor Ken McKinnon, former vice-chancellor of the University of Wollongong was appointed. He took various actions to improve the health of the university, some controversial, such as the proposal to merge with Centralian College with a new name for the university.

Charles Darwin University
Library, Palmerston campus

On 21 August 2003, the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly passed the Charles Darwin University Act 2003 (NT), merging Alice Springs' Centralian College and the Menzies School of Health Research with the Northern Territory University to form Charles Darwin University from 1 January 2004. The inaugural university council meeting was held on 26 November 2003.[8]

In 2020 Charles Darwin University caved to pressure from Chinese students and reprimanded a professor for including the line "... global pandemic originating in Wuhan, China has caused over 250,000 deaths, rendered millions of people ill, and inflicted recession on most areas of the global economy.” in the background for an assignment in a course on sustainability. The University found that the assignment contained "inaccurate and insensitive wording." CDU Student Administration Director Sam Jacob apologized and stated that such an incident would never occur again.[9][10]

Organisation

Charles Darwin University is a dual-sector university, which means the university offers Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses and higher education undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, covering a wide range of subjects and disciplines.

Enrolments in 2011 totalled 22,111 students, with 13,367 students enrolled in vocational and educational training courses and 8744 enrolled in higher education degrees.[11]

There are three areas of study offered by the university:

  • Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment[12]
  • Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts[13]
  • Vocational Education and Training[14]

The formerly independent Menzies School of Health Research is incorporated as a school within the university's Institute of Advanced Studies. The Menzies School of Health Research is a joint venture between CDU, the Menzies Foundation and the University of Sydney and is located both on campus at CDU Casuarina[15] and at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

The university has close links with Flinders University in South Australia, which itself has many students from the Northern Territory, including joint management of the Centre for Remote Health in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory Medical Program which is located on campus at Casuarina CDU.[16]

Schools:

  • School of Academic Language and Learning
  • School of Business
  • School of Creative Arts and Humanities
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering and Information Technology
  • School of Environment
  • School of Health
  • School of Indigenous Knowledges and Public Policy
  • School of Law
  • School of Psychological and Clinical Sciences

Research Institutes and Centres

  • North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas [17]
  • Menzies School of Health Research[18]
  • The Northern Institute
  • Research Institute for Environment & Livelihoods
  • Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Education (ACIKE)
  • Research Centre for Health and Wellbeing
  • Centre for Renewable Energy
  • Centre for School Leadership, Learning & Development
  • International Centre for Education (IGCE)

Academic profile

Rankings
University rankings
QS World[19]551+
THE-WUR World[20]251-300
Australian rankings
ERA National[21]34[22]

According to Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings of 2015–16, Charles Darwin University is ranked 250–300 in the world and 15th in Australia.[23] It is also ranked 48th in the world in the 2015 Times Higher Education 100 Under 50,[24] making it the youngest university in Australia to make this list.

In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Charles Darwin University recorded an overall satisfaction rating of 75.2.[25][26]

Notable people

The current and third chancellor of the university since 1 January 2010 is the Honourable Sally Thomas, AC, also the Administrator of the Northern Territory. The current vice-chancellor and president of the university since 2014 is Professor Simon Maddocks, an agricultural scientist.

Alumni and faculty
See also: List of Charles Darwin University people

Student associations

Students are represented by the CDU Student's Association (CDUSA), and postgraduate students by the CDU Postgraduate Student Association, a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.

Territory FM

104.1 Territory FM is a community radio station owned by CDU and based at the Casuarina campus. The station is broadcast on 104.1 Darwin and Palmerston and 98.7 Alice Springs and can also be heard in Batchelor, Katherine / Tindal, Tennant Creek, Nhulunbuy and Adelaide River.

See also

References
  1. "Chancellor: Paul Henderson AO". About CDU: Structure and leadership. Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. "Vice-Chancellor". About CDU: Structure and leadership. Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. "Charles Darwin University Act 2003 (NT) Second Reading Speech". Archived from the original on 11 November 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. "Innovative Research Universities (IRU)  –  Innovative Research Universities (IRU)". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. "Darwin Community College". Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  6. "Education and training". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. "Centralian College". Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  8. "Leadership". Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  9. Cheng, Ching-Tse. "Another Australian university limits academic freedom due to Chinese pressure". www.taiwannews.com.tw. Taiwan News. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  10. Bagshaw, Eryk; Hunter, Fergus. "China 'exporting CCP speech controls to Australia' as second university caught in row". www.smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  11. "CDU Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  12. "Faculty of Education Health and science". Cdu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  13. "LBA – Homepage". CDU. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  14. "IAS – Homepage". CDU. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  15. "Charles Darwin University campus". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  16. "Home – CRH – Centre for Remote Health". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  17. "North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas (NACOG)". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  18. "Menzies – School of Health Research". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  19. "QS World University Rankings 2021". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited.
  20. "World University Rankings 2020". TSL Education Limited.
  21. "Australian University Rankings". Australian Education Network.
  22. "All unis winners in research audit". The Australian. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  23. "Times Higher Education(THE) World University Ranking 2015–16".
  24. "Charles Darwin University". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  25. "2019 Student Experience Survey" (PDF). Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  26. Baker, Jordan. "UNSW students least satisfied in the country, survey shows". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 19 June 2020.

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