Macquarie University - History

History

The idea of founding a third university in Sydney was flagged in the early 1960s when the New South Wales Government formed a committee of enquiry into higher education to deal with a perceived emergency in university enrollments in New South Wales. During this enquiry, the Senate of the University of Sydney put in a submission which highlighted ‘the immediate need to establish a third university in the metropolitan area’. After much debate a future campus location was selected in what was then a semi-rural part of North Ryde, and it was decided that the future university be named after Lachlan Macquarie, an important early governor of the colony of New South Wales.

Macquarie University was formally established in 1964 with the passage of the Macquarie University Act 1964 by the New South Wales parliament. The university was designed in the Brutalist style and developed by the renowned town planner Walter Abraham who also oversaw the next 20 years of planning and development for the university. A committee appointed to advise the state government on the establishment of the new university at North Ryde nominated Abraham as the architect-planner. The fledgling Macquarie University Council decided that planning for the campus would be done within the university, rather than by consultants, and this led to the establishment of the architect-planners office.

The university first opened to students on 6 March 1967 with more students than anticipated. The Australian Universities Commission had allowed for 510 effective full-time students (EFTS) but Macquarie had 956 enrolments and 622 EFTS. Between 1968 and 1969, enrolment at Macquarie increased dramatically with an extra 1200 EFTS, with 100 new academic staff employed. 1969 also saw the establishment of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM).

Macquarie grew during the seventies and eighties with rapid expansion in courses offered, student numbers and development of the site. In 1972, the university established the Macquarie Law School, the third law school in Sydney. In their book Liberality of Opportunity, Bruce Mansfield and Mark Hutchinson describe the founding of Macquarie University as ‘an act of faith and a great experiment’. An additional topic considered in this book is the science reform movement of the late 1970s that resulted in the introduction of a named science degree, thus facilitating the subsequent inclusion of other named degrees in addition to the traditional BA. Alternative views on this topic are given by famous British-Australian physicist John Ward and laser physicist Frank Duarte. In 1990 the university absorbed the Institute of Early Childhood Studies of the Sydney College of Advanced Education, under the terms of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989.

There have been only four Vice-Chancellors in the university’s forty-four year history. The first Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University was Alexander George Mitchell, who held the position until December 1975, when he was replaced by Edwin Webb, who served until 1986. Di Yerbury was appointed to the position in 1986, and was the first female Vice-Chancellor in Australia. Professor Yerbury held the position of Vice-Chancellor for just under 20 years, and was replaced by Professor Steven Schwartz at the beginning of 2006. Yerbury's departure was attended with much controversy, including a "bitter dispute" with Schwartz, disputed ownership of university artworks worth $13 million and Yerbury's salary package. In August 2006, Professor Schwartz expressed concern about the actions of Yerbury in a letter to university auditors. Yerbury strongly denied any wrongdoing and claimed the artworks were hers.

During 2007, Macquarie University faced a restructuring of its student organisation after an audit raised questions about management of hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds by student organisations At the centre of the investigation was Victor Ma, president of the Macquarie University Students' Council, who had previously been involved in a high-profile case of student election fixing at the University of Sydney. The university Council resolved to immediately remove Ma from his position. Vice-Chancellor Schwartz cited an urgent need to reform Macquarie's main student bodies. However, Ma strongly denied any wrongdoing and labelled the controversy a case of ‘character assassination’. The Federal Court ordered on 23 May 2007 that Macquarie University Union Ltd be wound up.

Following the dissolution of Macquarie University Union Ltd, the outgoing student organisation was replaced with a new wholly owned subsidiary company of the university, known as U@MQ Ltd. The new student organisation originally lacked a true student representative union; however, following a complete review and authorisation from the university Council, a new student union known as Macquarie University Students Association (MUSRA) was established in 2009.

Within the first few hundred days of Schwartz's instatement as Vice-Chancellor, the 'Macquarie@50' strategic plan was launched, which positioned the university to enhance research, teaching, infrastructure and academic rankings by the university's 50th anniversary in 2014. Included in the university's plans for the future was the establishment of a sustainability office in order to more effectively manage environmental and social development at Macquarie. As part of this campaign, in 2009 Macquarie became the first Fair Trade accredited university in Australia. The beginning of 2009 also saw the introduction of a new logo for the university which retained the Sirius Star, present on both the old logo and the university crest, but now 'embedded in a stylised lotus flower'. In accordance with the university by-law, the crest continues to be used for formal purposes and is displayed on university testamurs. The by-law also prescribes the university's motto, taken from Chaucer: 'And gladly teche'.

The university introduced a new curriculum in January 2010 that was intended to include study in general education subjects. This also involves a dramatic reduction in the number of degrees available and placing them into a system of majors and minors within other existing degrees. This process is seen as a step towards the current trend whereby universities in Australia are reducing the amount of named degrees in order to simplify enrolment and to maintain the competitiveness of Australian degrees globally in accordance with the Bologna Accord. This national trend was initiated in Australia by the Melbourne Model. From January 2013, the university will become the first in Australia to align its degree system with the Bologna Accord.