Australian Catholic University, or ACU National, is Australia’s only public Catholic university. It has more than 13,000 students and 900 staff on six campuses located in three states and the Australian Capital Territory. ACU National, which is open to all staff and students regardless of their religious beliefs, is affiliated with the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the International Federation of Catholic Universities. Western Australian academic Greg Craven became the Vice Chancellor at the start of 2008.
The University was formed in 1991 by the amalgamation of four Catholic institutes of higher education in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. ACU National and its predecessor institutions have played an important role in Australia by training many teachers and nurses employed in the public, Catholic and other health systems.
The university’s Mission aims to add a “spiritual dimension” to higher education in Australia, similar to the aims of the great Catholic universities of Europe and North America. There is a strong social justice element in the university’s Mission and programs. (more…)