History
Australian Catholic University (ACU National) was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia - the Catholic College of Education Sydney in New South Wales, the Institute of Catholic Education in Victoria, McAuley College of Queensland, and Signadou College of Education in the Australian Capital Territory.
The institutions that merged to form the University had their origins in the mid-1800s, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. Through a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of the University.
The University operates as a company limited by guarantee, under the Companies (Victoria) Code and has a constitution which clearly identifies its objects in education, scholarship and research as part of the mission of the Catholic Church.
The University is a member of the publicly-funded national system of Australian universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the International Federation of Catholic Universities. The University's Vice-Chancellor is a member of the Universities Australia and its Board of Directors.
Mission of the University
Australian Catholic University shares with universities world-wide a commitment to quality in teaching, research, and service. It aspires to be a community characterised by free inquiry and academic integrity.
The University's inspiration, within 2,000 years of Catholic intellectual tradition, summons it to attend to all that is of concern to human beings. It brings a distinctive spiritual perspective to the common tasks of higher education.
Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, the sciences and technologies, and the creative arts, Australian Catholic University seeks to make a specific contribution to its local, national and international communities.
The University explicitly engages the social, ethical and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching and research, and service. In its endeavours, it is guided by a fundamental concern for justice and equity, and the dignity of all human beings.
Australian Catholic University has a primary responsibility to provide excellent higher education for its entire diversified and dispersed student body. Its ideal graduates will be highly competent in their chosen fields, ethical in their behaviour, with a developed critical habit of mind, an appreciation of the sacred in life, and a commitment to serving the common good.
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