Edith Cowan University

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Edith Cowan University
Motto	"Freedom Through Knowledge"
Established	1991
Type	Public
Endowment	$730,000 (inc. devises)[1]
Chancellor	Hendy Cowan
Vice-Chancellor	Kerry O. Cox
Faculty	1,868[1]
Undergraduates	15,878[1]
Postgraduates	5,305[1]
Location	Perth, WA, Australia
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	ASAIHL
Website	http://www.ecu.edu.au

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is located in Perth, Western Australia. It is the only Australian university named after a woman, Edith Dircksey Cowan, who was the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament.

ECU is Western Australia's second largest university with approximately 21,000 students, of which in excess of 4000 originate from countries outside Australia.^[2] ECU was formed from the amalgamations of teachers' colleges with a history dating back to 1902 when the Claremont Campus was established; this made ECU the modern descendant of the first institution of higher education in Western Australia. World University Rankings published in January 2009 ranked its Faculty of Business and Law the tenth best business school in Australia^[3], and four star rating by Graduate Management Association of Australia in 2008.

The university has two metropolitan campuses, in Mount Lawley and Joondalup, and a regional campus in Bunbury, 180 km south of Perth. Divisions of note include the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and the Law School which commenced operation during 2005.

History

Edith Dircksey Cowan

The origins of Edith Cowan University date back to 1902 with the establishment of Claremont Teachers College, the first tertiary education institution in Western Australia. Other teacher training colleges were formed over the years, and in 1982 they were all merged to form the Western Australian College of Advanced Education (WACAE). This was designated a university and took the name Edith Cowan University on 1 January 1991.

It is the only Australian university named after a woman, Edith Dircksey Cowan, who was the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament.

Organisation

Faculties

The university has four faculties. The Faculty of Business and Law includes the schools of Accounting, Finance and Economics; Law and Justice; Management; and, Marketing, Tourism and Leisure. The Faculty of Computing, Health and Science includes the schools of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences; Computer and Information Science; Engineering; Natural Sciences; Nursing, Midwifery and Postgraduate Medicine; and, Psychology and Social Science. The Faculty of Education and Arts consists of the schools of Education; Indigenous Australian Studies (Kurongkurl Katitjin); Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA); and, Communications and Arts. The Faculty of Regional Professional Studies is the fourth faculty.

Vice-Chancellors

The university's Vice-Chancellor since 2006 is Professor Kerry O. Cox. Previous Vice-Chancellors include Professor Millicent Poole (from 1997 to 2005) and Professor Roy Lourens (from 1991 to 1997).

Governing council

The University Council is the governing body of the organisation which controls and manages the operation, affairs, concerns and property of the university, in accordance with its Corporate Governance Statement.

The membership of the council is composed of people across various disciplines and groups as mandated under Part III, Sect. 9 of the Edith Cowan University Act 1984. Its membership includes persons appointed by the Governor of Western Australia, co-opted members, members of the academic and general staff of the university as elected by the members of these groups, and alumni and student guild representatives.

With the exception of the Chancellor and students, members of council are elected for three-year terms, or in the case of a by-election for the balance of the current term. An elected member of the council may serve for up to three consecutive terms, after which they are subject to a twelve month break before they may be reconsidered for council. Students may serve only a single year term and are not eligible to renominate.

Campuses

ECU has three campuses, consisting of two metropolitan campuses at Joondalup and Mount Lawley, and one at Bunbury, in Western Australia's South West Region. Programs are also offered at regional centres throughout Western Australia.

Joondalup Campus Entrance

The Joondalup campus is part of the Joondalup Learning Precinct which includes the West Coast College of TAFE and the Western Australian Police Academy. It is serviced by the Joondalup CAT and is close to the Mitchell Freeway. The Mount Lawley campus is close to Perth's central business district. It is home to the Perth Graduate School of Business and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. The South West campus in College Grove in Bunbury's southern suburbs is the only full university campus in the state's South West region.

The university offers selected programs at various regional centres, including Broome, Geraldton and Margaret River. The Margaret River Education Campus opened in 2004 and is a collaborative project between ECU, Curtin University and the South West Regional College of TAFE. The campus's centrepiece is the Centre for Wine Excellence.

The university formerly had two campuses in Perth's western suburbs. The Churchlands Teachers College and Claremont Teachers College, which merged into ECU upon its formation, were closed down in the mid-2000s, with the former becoming a residential estate and the latter being acquired by the University of Western Australia.

Academic programs

Study programs are offered at Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels in numerous subject areas. A significant number of ECU courses are unique to Western Australia and Australia.

ECU is the only university in Western Australia to offer an aviation degree. Students may undertake flying training to become a commercial pilot or supplement this with other units of study to qualify them for range of career options in the aviation industry.

Student life

Enrolment

ECU has more than 20,000 students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. More than 4,000 international students originating from more than 90 countries study with ECU each year.^[4] This includes the offshore delivery of a variety of courses in a number of countries, student and staff exchange programs with other universities, joint research activities, international consultancies and individual academic links.

Guilds

All students are represented by the ECU Student Guild. Postgraduate students are also represented by the ECU Postgraduate Association (a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations), and international students by the International Students Council.

People

Notable alumni of ECU include entertainer Rolf Harris; Musa Aman, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sabah; former soccer player Alistair Edwards; actors Frances O'Connor, Hugh Jackman, Lisa McCune and Simon Lyndon; and Indigenous rights activist and former AFL player Craig Turley.

Notable academics include politics lecturer Peter van Onselen.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Edith Cowan University

• ECU Official Website
• Faculty of Business and Law
• Perth Graduate School of Business
• Alumni Website
• Churchlands Campus Redevelopment
• ECU India

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