Flinders University takes its name from English navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the southern Australian coastline in 1802. Its crest includes a reproduction of Flinders’ ship ‘Investigator’ and an extract from his book A Voyage to Terra Australia.
Flinders University was created in 1966, at a time when new universities were being established across Australia as part of a major expansion of university education. This gave opportunities for access to people from a broader range of backgrounds than had attended universities in the past. It also helped to meet Australia’s need for an increasing number of highly trained and skilled personnel in a period of industrial development and economic growth.
Flinders University was formally opened on 25 March 1966 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother, and the Chancellor Sir Mark Mitchell.
Growth over forty years
In 1966, Flinders had 90 staff and 400 students enrolled in less than 10 courses. In 2008, Flinders has around 1 900 staff, 16 500 students, almost 300 courses, and over 55 000 Alumni. Flinders now has over 3 100 international students from more than 85 countries (there were only 10 international students in 1966).
In 2006, when Flinders celebrated its first 40 years, among the current staff there were 10 who had started working at Flinders in the 1960s.
Quality of education
Flinders has built a strong reputation for quality and innovation in its courses and in its teaching. It was the first university in the world to have a bachelor course in nanotechnology, and the first in Australia to offer a graduate entry medical course. Flinders staff have received a number of national awards for teaching excellence, including the Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year in 2004 and 2006.
Focus on research
Throughout its history, Flinders University has had a focus and an emphasis on research. Some excellent early appointments were made, especially to professors who built their international reputations along with that of the University.
Quickly, Flinders became a strong research performer in Australia relative to its size. It has been consistently ranked ninth among Australian universities by the Melbourne Institute in its well-regarded national research rankings, and is generally placed in the top ten in Australia in international rankings, such as those produced by Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Our buildings
The Flinders University campus is built on land whose traditional owners are the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.
In 1966 the campus was 370 acres (150 hectares) of open but hilly land. The first 10 years was a busy period of building construction and the University has continued to grow in each decade since.
In 1991 the Sturt campus of the South Australian College of Advanced Education (originally the Bedford Park Teachers College, located next to the University became part of Flinders University. Between 1992 and 1996, several new buildings were added (Information Science and Technology, Engineering and Law/Commerce), the Library was extended, and a new Yunggorendi Mande was opened to house the Indigenous Higher Education Centre.
The Australian Science and Mathematics School, the result of a partnership between Flinders University and the South Australian Government, and located on the campus, opened in 2003. In 2004 student accommodation on campus was expanded with the creation of the Deirdre Jordan Student Village.
Flinders is currently in another period of major capital development. Two new buildings together costing $45m were completed in mid 2008. One is a building next to the Law/Commerce building houses the School of Education and the other is the new Health Sciences building, which accommodates a number of departments from the School of Medicine. The Faculty of Science and Engineering now has a dedicated first year teaching facility and the University’s Sports and Fitness Centre received a purpose-built extension.
Vice-Chancellors
Flinders has been served by seven Vice-Chancellors:
- Professor Peter Karmel (1966-1971)
- Professor Roger Russell (1972-1979)
- Professor Keith Hancock (1980-1987)
- Professor John Lovering (1987-1994)
- Professor Ian Chubb (1995-2000)
- Professor Anne Edwards AO (2001-2007)
- Professor Michael Barber (since 2008).
More information
For more information about our history, refer to:
