Adelaide University

This article is about the future merged university. For the university to be merged, see University of Adelaide.

Adelaide University

Other name	The University of Adelaide (1874-present) University of South Australia (1991-present)
Motto	A university for the future
Type	Pre-merger university with transitional council
Established	8 March 2024 (8 March 2024)
Accreditation	TEQSA
Affiliation	Group of Eight (invited)
Chancellor	Pauline Carr
Co-Vice Chancellors	Peter Høj David Lloyd
Academic staff	2,705 (FTE, 2023)
Administrative staff	3,340 (FTE, 2023)
Total staff	6,620 (2023)
Students	65,157 (2023)
Undergraduates	34,299 (EFTSL, 2023)
Postgraduates	10,709 (EFTSL, 2023)
Other students	772 (2023)
Address	North Terrace , Adelaide , South Australia , 5001 , Australia
Campus	Metropolitan and regional with multiple sites
Colours	White   Dark Blue   Bright Blue   Limestone   Purple
Website	adelaideuni.edu.au

Adelaide University is a planned public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2024, it will combine the University of Adelaide, the third-oldest university in Australia, and the University of South Australia (UniSA) which has an antecedent history dating back to 1856. It is expected to operated concurrently with the two universities during a transition period with the merged university formally opening on January 2026. It will be adjacent to the Australian Space Agency in Lot Fourteen, form part of the Adelaide BioMed City research precinct and have a presence in the Adelaide Technology Park. The two institutions are currently neighbours on North Terrace but have additional campuses in other parts of the city and state.

The two antecedent universities' histories date back to the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts. The University of Adelaide was founded in 1874 by the Union College with studies initially conducted at its Institute Building. The society was also the birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology founded in 1889 as the School of Mines and Industries. It later became the University of South Australia during the Dawkins Revolution following a merger with an amalgamated colleges dating back to the School of Art, also founded at the society. The two universities, which account for approximately three-quarters of the state's public university population, agreed to merge as Adelaide University in mid-2023.

The university will inherit seven campuses including the combined flagship Adelaide City campus in North Terrace, a tech-oriented campus in Mawson Lakes, the Magill campus specialising in social sciences, the Waite campus in Urrbrae and three regional campuses in Roseworthy, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. Its academic activities are currently divided between the two universities, which had a combined revenue of A$1.85 billion in 2023. It has been invited to join the Group of Eight, an association of research-intensive universities in Australia.

Adelaide University alumni, which will include those of the two antecedent universities, include the first female prime minister of Australia, two presidents of Singapore, the first astronaut born in Australia and the first demonstrator of nuclear fusion. The two universities have also produced a combined 116 Rhodes scholars, 169 Fulbright scholars and three Nobel laureates. Its history involve the development of penicillin, space exploration, sunscreen, the military tank, Wi-Fi, polymer banknotes and X-ray crystallography, and the study of viticulture and oenology.

History

University of Adelaide

Main article: University of Adelaide

The founders of the University of Adelaide (1875 engraving)

The history of the University of Adelaide dates back to the Union College established in 1872 to provide education to aspiring Protestant ministers who were previously required to travel to the United Kingdom. The college approached Scottish-born pastoralist Walter Watson Hughes with the proposal for a South Australian university with a request for endowment towards its creation. Following an agreement, a university association was established by the Union College on 23 September 1872 to manage the creation of the university.

The University of Adelaide, which is named after its founding city namesake to Queen Adelaide, was formally established on 6 November 1874 following the passage of its founding legislation through the South Australian parliament. The parliament also provided a 2 hectare (5 acre) land grant for a campus. Its early benefactors, many of whom Scottish immigrants, made large donations to develop the university. The university has produced some of the Australia's earliest businesspeople, lawyers, medical professionals and politicians.

The Elder Hall in 1905

It was founded with the backing of its first benefactor Walter Hughes and Thomas Elder, also a Scottish-born pastoralist and another founder of the university, who each donated £20,000 towards the association. The university initially occupied the South Australian Institute Building prior to the construction of the University Building which housed the entire campus at the time. Elder also bequeathed an additional £65,000 in his will following his death in 1897 of which £20,000 were allocated to set up the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Other donors include William Mitchell and Robert Barr Smith, also from Scotland and early leaders of the university.

A royal charter grant by Queen Victoria allowed women to study at the University of Adelaide

The Bonython Hall in 1936

The institution was the third of its kind on the Australian continent after the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, which then educated solely men. The university, which allowed women to study alongside men since its commencement soon became the second university in the English-speaking world following the University of London in 1878 to formally admit women on equal terms as men in 1881. This was following a royal charter granted by Queen Victoria that year, which allowed for women to be conferred degrees. This has contributed to a number of firsts in the history of women's education in Australia.

Notable women include its first female graduate Edith Emily Dornwell who concurrently became the first person in Australia to receive the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1885. The university also graduated Australia's first female surgeon Laura Margaret Fowler in 1891. Ruby Claudia Davy was the first Australian woman to receive a doctorate in music in 1918. Other notable firsts also include Winifred Kiek, Margaret Reid and Janine Haines. In 1914, the university was also the first to elect a woman, Helen Mayo, to a university council in Australia. It is also the alma mater of Dame Roma Mitchell who was Australia's first female judge, the first woman to be a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the governor of an Australian state. Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard had also studied at the university and the first Aboriginal Rhodes Scholar Rebecca Richards in 2010.

The Roseworthy Agricultural College established in 1883

In 1991, it formally opened two additional campuses in Greater Adelaide outside of the city centre. These included the Waite and Roseworthy campuses, though the university operated at the Waite site since at least 1924 as the Waite Agricultural Research Institute. The Roseworthy campus was the former Roseworthy Agricultural College which, although affiliated with the university since 1905, was an independent institution prior to their merger. Additionally, the university previously operated research facilities across 5 hectares (12 acres) in Thebarton approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the campus until 2020.

University of South Australia

See also: University of South Australia and Dawkins Revolution

The now-demolished Jubilee Exhibition Building in 1885

The SA School of Art, the earliest antecedent institution of the University of South Australia, was founded in 1856 by the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts. The independent art school, which went through many name changes, resided for most of its history at the Jubilee Exhibition Building which was later transferred to the University of Adelaide in 1929. It remained on the campus until 1962 when the building was demolished to make way for several university buildings.

The Brookman Building is the ancestral home of the University of South Australia (1903)

The Jubilee Exhibition Building was also the birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology which was established in 1889 as the SA School of Mines and Industries. It moved to the neighbouring Brookman Building in 1903, named after the Scottish-born businessman George Brookman who contributed £15,000 towards its construction. The institute maintained strong ties with the neighbouring University of Adelaide that included the co-ordination of teaching, laboratories and examinations across fields of engineering and sciences. Despite the university later establishing its own faculty of engineering in 1937, the reciprocal relationship remained intertwined to the University Council and studies completed at the institute were recognised as equivalent studies eligible for credit towards university courses. The institute later expanded to the regional city of Whyalla in 1962 and to the Adelaide suburb of Mawson Lakes in 1972 as The Levels.

The Adelaide Teachers College, which changed names and shifted locations multiple times throughout its existence, was established in 1876. Despite not being located at the University of Adelaide campus until 1900, students from the institution attended university lectures since at least 1878. In 1921, it renamed to the Adelaide Teachers College, in line with other interstate teaching colleges. Despite offers from the university to take control of the college, which was heavily integrated into the university, the Education Department retained administrative authority throughout its early history. The Hartley Building was built as its permanent home in 1927.

State of the university and its surrounding institutions in 1926

The college eventually renamed to the Adelaide College of the Arts and Education. It also established additional teachers colleges in other parts of the city including Magill. Following a series of mergers, the colleges expanded to become advanced colleges which all later amalgamated with the original mother college to become the South Australian College of Advanced Education in 1982. The combined institution continued its presence alongside the University of Adelaide and maintained joint teaching, facilities and committees. The campus merged with the university in 1991.

Stronger demand for advanced college places throughout the country resulted from a broadening appeal of higher education beyond the traditionally elite education provided by the universities. Advanced colleges were originally designed to complement universities, forming a binary system modelled on that of the United Kingdom. It was originally created by the Menzies government following World War II on the advice of a committee led by physicist Leslie H. Martin, during a period of high population growth and corresponding demand for secondary and tertiary education. This sector ceased to exist when, between 1989 and 1992, the Hawke-Keating government implemented the sweeping reforms of Education Minister John Dawkins that dismantled the binary system. The states, eager for increased education funding, merged the colleges either with existing universities or with each other to form new universities. Following its increasing expansion and autonomy from the university, the South Australian Institute of Technology was given the option to merge with either TAFE South Australia or the South Australian College of Advanced Education. It chose to merge with the latter advanced college resulting in the establishment of the University of South Australia, which continues to remain neighbours with the University of Adelaide.

The Hawke Building is the chancellery of the University of South Australia on the west end

The University of South Australia became the state's third public university, a continuation of the former South Australian Institute of Technology that merged with most of the SACAE, and maintained their historical presence next to the University of Adelaide, in the suburbs of Mawson Lakes and Magill and in the regional city of Whyalla. Its expansion over the next few decades, including to sites on the west end of North Terrace, and broadening fields of studies contributed to its status as the state's largest university by student population. It also became the second-largest university nationally by number of online students, either in the state or from other parts of the country, and expanded to Mount Gambier in 2005.

Merger progression

In June 2018, the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia began discussions regarding the possibility of a merger. The proposition was dubbed a "super uni" by then South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, and Simon Birmingham, but the merger was called off in October 2018 by the University of South Australia, which was less keen. Vice-chancellor David Lloyd, in an email to University of South Australia staff, claimed that the amalgamation lacked a compelling case. This statement was contradicted by the University of Adelaide's chancellor who said that the merger continues to be in the state's best interests and a spokesperson for the university added that it was still open to future talks. Following the release of several internal FOI documents retrieved by ABC News, it was later revealed that the merger talks failed due to disagreements on the post-merger institution's leadership structure. The name Adelaide University of South Australia was agreed upon by both universities and Chris Schacht, who previously served on the University of Adelaide Council, alleged that the merger talks failed due to disagreement on which vice-chancellor would replace the other following their amalgamation.

The University of South Australia's Brookman Building adjacent to Bonython Hall

In early 2022, the topic of a merger was raised again by the new state government led by premier Peter Malinauskas, which proposed setting up an independent commission to investigate the possibility of a merger between the state's three public universities should they decline. He had made an election promise to take a heavy-handed approach towards the merger to reduce students departing to higher-ranking institutions on the east coast and to improve the state's ability to attract international students and researchers. At the time, staff's opinions were evenly divided on the idea of the commission. Following the appointment of merger advocate Peter Høj as University of Adelaide vice-chancellor, both universities announced that a merger would once again be considered. The universities began a feasibility study into a potential merger at the end of the year. The invitation to merger negotiations was rejected by Flinders University, the state's third public university.

The University of Adelaide (right) is set to merge with the University of South Australia (left) by 1 January 2026

The agreement for the merger was reached on 1 July 2023 by the two universities, which then accounted for approximately two-thirds of the state's public university population, in consultation with the South Australian Government. The rationale for the amalgamation was a larger institutional scale may be needed in order to increase the universities' ranking positions, ability to secure future research income and a net positive impact on the state economy. The two universities argued that by combining their expertise, resources and finances into a single institution, they can be more financially viable, with stronger teaching and research outcomes. Support for the merger among existing staff were mixed, with a National Tertiary Education Union SA survey showing that only a quarter were in favour of the amalgamation. Warren Bebbington, who previously served as vice-chancellor at the University of Adelaide, described the proposed institution as a "lumbering dinosaur" in reference to its timing during an ongoing federal review of the higher education sector. Vice-chancellor Colin Stirling described plans to provide the new institution with A$300 million in research funding and scholarships as "unfair" to students who choose to study at Flinders University. The combined figure was later revised to A$464.5 million to include land purchases, with an additional A$40 million research fund set up for Flinders University.

In November 2023, legislation passed state parliament enabling the creation of the new university to be named Adelaide University, previously a colloquial name used by the University of Adelaide. An application for self-accreditation authority was submitted to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) on 15 January 2024, which was needed for the institution to offer courses that issue qualifications. Following approval on 22 May 2024, students starting studies at the pre-merger institutions from 2025 onwards will be issued degree certificates from Adelaide University. Students enrolled on or prior to 2024 will also be able to opt in adding antecedent institutions' names and logos on their parchments. The combined institution is expected to become operational by January 2026, with an additional transitional period extending to 2034. Prior to proposed cuts to migration resulting from a national housing shortage, the state government had projected the combined institution to enrol over 70,000 students including 6,000 additional international students, create 1,200 new jobs and bring in an estimated A$500 million per year to the South Australian economy by 2034. The amalgamation has been subject to mixed reactions.

Campuses and buildings

Adelaide City

The Mitchell Building, formerly the University Building, is the oldest building on campus

The Adelaide city campus will combine four adjacent campuses located across North Terrace, one of four terraces bounding the Adelaide city centre. On the east end of the terrace, the campus will be co-located with the historical Royal South Australian Society of Arts which included the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia. Built in the Gothic Revival architecture style, the Mitchell Building is the oldest building on the campus. It was called the University Building until 1961 when it was renamed after William Mitchell. The Brookman Building, constructed in 1903 and named after its benefactor George Brookman, formed part of the original School of Mines and Industries later renamed to the South Australian Institute of Technology. It was inherited by the University of South Australia, which later expanded to the west end of the terrace.

The interior of Bonython Hall, used for graduations, during a forum on nuclear energy

Bonython Hall, a great hall of the university, was built in 1936 following a donation of over £50,000 from the owner of The Advertiser newspaper, John Langdon Bonython, who was inspired following his visit to the Great Hall of the University of Sydney. The hall, which has been used during graduation ceremonies among other events, was designed by architect Louis Laybourne-Smith based on medieval great halls in a Gothic Revival architecture style inspired by the ancient universities in Europe. In between it and the Mitchell Building, which both face the terrace, is the Elder Hall which is its oldest great hall on the site. It is a large concert hall that is used by the Elder Conservatorium of Music among others and, along with Bonython Hall, both feature large organs.

The campus also includes other venues including the Scott Theatre, Little Theatre and the College Green. The Scott Theatre is the largest lecture theatre on site and is often hired out for performances of various kinds such as the Adelaide Fringe events. It features two revolving stages and a seating capacity of 635 people. The Little Theatre is located in the Cloisters and is primarily used for dramatic performances by the Theatre Guild. The College Green stretches from the Cloisters across the lawns down to Victoria Drive, next to the River Torrens. It hosts various social events throughout the year including parties, live bands, DJs and open-air cinema among others. It was created in response to the impact of social distancing restrictions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, which hit many live music venues.

The Barr Smith Library on the main Adelaide campus

The Barr Smith Library is the largest library on the site and is notable for its opulent reading room. The Napier and Ligertwood Buildings were built following the demolition of the Jubilee Exhibition Building in 1962. They are named after Mellis Napier and George Ligertwood who were both former chancellors. Some other notable buildings on the east end of the campus include the Ingkarni Wardli Building, Darling Building, Hartley Building, Mawson Building, Playford Building, Basil Hetzel Building, Bonython Jubilee Building, Centenary Building and the Helen Mayo North and South Buildings. The A$100 million Braggs Building, named after two Nobel laureates associated with the university, was built in 2013 and features a large number of cross-disciplinary scientific research facilities. The Adelaide University Footbridge was constructed in 1937 following a decade of delays during the Great Depression. The footbridge, which crosses the River Torrens, features cast iron balustrading that is a popular location for love locks.

The Cloisers are a war memorial to University of Adelaide members who served and died during World War I

The Adelaide University Union redevelopment, also known as Union Buildings or Union Building Group, was completed in stages between 1967 and 1975. It created some of the most significant buildings in the complex. The redevelopment was designed by lead architect Robert Dickson and includes a heritage-listed group of buildings including the Union House, the Lady Symon Building named after the wife of Josiah Symon, the George Murray Building, the Cloisters and the Western Annexe. The earlier Georgian-style buildings were designed by the architects Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith who also designed Bonython Hall, the Mitchell Gates, the Johnson Laboratories, the Barr Smith Library and the Benham Laboratories. The Adelaide University Union Cloisters were built in 1929 as a war memorial to the 470 University of Adelaide members who served during World War I, of which 64 had died during the war. There are three plaques on the site, with the latest added in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landing.

The National Wine Centre of Australia on North Terrace

The campus also incorporates part of the adjacent Lot Fourteen precinct, that is also home to the national headquarters of the Australian Space Agency among other institutions in the fields of science and technology. As part of the merger, its presence in the area will be expanded with the Australian Defence Technologies Academy to be located in the under-construction Innovation Centre, also to be home to the Space Assembly Integration and Testing Facility. The National Wine Centre further along of the terrace and adjacent to the Adelaide Botanic Garden forms the easternmost extent of the city campus.

The Bradley Building, named after Denise Bradley, is part of the Adelaide BioMed City

Although both universities had a major presence in the east end, its sites on the west end are primarily occupied by the University of South Australia with the exception of the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building. As the university had expanded to the west over several decades following its establishment, the buildings on the site are considerably newer than on the east. The Bradley Building and the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building, which are home to various clinical and simulation facilities in the fields of healthcare and medicine, form part of the Adelaide BioMed City Precinct which also includes the affiliated Royal Adelaide Hospital and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

The Jeffrey Smart Building includes staff and student spaces and the east end library

The Jeffrey Smart Building, named after artist Jeffrey Smart, was constructed in 2014. It is a student hub that comprises "open plan" teaching and learning spaces, the main library on the east end and a central green common area with an outdoor cinema. The adjacent Hawke Building is named after former prime minister Bob Hawke and was constructed in 2007. It is home to the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, Samstag Museum, the Allan Scott Auditorium with a seating capacity of 400 seats and the Bradley Forum with 150 seats.

The indoor pool located in the basement of Pridham Hall

Pridham Hall is a gymnasium and multi-sport facility constructed in 2018. It was designed as a collaboration between Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, JPE Design Studio and JamFactory. It features a 25 metres (82 ft) heated swimming pool, gymnasium, dance studio, a sloping roof ampitheatre and a 1,600 square metres (17,000 sq ft) convertible great hall that can be used for both sports or hosting events with up to 2,000 attendees. It was funded largely by alumni, including its namesake Andrew Pridham and his family who donated A$5 million toward its construction. Other buildings on the east end include the Kaurna Building, Barbara Hanrahan Building, Yungondi Building, Lewis O’Brien Building, Elton Mayo Building, David Pank Building, Catherine Helen Spence Building, Dorrit Black Building, Way Lee Building, Sir George Kingston Building, Sir Hans Heysen Building, Rowland Rees Building, Liverpool Street Studios and the Enterprise Hub.

Magill

The Magill campus includes the heritage-listed Murray House and surrounding parklands

The Magill campus was established in 1973 and is located on St Bernards Road in the eastern Adelaide suburb of Magill. The campus specialises in the social sciences, psychology, neuroscience, teacher education, sports science, journalism, creative industries, human services, social work, media and communication. It also hosts several media studios, research laboratories, health clinics, a Samsung SMARTSchool and the de Lissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies named after Montessori education pioneer Lillian Daphne de Lissa.

The parkland campus includes the heritage-listed Murray House, named after Scottish-born pastoralist Alexander Borthwick Murray. Built in 1884 and later expanded, the stone building incorporates Victorian-era Italianate and Gothic Revival architecture styles.

Mawson Lakes

Building X on the Mawson Lakes campus adjacent to Technology Park Adelaide

The Mawson Lakes campus, established in 1972 as The Levels, is located in the northern Adelaide suburb of Mawson Lakes along 144 hectares (360 acres) of wetlands. It specialises in fields of science, engineering, computer science, environmental sciences, civil aviation and teacher education. It is also home to the Adelaide Planetarium and several information technology and engineering laboratories, including a defence research lab and the Future Industries Institute. The campus also has flight and airport simulators and offers pilot training through its aviation academy at the nearby Parafield Airport.

It is also neighbours with the Adelaide Technology Park which is home to the Australian offices of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Saab among other multinational companies in the space and defence technology sectors.

Waite

The Waite campus is home to the Waite Research Institute

The Waite campus specialises in agricultural science, viticulture, oenology, plant breeding, food research and biotechnology. It is located in the suburb of Urrbrae in Adelaide's eastern foothills, adjacent to the Urrbrae Agricultural High School, on 184 hectares (450 acres) of which a large amount was donated through the will of Scottish-born pastoralist Peter Waite. Approximately half of the land donated was dedicated for studies in agriculture and the remainder as a public park. The Waite Research Precinct is home to several research centres.

The Waite Agricultural Research Institute was established in 1924. Its first director was Arnold E. V. Richardson. Later renamed to the Waite Research Institute, it produces approximately 70% of Australia's research output in viticulture and oenology and around 80% of cereal varieties used in southern Australia were created there. A Soil Research Centre was founded in 1929 with a donation of £10,000 from Harold Darling of J. Darling and Son, grain merchants. In 2004, State Premier Mike Rann opened the A$9.2 million Plant Genomics Centre at the campus. In 2010, he opened The Plant Accelerator, a A$30 million research facility which is the largest and most advanced of its kind in the world.

The Plant Accelerator is a plant phenotyping facility

A number of other organisations are co-located in the precinct including the South Australian Research and Development Institute (or SARDI, part of Primary Industries and Regions SA which is also headquartered at the campus), Australian Grain Technologies, Australian Wine Research Institute and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The Urrbrae House built in 1891, now a museum, served as the home of Peter and Matilda Waite who purchased the land with support from Thomas Elder. Its interior is designed by Aldam Heaton, who was also responsible for designing interiors for the Titanic. The campus is also home to the Waite Arboretum and Conservation Reserve. The Waite Arboretum is a tree museum which is home to over 2,500 tree specimens from over 1,000 taxa, many of which are endangered in the wild. The Waite Conservation Reserve, also co-located on the campus, is home to native plants and wildlife.

Roseworthy

Main article: Roseworthy College

The Roseworthy College Hall, built in 1884, is a student hub

Located north of the city, the Roseworthy campus comprises 16 km² (6.2 sq mi) of farmland and is a large centre for agricultural research and veterinary sciences. It was the site of the former Roseworthy Agricultural College which was established in 1883 as the first agricultural college in Australia. The Roseworthy College Hall, now the student hub, is the main building on the campus and was built in 1884. Its clock tower features a Swiss precision clock that is synced via GPS with Greenwich Mean Time. The clock tower was missing a clock for more than 120 years until 2003, when the mechanism was finally added following a donation. The colleges' teaching and research in oenology and viticulture were transferred to the Waite campus, along with the bulk of its work in plant breeding. Before studies in oenology were transferred to the Waite campus, the college had produced a number of highly regarded and awarded winemakers and wine critics.

Following the merger, the campus expanded its focus in dryland agriculture, natural resource management and animal production by the mid-1990s. The campus is also now home to South Australia's first veterinary science training program, which commenced in 2008. The Veterinary Science Centre houses teaching facilities including a surgical skills suite, a public veterinary clinic offering general practice as well as emergency and specialist veterinary services for pet animals. There are also specialised pathology laboratories at the centre for teaching, research and diagnostics. In 2013, the veterinary science facilities were expanded with the opening of the Equine Health and Performance Centre, a specialised facility for equine surgery, internal medicine, sports medicine and reproduction.

The Roseworthy Memorial Chapel was built to memorialise fallen soldiers from the college

The Memorial Chapel is a notable building on the Roseworthy campus. It was built in 1955 to memorialise students from the former college who died during World War I, World War II and the Boer Wars. The entrance features a limestone statue of a young soldier "discarding his uniform in readiness to return to the land". The organ of the chapel was donated by the mother of a student that died in New Guinea during World War II. There is a time capsule from 1976 located near the chapel. It is expected to be opened in 2026.

In 2021, the A$7 million Roseworthy Solar and Energy Storage Project was opened on the campus. It included a solar farm with an output of 1.2MW with a 420/1200kWh hybrid battery. Its 3,200 solar panels are estimated to produce 42% of the campus' energy requirements.

Whyalla

The Whyalla campus was established in 1962 and is the largest regional campus in South Australia. Located in city of Whyalla in the Eyre Peninsula, it is set on 22 hectares (54 acres) and offers studies in teacher education, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and human services.

Mount Gambier

Based in the Limestone Coast, the Mount Gambier campus was established in 2005 and offers studies in commerce, teacher education, nursing, midwifery, social work and human services. It is located in Mount Gambier, the largest regional city in South Australia. The campus also conducts research on forest management.

Governance and structure

University Council

The main governing body of the institution will be its Council. It will be the executive committee responsible for managing operations, setting policies and appointing the chancellor and vice-chancellor. The Council will comprise of the chancellor, vice-chancellor, a member of the academic staff, a member of the professional staff, an undergraduate student, a postgraduate student, at least one member with a commercial background, two members with prior experience in financial management and other members appointed by the selection committee. The selection committee, which will comprise the chancellor and six other appointed members, can appoint members to the Council to serve for between 2 and 4 years. This excludes elected staff and student members, which have a term limit of 2 years.

The Jeffrey Smart Building

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The chancellor of the university is a limitless term position that is mainly ceremonial and is held by former University of South Australia chancellor Pauline Carr who was succeeded by John Hill at the latter office in May 2024. Pauline was appointed by the Transition Council. The current co-vice-chancellors are biochemists Peter Høj and David Lloyd, who are concurrently vice-chancellors of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia respectively. While the chancellor's office is ceremonial, the vice-chancellor serves as the university's de facto principal administrative officer. The university's internal governance will be carried out by the University Council to be formed through the Adelaide University Act 2023.

Finances

In 2023, the two antecedent universities had a combined revenue of A$1.85 billion (2022 – A$1.68 billion), a combined expenditure of A$1.83 billion (2022 – A$1.67 billion) and combined net assets of A$4.25 billion (2022 – A$4.17 billion).

Academic profile

The Australian Institute for Machine Learning next to the Australian Space Agency HQ

Adelaide University has been invited to become a member of the Group of Eight, a coalition of research-led Australian universities. The university is expected to continue its presence in the Adelaide BioMed City research precinct and remain in Lot Fourteen next to the Australian Space Agency headquarters. As part of the merger, the Australian Defence Technologies Academy will also be opened in Lot Fourteen in the under-construction Innovation Centre, also to be home to the Space Assembly Integration and Testing Facility. In 2024, BAE Systems announced that it will establish its Australian headquarters at the centre. The Mawson Lakes campus will also be adjacent to the Adelaide Technology Park which is home to the Australian offices of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Saab among other multinational companies in the space and defence technology sectors.

South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute

Research and publications

In the 2018 ERA National Report, the Australian Research Council evaluated work produced between 2014 and 2018. 100 per cent of research activity at both antecedent universities were judged to be "at or above world standard" (3-5*).

Academic reputation

The state government projects that the university will rank within the top 100 universities following the merger.

National publications

In the 2023 AFR Best Universities Ranking, the University of Adelaide attained a position of #5 among Australian universities and the University of South Australia attained a position of #11.

Global publications

In the 2025 QS World University Rankings (published 2024), the University of Adelaide tied 82nd place (8th nationally) and the University of South Australia tied 340th place (22nd nationally).

In the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the University of Adelaide tied 111th place (7th nationally) and the University of South Australia attained a position of #301-350 (tied 21-23rd nationally).

In the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the University of Adelaide attained a position of #151-200 (8th nationally) and the University of South Australia attained a position of #401-500 (tied 22-24th nationally).

In the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings, the University of Adelaide attained a position of #92 (9th nationally) and the University of South Australia attained a position of #378 (24th nationally).

In the 2023 Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, which measures aggregate performance across the QS, Times and ARWU rankings, the University of Adelaide attained a position of #98 (8th nationally) and the University of South Australia attained a position of #328 (24th nationally). Additionally, both universities ranked within the top 100 in a number of subject rankings across all four publications.

University	Founded	Enrolment	Rankings
			QS (2025)	THE (2024)	ARWU (2023)	USNWR (2024)
University of Adelaide	1874	30,279	82 (tie)	111 (tie)	151-200	92
University of South Australia	1991	34,878	340 (tie)	301-350	401-500	378

Academic calendar

The academic year is expected to be divided into three trimesters.

Notable people

Adelaide University alumni will include those of the two antecedent universities and their predecessor institutions. These include the first female Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, Singaporean presidents Tony Tan and Ong Teng Cheong, the first Australian-born astronaut Andy Thomas, the first demonstrator of nuclear fusion Mark Oliphant, the founding editor-in-chief of Vogue China Angelica Cheung, singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian, the industrialist Edward Holden who founded Australian automobile manufacturer GM Holden, the speech therapist Lionel Logue who helped King George VI manage his stammer, the inventor of modern sunscreen Milton Blake, Neil Weste whose advancements in wireless communications are widely used and several Olympians and Paralympians including Matthew Cowdrey. Incumbent office-holders include the state premier Peter Malinauskas, state governor Frances Adamson, the Human Rights Watch executive director Tirana Hassan, the national senate leader Penny Wong, the Australian National University chancellor Julie Bishop and several federal cabinet ministers. The two universities have also produced a combined 116 Rhodes scholars, 169 Fulbright scholars and three Nobel laureates. Its history include the development of penicillin, space exploration, sunscreen, the military tank, Wi-Fi, polymer banknotes and X-ray crystallography, and the study of viticulture and oenology.

• Notable alumni associated with the university:
• 
  Julia Gillard
  First female Prime Minister of Australia
• 
  Andy Thomas
  Aerospace engineer and first Australian-born astronaut
• 
  Julie Bishop
  First female Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia
• 
  Tony Tan
  7th President of the Republic of Singapore
• 
  Penny Wong
  Current Minister for Foreign Affairs and senate leader
• 
  Ong Teng Cheong
  5th President of the Republic of Singapore
• 
  Roma Mitchell
  First female Australian judge, chancellor and state governor
• 
  Laura Margaret Hope
  First female surgeon in Australia
• 
  Mark Oliphant
  Nuclear physicist and humanitarian
• 
  Tirana Hassan
  Executive director of Human Rights Watch
• 
  Angelica Cheung
  Founding editor-in-chief of Vogue China
• 
  Guy Sebastian
  Singer-songwriter and musician
• 
  Lionel Logue
  Speech and language therapist
• 
  Matthew Cowdrey
  Paralympian and state politician
• 
  Edward Holden
  Industrialist and founder of GM Holden

Nobel laureates

Nobel laureates associated with the university:

Lawrence Bragg
Physicist

Howard Florey
Pharmacologist

Robin Warren
Pathologist

Nobel laureates associated with the university include Lawrence Bragg, who held the record for the youngest laureate ever until 2014, co-recipient with his father William Henry Bragg for their work in x-ray crystallography in 1915. Howard Florey, a pharmacologist and pathologist, shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Alexander Fleming and Ernst Chain for their role in the development of penicillin. J. M. Coetzee, a novelist and member of the faculty, had won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. Robin Warren was a pathologist who, alongside Barry Marshall, discovered that peptic ulcers were largely caused by the infection Helicobacter pylori, graduated in 1961. Warren and Marshall won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery in 2005.

Further reading

• Sumerling, Patricia; McDougall, Katrina (August 2006). "The City of Adelaide: A Thematic History". McDougall & Vines. Adelaide, South Australia. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019.
• Hodder, Edwin (July 2013). The History of South Australia Volume II. Adelaide, South Australia. ISBN 9781334291111. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Edgeloe, Victor Allen (1983). "The Adelaide Law School 1883-1983" (PDF). Adelaide Law Review. Adelaide, South Australia: The University of Adelaide. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2024.
• Harvey, Nick; Fornasiero, Jean; McCarthy, Greg; Macintyre, Clem; Crossin, Carl, eds. (2012). A History of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Adelaide 1876-2012 (PDF). Adelaide, South Australia: University of Adelaide Press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2024.
• Zeitz, Lynette D. (2014). The Waite: A Social and Scientific History of the Waite Agricultural Research Institute. Adelaide, South Australia: Barr Smith Press. doi:10.20851/waite. ISBN 9781922064615. ISSN 0312-9640. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024.
• Gardner, J.A.; Delaporte, K.L. (24 March 2023). "Waite Arboretum – An enduring gift" (PDF). Enviro Data SA (Government of South Australia). Adelaide, South Australia: Board of the Botanic Gardens & State Herbarium. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2024.
• Gardner, Jennifer A. "The Waite Arboretum – Science, Trees and Technology" (PDF). Australian Forest History Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 March 2024.
• Burn, Margy (1982). The Barr Smith Library: its early days. Adelaide, South Australia: The University of Adelaide Library. ISBN 978-0-909766-04-7. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023.
• Gosse, Fayette (1996). Joanna and Robert: the Barr Smiths' life in letters, 1853-1919. Adelaide, South Australia: Barr Smith Press. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024.
• Emery, Margaret (November 1990). "Roseworthy Agricultural College and its Library 1883 – 1990" (PDF). Roseworthy Agricultural College. Roseworthy, South Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2024.
• "The University of Adelaide - 150 Years of Making History". The University of Adelaide. Adelaide, South Australia. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024.
• Hoskin, Cheryl (May 2013). "A Genius About the Place: The Phoenix Magazine and Australian modernism" (PDF). The University of Adelaide. Adelaide, South Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2023.
• Mackinnon, Alison (July 2016). A New Kid on the Block: the University of South Australia in the Unified National System. Melbourne, Victoria: Melbourne University Publishing (The University of Melbourne). ISBN 9780522870572.

External links

• Official website