Australian Catholic University

Australian Catholic University is a publicly funded university with seven campuses around Australia. It is one of the few Australian universities with a presence in Europe, having opened the Rome Centre in Italy in 2015.ACU has grown rapidly, with the number of undergraduate students increasing more than 60% between 2010 and 2015. The university now has more than 32,000 students from 160 countries, and more than 2,200 staff. It has matched this growth with the expansion and upgrade of it campuses. Several new buildings and developments have won interior design or architecture awards, and received a 6-Star Green Star energy rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.ACU is made up of four faculties, which offer bachelor, master and doctoral degrees. It is open to students and staff of all beliefs and backgrounds, and outlines in its mission statement a commitment to "the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person and the common good".ACU was founded from Catholic tertiary institutions that had been training teachers and nurses since the mid-19th century. It is now globally connected, with a relationship to more than 190 universities and educational institutions around the world as well as being part of a global network of Catholic universities.ACU has an increasing involvement in research and has seven new research institutes aligned with the university's four priority research areas: theology and philosophy; health; education; and the common good and social justice.HistoryAustralian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia: Catholic College of Education Sydney, New South Wales Institute of Catholic Education, Victoria McAuley College, Queensland Signadou College of Education, Australian Capital Territory These institutions 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 20 historical entities have contributed to the creation of the university.