Seventy years ago today, the University of New England (UNE) was formed, beginning a reputation as an innovator in rural and agricultural research.
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Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2024, the UNE will reflect on the contributions of the staff, students and community members who built - and continue to build - this university over the years.
UNE's vice-chancellor, Professor Chris Moran, said the New England community fought for decades to get its own university so students who lived at a distance from a city could have better access to higher education.
"For anyone who was prepared to work for it, the University of New England was there as an unconventional alternative to the established metropolitan institutions," Prof Moran said.
"We are still here today, providing those same opportunities,
UNE broke away from the University of Sydney on February 1, 1954, under the visionary leadership of first vice-chancellor Robert Madgwick, who drove UNE's pioneering development of distance education as part of a broader agenda to support regional Australia.
"Our 70th year is an opportunity to reflect on the work that has made UNE what it is today, but even more importantly, it is a time to think about how the university will evolve over coming decades," Prof Moran said.
"What will it mean to be a regional university in the mid-21st Century? We need to start charting that course now, with the same boldness and disregard for convention that distinguished UNE in its start-up days.
"We already have plans to engage with our students to help them succeed more closely. Some of that intent will be achieved through technology, as an extension of UNE's work in distance education that has changed the lives of tens of thousands of people."
"But we are also planning to revitalise the physical campus. UNE was built around an exceptional residential experience for students.
"As communities and interpersonal relationships are changed by digital technologies, not always for the better, UNE is exploring how to re-establish the physical experience of the university that is so fondly remembered by thousands of alumni who spent their formative years in the UNE colleges or Armidale."
Former and current staff, students and community members are encouraged to join the various events planned throughout 2024.
