The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university located in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established by a Federal Act of Parliament in 1946, it is the only Australian university to be established by Federal, as opposed to State or Territory, legislation.
Centered at the Acton, Canberra campus, the university comprises seven teaching and research colleges, several focused postgraduate research centres and three non-tertiary educational entities. It also hosts the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and the National Computational Infrastructure facility.
In 2012, ANU was ranked 1st and 2nd among Australian universities, and 24th and 38th among the world's universities by the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, respectively.
Two Australian Prime Ministers attended the university, and ANU counts six Nobel laureates among its staff and alumni. ANU is a member of several university alliances and cooperative networks, including the Group of Eight, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and the International Alliance of Research Universities. As of 2010, there are 3,681 staff, including 1,506 academic staff who teach 8,688 undergraduate and 4,752 postgraduate students.
Read more about Australian National University: Administration, Organisation and Academic Structure, Arms, Colours and Insignia, Collaborations and Memberships, Rankings, Notable Graduates and Faculty
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—Vance Palmer (1885–1959)
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—Allan Bloom (1930–1992)