The Jabal Indigenous Australian Centre provided a meeting place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying at the Australian National University in Canberra, as well as student support services, recruitment and exhibitions. The Centre opened in May 1989 as the Aboriginal Liaison office and Students Support Centre. Bob Randall was the Centre's first Aboriginal Liaison Officer. By 1993, it became known as the Jabal Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Centre with Ms P Kemp-Elliott appointed as Director. In 2012 Dr Anne Martin was appointed Director and the Centre was re- named Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre.

The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies was established in 1948 as the Research School of Pacific Studies, changing its name in 1994. It is Australia’s pre-eminent centre for research and postgraduate training in the Asia-Pacific region, with one of the largest concentrations of expertise in the world. Priority areas for research are Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Southwest Pacific. Research is multidisciplinary and is focused on anthropology, archaeology, economics, history, human geography, international relations, linguistics, political science, resource management and strategic defence studies. In 1947 New Zealander Raymond Firth, an anthropologist who had published widely on the Pacific and Southeast Asian region, was invited by the Interim University Council to act as the Academic Advisor for Pacific Studies with the hope that he would take on the job as Foundation Professor. Firth’s initial plans for the School of Pacific Studies were that it would have an emphasis on human studies and be concerned mainly with the Pacific Island territories for which Australia was responsible. In contrast to this, proposals put forward by Sir Frederick Eggleston to the Academic Advisory Committee, before Firth’s appointment, called for a school that was to also have an Asian focus and concentrate on political problems in the Pacific. In 1949 Firth resigned from the Academic Advisory Committee, deciding not to make the move permanently to Australia from England, giving Eggleston the opportunity to substitute a broader scope for the School including India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan. In mid-1949 Firth was persuaded to resume his role as Academic Advisor and made the initial appointments of chairs to Siegfried Frederick Nadel (Anthropology and Sociology), Walter Russell Crocker (International Relations), James Davidson (Pacific History), and Oskar Spate (Geography) and the appointments of Readers W.E.H. Stanner (Comparative Social Institutions) and C.P. Fitzgerald (Far Eastern History). Further departments were added: Economics (1960), Linguistics (1968), Prehistory (1969), and the New Guinea Research Unit (1961). The Geography Department reformed as two departments in 1968: Biogeography and Geomorphology, and Human Geography. Its name was changed to the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies in 1994, to reflect the balance of research activity in the School which had shifted significantly from the Pacific towards Asia.

The ANU Emeritus Faculty was established as a collegiate organisation within the University to provide opportunities for retired academic and professional staff to continue to contribute to the academic and cultural life of the university.

The Mount Stromlo Observatory was established in 1924 as the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. The site had been used for observations since an observatory was established there by Pietro Baracchi using the Oddie telescope in 1911. The dome built to house the Oddie telescope was the first Commonwealth building constructed in the newly established Australian Capital Territory. Until World War II, the observatory specialised in solar and atmospheric observations. During the war the workshops contributed to the war effort by producing gun sights, and other optical equipment. After the war, the observatory shifted direction to stellar and galactic astronomy and was renamed The Commonwealth Observatory. Following the establishment of the Australian NAtional University in 1946 a formal amalgamation took place in 1957, with Mount Stromlo Observatory becoming part of the Department of Astronomy in the Research School of Physical Sciences at ANU. The Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics was formed in 1986 and continues.

On 18 January 2003 a firestorm hit Mount Stromlo destroying telescopes, workshops, homes, and the administration building. The only telescope to escape the fires was the 1886 15-centimetre Farnham telescope.

The Drill Hall was built in 1940 to train soldiers for the Second World War. The 3rd Battalion, Werriwa Regiment was based in this building in 1941-2. In 1984 the interior was superbly remodelled to create an art gallery which is considered one of the most beautiful of its kind. In 2004 a Heritage order was placed on the building.
While the National Gallery of Australia waited for the completion of its building, temporary exhibitions of the national collection were held here. In 1992 the Australian National University took over the Drill Hall Gallery as a showcase for its own art collection and as a venue for temporary exhibitions. There are 4 discrete exhibition spaces.

The Gallery is a venue of choice for many of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, curators and collectors. We have developed a proud tradition of impeccably presented landmark exhibitions accompanied by scholarly publications. Sidney Nolan’s 9-panel panorama, Riverbend (recently nominated among the ten must-see art treasures of Canberra) is on permanent display in the Riverbend Room.

The Drill Hall Gallery provides the Canberra community and ANU with a selective program of high quality exhibitions of Australian and international art. The Gallery supports the arts in the Canberra region by presenting exhibitions developed in conjunction with the University’s wide-ranging academic interests and/or to coincide with major conferences and public events. National and international exhibitions – and works from the University’s own extensive collection – are features of the Gallery’s program. Surce: Quoted from https://dhg.anu.edu.au/about/ on 9 January 2023

The Advisers on Legislation was a committee responsible for advising the Australian National University Council on university legislation and statutes. It was initially chaired by Professor (later Sir) Kenneth Bailey and its early members included the Vice-Chancellor, H F E Whitlam (Commonwealth Solicitor-General) and Sir Robert Garran.

The Department of Prehistory was established on 9 May 1969, in what was then known as Research School of Pacific Studies. Jack Golson was the Foundation Professor. The first graduate of the discipline was Jim Allen, who graduated in the department’s founding year, having started prior to its formation.

The Australia-Netherlands Research Collaboration (ANRC) commenced operations in late July 2007. The project supports Australia-Netherlands academic relations and brings together researchers from both countries to focus on Southeast Asia.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography had its beginnings in 1957 when a conference in Canberra of representatives of university history departments throughout the country supported the concept of a large-scale biographical project. From this meeting there developed a national committee; an editorial board chaired successively by Professors Keith Hancock, John Andrew La Nauze and Kenneth Stanley Inglis, all from the Australian National University's Research School of Social Sciences, and later by Professor Jill Roe; State and specialist working parties; and a small central staff. Professor Douglas Pike was appointed founding general editor in 1962; in 1974, Mr Noel Bede Nairn was appointed to produce Volume 6, and next year he and Dr Geoff Serle were made joint general editors. Mr Nairn retired in 1984 and Dr Serle in 1987. Dr John Ritchie succeeded Serle as general editor in 1988 and retired in 2002. Dr Di Langmore took up the position of general editor in 2001 to 2008 and was succeeded by Professor Melanie Nolan as inaugural Director of the National Centre of Biography on 2 June 2008, which has produced the ADB since 2008.

The Review of the Discipline of Engineering was commissioned by the Tertiary Education Commission to review the provision of professional engineering education and research in Australian engineering schools, and to report on future developments and recommendations in engineering education. Bruce Rodda Williams was Chairman of the Review of the Discipline of Engineering 1987-1988.

The Canberra University College (CUC) amalgamated with the Australian National University in 1960. In 1961 the former CUC School of Oriental Languages became the Faculty of Oriental Studies. This was renamed the Faculty of Asian Studies in 1970. In 2006, ANU abolished the former distinction between research schools and faculties, creating a college structure combining both elements. The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (as it was re-named in 1994) joined the Faculty of Asian Studies in the new College of Asia and the Pacific.

The Canberra University College (CUC) amalgamated with the Australian National University in 1960. In 1961 the former CUC School of Oriental Languages became the Faculty of Oriental Studies. This was renamed the Faculty of Asian Studies in 1970. In 2006, ANU abolished the former distinction between research schools and faculties, creating a college structure combining both elements. The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (as it was re-named in 1994) joined the Faculty of Asian Studies in the new College of Asia and the Pacific.

The John Curtin School of Medical Research was established in 1948 through the combined efforts of Howard Florey (Australian Nobel Laureate) and Prime Minister John Curtin. Florey was the Academic Advisor for medical research at ANU from 1947 to 1957 on the invitation of the Interim Council of the University. He established professorial appointments for four departments: Biochemistry in 1948 headed by Professor Hugh Ennor, Medical Chemistry in 1949 headed by Professor Adrian Albert, Microbiology in 1949 headed by Professor Frank Fenner and Physiology in 1951 headed by Professor John Eccles, followed by the Experimental Pathology Group in 1954 with Professor George Mackaness at its head. Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Sir John Eccles in 1963, and Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel in 1996 for work carried out at the JCSMR.

The Research School of Biological Sciences was established at the Australian National University in 1967. The School’s founding Director, Professor David Guthrie Catcheside, moved from the John Curtin School of Medical Research to his new appointment on 1 October 1967. The three foundation chairs in Biology were filled by Professor Denis John Carr (Developmental and cellular biology) on 1 January 1968, Dr Ralph Owen Slatyer (environmental and population biology) on 4 December 1967, Professor George Adrian Horridge (Behavioral biology) on 6 July 1969. By 1969 four departments existed within the School: Genetics, Developmental Biology, Environmental Biology and Behavioural Biology. Further expansion of the School took place with the creation of the Molecular Biology and Taxonomy Groups and two new departments were added, in Neurobiology and Population Biology. In 2010 the School became known as the Research School of Biology, within the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment.

The Bicentennial History Project was proposed in 1977 by Ken Inglis of the Australian National University, bringing together historians to write and edit a series of publications for the 1988 Australian Bicentenary. The volumes were coordinated from the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University and the School of History, University of New South Wales. The direction and content of each of the historical works published under the auspices of the Bicentennial History Project were the subject of a conference entitled 'Australia 1788-1988 A Bicentennial History', held at Burgmann College at Australian National University on 9-13 February 1981. The Bicentennial History Project activities were organised around a number of committees, as follows: Australia to 1788; Australia in 1838; Australia in 1888; Australia in 1938; Australia 1939-88. The Bicentennial History Project published a series made up of eleven volumes. These included historical narratives, a historical atlas, and a historical dictionary. The series as a whole was entitled Australians: A Historical Library. The series was edited by Ken Inglis, Peter Spearritt, Frank K Crowley and Alan D Gilbert and a number of authors including Bill Gammage, Jack Charles Robert Camm, Graeme Davison, Wray Vamplew, Dereck John Mulvaney, Allan William Martin, John McQuilton, John Peter White, Michael McKernan, Tim Rowse, Alan Atkinson, Ailsa McLeary, Marian Aveling, Graeme Aplin, J W McCarty, Ann Curthoys and Stephen Glynn Foster.

The Women’s Studies Program was established at the Australian National University in 1976 as a result of activism applied by students connected to the Women's Liberation movement. Dr Ann Curthoys was appointed as a Lecturing Fellow to develop and teach the course as a full-year single unit. A second course was added in 1978, and Susan Magarey took over as lecturer. In 1984, Dr Dorothy Broom (Department of Sociology) was appointed lecturer and convenor of the program. Dr Jill Julius Matthews (Department of History) was also appointed lecturer in 1984, becoming convenor in 1987, a role which alternated between them. In September 1995 the Program was reviewed by the University Council and designated the Centre for Women’s Studies, with Matthews as Director. Dr Jan Jindy Pettman (Department of Political Science) was appointed Director and Reader from the beginning of 1997 and at this time, there were four lecturers: Dr Jill Matthews, Dr Rosanne Kennedy, Dr Fiona Paisley and Dr E Wilson. In July 2000, the Centre for Women's Studies was abolished in a general reorganisation of the Faculty of Arts. In 2001, the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Studies Program was celebrated with a seminar featuring current and former staff including Ann Curthoys, Susan Magarey and Liz O’Brien.

The Faculty of Arts was inherited from Canberra University College when CUC amalgamated with the Australian National University in 1960 and offered undergraduate courses in the School of General Studies, which was renamed The Faculties from 1980. In July 2000, the Departments of Archaeology and Anthropology, Art History and Visual Studies, Classical and Modern European Languages, English and Theatre Studies, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology, and the Centre for Women’s Studies were abolished and four schools created: the School of Archaeology and Anthropology, the School of Humanities, the School of Language Studies, and the School of Social Sciences. In 2006, the Faculty of Arts was grouped with Research Schools, Faculties and Centres into the College of Arts and Social Sciences.

The National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) was established in January 2005. It is a stand-alone Centre within the ANU organisational structure and is directed by Professor Mick Dodson AM.

The Centre is a leading academic institute for inter-disciplinary research in fields that are of relevance to Indigenous Australians, especially in relation to the enrichment of scholarly and public understandings of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

The ANU Ageing and the Family Project was one of several sizeable research projects which moved Australian gerontology beyond earlier pioneering studies primarily on older clients and other specialised samples. The ANU Project - and related studies by the Australian Council on the Ageing and the Department of Community Services (1985), and the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs (I986) - reflected the priority in the early 1980s for knowledge on older people living in the community. These studies paralleled investigations on residential care policies by the National Research Institute of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, community care by the Social Welfare Research Centre, and a number of other inquiries by small teams and individuals (National Research Institute of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 1987). The ANU Project also was part of the international development of life span perspectives and ‘multiple method studies of ageing and families. The Ageing and the Family Project was initiated and primarily funded from within the ANU Research School of Social Sciences. Foreshadowing many of the recent developments under the ‘Dawkins’ plan for tertiary education, the Research School in 1978 undertook to establish several multidisciplinary research projects on applied topics of national importance and of relevance to policy.

The Ageing and the Family Project, one of the first of these School initiatives, commenced in 1980 with the appointment of two and a half academic staff and internal and external advisory committees. The Project was established initially for a three to five year period and was completed in 1986. The first objective in the Project’s research agenda was to fill major gaps in knowledge about the diverse social situations of older people and processes of ageing in Australia. A second objective was to apply findings to the broader development of gerontology and social and health policies. Both priorities required that the research effort be coordinated with other researchers, service providers, and the very few educational programmes in gerontology at the time. The emphasis of ANU-funded posts was on basic research in social gerontology while visitors supported with outside funding contributed more to research on 26 services and policies. Approximately a third of the funding was obtained from grants, contracts, and fellowships provided principally by agencies of the Commonwealth government. External sources of support were pursued when they contributed to research within the scope of the Project’s academic agenda. The Project’s staffing recognised that ageing is a multi-faceted experience which is best understood from the perspective of multiple disciplines and professions. The staff included sociologists, a gerontologist, demographers, psychologists, an anthropologist, an economist, and a political scientist. The understanding of services and the professions was aided by the involvement of social workers, an urban planner, a geriatrician, a nurse, and a lawyer. At any one time, there was an average of five researchers from these diverse fields. Exchanges between these people broadened disciplinary and professional horizons and focussed them on the field of ageing. This interaction increased appreciation of the interdependency between health conditions, social and economic aspects of ageing, and public policies - all of which often are studied separately. A purposeful and integrated research program requires common organising topics and themes. While the investigations ranged widely, the primary research topics addressed the social integration and support of older people through a variety of social institutions ranging from intimate family ties through to the public sector. The development of common questions and vocabulary enabled the project team to inter-relate diverse aspects of ageing and care of older people. This helped in viewing the aged as ‘whole people’ with pasts and futures, instead of as ‘one-off research subjects, clients, and patients. The Ageing and the Family Project aimed to make a specific research contribution appropriate to the priorities for Australian gerontology in the early 1980s. Hal Kendig was director of the project supported by a team which built on the contributions of many individuals. Diane Gibson and Don Rowland played a particularly significant part in setting the research agenda and in serving as Co-Principal Investigators on the 1981 Survey of the Aged In Sydney. John McCallum took on similar leadership responsibilities in policy reviews and the National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health (NCEPH) follow-up survey. A more detailed account of staff and their contributions is provided in the Ageing and the Family Project Final Report (1986).

Established in 1972, under a special research grant from the Australian Government, to sponsor research into the Australian federal system and suggest ways and means of making the system function more effectively. Work is directed into four major fields of study: a) financial and economic analysis of the Australian and other federal systems, b) criteria and machinery for determining the allocation of financial resources among governments, c) intergovernmental aspects of urban and regional development, and d) the effect of the federal financial system on the effectiveness of expenditure in functional fields such as education.

The Department of Anthropology and Sociology was one of the first three departments established in the Research School of Pacific Studies by the Interim Council in 1949. Dr Siegfried Frederick Stephen Nadel was appointed founding Chair and Professor of Anthropology and Sociology in August 1950. Through the scholarships scheme of the Interim Council ethnographic field research was already underway in 1949 and early 1950 by scholars working in New Guinea, the Tobriands Group in Fiji, and in Tonga. The Department was designed to meet the need for theoretical research, concerned with the principles and methods of anthropology, combined with specialised research in particular areas of the Pacific. The broad research interests of the Department were also intended for the training of research workers and to extend to the study of modern society. Other heads of Anthropology included Professor William Edward Hanley Stanner, who was an early member of the Department (Reader in Social Anthropology 1949-1964; Professor 1964-1970) and Professor Roger M Keesing (Chair 1974-1990) who worked extensively with Indigenous Australians and in the Solomon Islands respectively.

The Department of Astronomy was established in the Research School of Physical Sciences when the Mount Stromlo Observatory became part of the Australian National University in 1957. It had since 1924 been the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. In 1946 when the Australian National University Act was passed, Richard Woolley was its director and, as a personal friend to Nugget Coombs, was well placed to argue for the inclusion of a department of astronomy and astrophysics at the fledgling university. Woolley met unexpected resistance from Mark Oliphant, the newly appointed director of the Research School of Physical Sciences who rejected the inclusion of the Observatory on the grounds of its continuing statutory responsibilities being incompatible with the structure and organisation of the school. As a compromise, Woolley would be appointed an Honorary Professor of Astronomy with the right to appoint a research fellow to his staff and supervise supervise research students, creating a de-facto Department of Astronomy. In 1954 the first Doctor of Philosophy degree awarded by the University was to one of these students, Antoni Przybylski. On Woolley's appointment as Astronomer Royal in 1955 the University administration agreed to incorporate the Observatory into the University and establish a Professor of Astronomy who would also act as its Director. The Mount Stromlo Observatory Act 1956 gave effect to this change and the observatory was renamed the Mount Stromlo Observatory and made a department within the research school. By 1962, the expanding Canberra population made it clear that a better site needed to be found. The decision was made to establish a permanent ‘field station’ rather than totally relocate the observatory. Siding Spring (near Coonabarabran) was officially opened on 5 April 1965. The department was renamed the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (MSSSO) and became an Institute of Advanced Studies centre in 1986. In 1998 it became the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The Department of Mathematics, was established in the Research School of Physical Sciences by the University Council in 1959 on the initiative of Director, Sir Mark Oliphant. The foundation head was Professor Bernhard Hermann Neumann, 1962-1975. Early chair holders were Professor J W Miles, 1962-1965 and Professor Kurt Mahler, 1963-1968; Professor Robert Edmund Edwards, 1970-1986. In 1989 it became part of the School of Mathematical Sciences, which was renamed the Mathematical Sciences Institute in 2002.

The Division of Society and Environment was established at the ANU to study the interaction between the natural environment and human societies in the Asia-Pacific region. It included researchers studying anthropology, human geography, linguistics, prehistory, biogeography and geomorphology.

The Ceremonial and Naming Committee was established by Council resolution on 11 November 1960 to consider questions of ceremonial and academic dress and the naming of buildings. Its membership included Council members and from 1968 the holder of the ceremonial position of Esquire Bedell. On 13 February 1970 it was reconstituted as the Naming Committee. It was abolished by Council resolution on 13 May 1983 with its functions to be assumed by the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

The Committee on General Policy reported to the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

The Ethics in Human Experimentation Committee was established by the Vice-Chancellor in October 1986 to oversee the ethics of experimental research projects involving human species, proposed by members of the University. The initial composition of the Committee included 'a laywoman, a layman, a minister of religion, a lawyer and a medical graduate' (as specified by National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines), as well as a philosopher, a psychologist and a biological anthropologist. Prior to its establishment, the Clinical Research Committee of the John Curtin School of Medical Research had performed the function of an ethics committee.

The Human Research Ethics Committee was established in 1999, following on from the Ethics in Human Experimentation Committee which had been established in 1986. In 1999 the National Health and Medical Research Council, in conjunction with the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, issued a set of national guidelines on ethics in human research. These guidelines, the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans, were tabled in federal parliament in July 1999 and were intended to cover all disciplines, with the primary purpose of protecting the welfare and rights of participants in research. The Committee's main role is to review proposed research projects involving human subjects that fall within the jurisdiction of the ANU, and to approve research projects that meet the requirements of the National Statement and are ethically acceptable.

The Committee reporting to the Academic Board was originally named the University Community Equity Committee and from 2010 was renamed the University Access and Equity Committee.

The Intermediate Awards Committee reported to the Board of the School of General Studies, later The Faculties, advising on the award of intermediate awards such as graduate diplomas. Its functions were taken over by the Graduate Degrees Committee in 1992.

The Department had its beginnings at Canberra University College with Charles Manning Hope Clark as Professor of History, July 1949-1960. Under the Act passed in March 1960 CUC was amalgamated with the Australian National University and became associated with the ANU as the School of General Studies. Professor Clark became founding professor and Head of the Department of History, School of General Studies from September 1960. He was succeeded as Head of Department by Professor Charles Murray Williams in 1973. Another early staff member of the Department, Eric Charles Fry, began as a Senior Lecturer in 1960 and was promoted to Reader from July 1967 to 1986. Robin (Bob) Allenby Gollan was appointed as Manning Clark Professor of Australian History in the Department in 1976, retiring in 1981. In 1979 the School of General Studies was formally renamed The Faculties. In 2006 seven ANU Colleges were formed, grouping together Research Schools, Faculties and Centres.

The Australian National University's Facilities and Services Division succeeded the Buildings and Grounds Division. Its role is to maintain and enhance the University's buildings, grounds and infrastructure in a number of locations across Australia including the Acton Campus, Kioloa, Siding Spring and the Northern Australian Research Unit at Darwin.

The Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) is Australia’s major institution for theoretical and empirical research in the social sciences. It provides a distinctive multi-disciplinary environment for research. In 1947 Australian-born Professor of History W.K. Hancock was chosen to be the Academic Advisor for the School of Social Sciences with the eventual hope that he would take on the job as Foundation Professor. His initial plans for the structure were for nominal departments in Economics, Statistics, Population and Health Studies, Law, Political Science, Social Anthropology, Psychology, History and Philosophy, Sociology and Geography. Initial failure in trying to find suitably qualified individuals to take up posts and the resignation of Raymond Firth from the Academic Advisory Committee led, at the end of 1948, to Hancock advocating that the Pacific Studies and Social Sciences schools be established under one head until the Council decided that each had grown enough to be separate. This proposal was rejected because the emphasis on Pacific Studies was seen as one of the major points that had persuaded the government to accept the university proposal. This event was to prove the catalyst for a parting of ways between Hancock and the Committee. Sir Frederick Eggleston took the opportunity to begin to draw up new plans for the Social Sciences School with K.C. Wheare, Gladstone Professor of Government and Public Administration at Oxford, as advisor. The interim council accepted his proposal of chairs in Political Science, Economics, Social Philosophy, Law and History; with Readers in Demography and Statistics. The first appointment in Social Sciences was that of W.D. (Mick) Borrie with the title of Research Fellow in Demography in 1949, with professorial appointments in 1950 including Geoffrey Sawer in Law and Trevor Swan in Economics. Three readers were also appointed: Laurie Fitzhardinge in Australian History, L.C. Webb in Political Science, and H.P. (Horrie) Brown in Economic Statistics. In 1952 P. A. P. Moran was appointed chair in Statistics and and P. H. Partridge as chair in Social Philosophy. Later departments included Economic History and Sociology, and the Education Research Unit, the History of Ideas Unit, the Urban Research Unit, the Australian Dictionary of Biography, and the Archives of Business and Labour.

The Department of Political Science (DPS) was established within the Research School of Social Sciences in 1949. However, the first appointment to the Department occurred in 1951, when Mr L.C. Webb (later Professor) took up the position of Reader and Head of the Department. For two years, 1958-1959, the DPS combined with the Department of International Relations (DIR) as a temporary arrangement and was known as the Department of Political Science & of International Relations. In 1960, the DPS returned to its original name after the members whose work was in the DIR were transferred to The Research School of Pacific Studies. In 1988, a review of activities of the Research School were carried out and as a result all former departments, centres and units within the RSSS were de-established in 1989. From 1990, the RSSS was organised into four divisions and the DPS subsequently became a part of the Division of Politics and Economics.

The Electron and Ion Diffusion Unit was established in 1964 in the Research School of Physical Sciences, initially under the direction of Sir Leonard Huxley. The Unit, in the charge of Dr Robert Crompton, investigated low-energy collision processes between electrons and ions and gas molecules, and molecule-molecule interactions. The experimental program was based on the measurement and interpretation of electron and ion transport coefficients, and the study of state-selected supersonic molecular beams and complemented by the work of a group engaged on theoretical studies of molecular dynamics in liquids and gases and single particle scattering. Later the Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratories were formed comprising the Diffusion Research Unit, the Electron and Ion Diffusion Unit and the Ultraviolet Physics Unit.

The Strategic and Defence Studies Centre was founded in 1966 to analyse the use of armed force in its political context.

The Board of the School of General Studies was established by amendments to the Australian National University Act in 1960 which effected the association between the ANU and the Canberra University College. The Canberra University College departments became the School of General Studies, while the Research Schools of the University became the Institute of Advanced Studies. The operation of the Board was governed by Statute 41 which came into operation from January 1961 identifying it as the principal body of the School with responsibility for advising Council on any matter relating to education, learning or research. The Board's membership included the Vice-Chancellor as Chair, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Principal of the School of General Studies (until 1965), professors of the School, three members of the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies and later, the Librarian. A member of the Board was appointed as Deputy Chairman and acted as Chair in the Vice-Chancellor's absence. Further amendments to the Act in 1979, coming into operation in 1980, recognised the long-standing practice of the Deputy Chairman chairing the meetings by creating the position Chairman of the Board. These amendments also reconstituted the Board as the Board of The Faculties.

In 1983 the Faculty of Economics was renamed the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. The Department of Economic History was one of four departments in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce.

The Development Studies Centre was established in 1975 in the Research School of Pacific Studies. Sir John Crawford was a strong supporter of the creation and expansion of the Development Studies Centre. In 1985 it became known as the National Centre for Development Studies.

The Board of the School of General Studies established the Undergraduate Awards Committee in October 1975 after it approved that the Undergraduate Scholarships Committee and the Prizes Committee be combined to form one committee for awards. The Undergraduate Awards Committee considered a range of prizes such as the University Medal. The committee reported to the Board of the School of General Studies, and then the Board of The Faculties until 1998.

The Instructional Resources Unit (IRU) was established in July 1975 and incorporated and expanded the services offered by the Visual Aids Section (Central Administration) and the Language Laboratories (School of General Studies). The Unit worked in co-operation with the Office of Research in Academic Methods (ORAM) providing support facilities for teaching and learning. Services offered to the University included photographic production and processing, audio and television production and processing, language laboratories, preparation of graphics and desktop publishing service, international satellite radio and TV service, and upgrades to the audio visual facilities in lecture theatres and teaching areas of the University.

The Department of Experimental Pathology was proposed by Sir Howard Florey in 1948 with Dr G. M. Watson appointed a Research Fellow in Experimental Pathology on 1 December 1948. Due to shortage of laboratory space and suitably trained personnel, the Department of Experimental Pathology was not physically established within the John Curtin School of Medical Research until the latter part of 1953. The Department's staff members, Dr G. M. Watson, Senior Research Fellow, and Dr G. B. Mackaness, Research who had worked in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford moved to Canberra in January 1954. From 1 January 1982 to 31 March 1988, Peter Doherty was Professor and Head, Department of Experimental Pathology. Following a recommendation of the 1988 School Review, the John Curtin School of Medical Research moved from a departmental to a divisional structure in 1989.

The Public Relations Division was established in 1993 when the former University Public Relations section was combined with the Official Publications Unit, the Drill Hall Gallery, the ANU Art Collection and Graduate Affairs. Mr J Mahoney, Head, Public Affairs Division, edited the journal University Public Relations established during 1993.

University Public Relations office replaced the University Information section in 1987. The office continued to promote the University with local, national and international public relations activities including arranging tours for visitors, publishing the campus newsletter ANU Reporter, media liaison activities, and Open Day events. During 1993, the University Public Relations office was combined with the Official Publications Unit, the Drill Hall Gallery, the ANU Art Collection and Graduate Affairs to form the Public Affairs Division.

University Information functioned as a public relations unit whose roles included publishing the ANU Reporter, and arranging tours of the campus, appointments and briefings for visitors. From 1982 to 1987, inquiries relating to matters of a general nature concerning the University were directed to University Information. In 1987 it was replaced by University Public Relations.

The Institute of Advanced Studies which comprised the Research Schools of the University from 1960 to 2001, included the head of each research school on its Board.

Following the association of the Canberra University College with the Australian National University and the formation of the School of General Studies in 1960, the Deans of Faculties was comprised of Deans of the originally four faculties. The first Dean appointed in the Faculty of Arts was Alec Derwent Hope, Faculty of Economics was Burgess Don Cameron , Faculty of Law was Harold Arthur John Ford, and Faculty of Science was James Desmond Smyth. In 1961, the Faculty of Orient Studies was established within the School of General Studies which became known as the Faculty of Asian Studies in 1970. In 2006, the ANU Colleges was formally constituted with the University’s Faculties, Research Schools, and Centres grouped along discipline lines into seven Colleges.

The Postgraduate Scholarships Committee reported to the Board of the School of General Studies, which later became the Board of The Faculties.

Council appointed Professor Denis Winston, Professor of Town and Country Planning in the University of Sydney, and Mr Grenfell Rudduck, of the Department of National Development, Canberra, as Site Consultants in September 1954. Preliminary plans of the Site Consultants were accepted by the University during 1955. In May 1960 Professor Winston was appointed as site consultant to meet the needs of association of the Canberra University College and the University. In October 1968 Mr Roy Simpson was selected as Site Planner. After Council's approval in December 1971 of a review of the site plan, the Property and Plans Division of the ANU decided to collect and describe the basic plans as a record printed as The History of the Site Plan 1912-1971. The updating of the site plan in 1971 resulted from joint efforts of the site planner and the Property and Plans Division.

Established in 2001, Pandanus Books was a publishing imprint of the ANU's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Pandanus Books wound down its publishing activities in 2006.

The Faculty of Science, in the School of General Studies, was formed as part of the amalgamation of the Canberra University College with the Australian National University in September 1960. The Faculty of Science initially comprised of the Departments of Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Physics and Zoology. In 1980, the School of General Studies was renamed the Faculties with the Faculty of Science comprising the Departments of Applied Mathematics, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, Forestry, Geology, Physics, Psychology, Pure Mathematics, Theoretical Physics, Zoology, and the National Nuclear Resonance Centre. From January 2006 seven ANU Colleges were formed with Faculties, Research Schools, and Centres grouped along discipline lines.

The School of General Studies was formed after the association of Canberra University College with the Australian National University following the Australian National University Act 1960, which came into operation on 30 September 1960. When the CUC became the School of General Studies, the university offered undergraduate courses for the first time. It comprised of the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of Science. In 1980 it was formally renamed The Faculties.

The Department of Demography, Research School of Social Sciences was established in 1952, with WD Borrie as its head and later Chair in Demography in 1957. From the 1960s the Department broadened its focus on the demography of Australia to also focus on the demography of developing countries and in the sociology of international migration. From 1970 to 1988, the Department was headed by Jack Caldwell, who focussed the Department on South and Southeast Asia, and West Africa. In 1990 the Research School of Social Sciences moved from a departmental to a divisional arrangement. The Department was replaced by the Demography Program in the Division of Demography and Sociology, and was headed by Gavin Jones.

The Department of Economic History was one of four departments in the Faculty of Economics which offered its courses to both the Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Arts, when the School of General Studies was established in 1961. From January 1961, Professor Graham Tucker was Head of Department. The Faculty of Economics was renamed the Faculty of Economics and Commerce in 1983.

The University's Faculty of Law was inherited from the amalgamation of the University with Canberra University College in 1961 as part of the School of General Studies, then The Faculties in 1980. The Legal Workshop was introduced in the Faculty in 1972 and provided an alternative to taking articles as a means to enter the profession after completing the ANU Bachelor of Laws. In 2006 it was incorporated into the ANU College of Law.

The Department of Economic History was first established as a program of the Department of Economics, Research School of Social Sciences in 1951 with the appointment of Noel George Butlin as Senior Research Fellow. It became the Department of Economic History, Institute of Advanced Studies when Canberra University College amalgamated with the Australian National University in 1960.

The Department of Mathematics originally offered a course in Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics as part of a Bachelor degree in Arts or Science. In 1964, the Department of Applied Mathematics was formed with Professor Archibald Brown as the inaugural Head of Applied Mathematics in the School of General Studies. As a result of recommendations made after a review of the mathematics departments in 1981, the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Pure Mathematics were amalgamated on 1 January 1982.

The Department of Applied Mathematics within the Research School of Physical Sciences was established in 1970 with the appointment of its foundation professor, Barry Ninham. Its main activities were mathematical research and instrumental innovation, in particular, research on colloid and surface science. The Department also led to the establishment of the Optical Sciences Centre. In 1991 the Research School of Physical Sciences became the Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering.

The Faculty of Economics was inherited from Canberra University College when CUC amalgamated with the Australian National University in 1960 and became the School of General Studies, then The Faculties from 1980. The Faculty of Economics initially consisted of four
departments - Economic History, Economics, Political Science and Statistics. Upon the introduction of the Commerce degree in 1983, the Faculty of Economics was renamed the Faculty of Economics and Commerce.

The Department of History was included in the establishment of the Research School of Social Sciences. The Department’s research originally focussed on the social, cultural, and political history of Australia and its relationship with British and Commonwealth history, though later expanded into environmental, Indigenous, and gender history. The first staff member appointed to the Department was Laurence Frederic Fitzhardinge, Reader in the Sources of Australian History. Fitzhardinge was appointed on 1 September 1950 and remained in this post until 1973. Robin Allenby Gollan commenced as Research Fellow in the Department on 5 January 1953 and was promoted to Fellow, Research Fellow in April 1960, and Professorial Fellow. Notable early graduates from the Department of History include Eric Charles Fry (PhD 1956), Alan William Martin (PhD 1956) and Russel Braddock Ward (PhD 1957). Professor John Andrew La Nauze was Head of Department from 1 January 1966 until he was succeeded by Professor Oliver Ormond Gerard MacDonagh in 1976. Professor Kenneth Stanley (Ken) Inglis was Head of Department from 1980. In 1990 the Research School of Social Sciences moved to a divisional arrangement and its former departments and units became disciplinary programs.

The Department of International Relations was formed in 1949 as one of the first three departments established in the Research School of Pacific Studies with Professor Walter Russell Crocker appointed as Chair. The Department's general and regional interests include international politics, Australian foreign policy, international systems, studies of technological change and weapon development, arms control. In 2006 the Department was grouped into the College of Asia and the Pacific.

Two foundation history professors, Jim Davidson for the Pacific and CP Fitzgerald for the Far East, became the heads respectively of the Department of Pacific History and the Department of Far Eastern History in the Research School of Pacific Studies. The Department of Pacific History was expanded in 1973 to become the Department of Pacific and Southeast Asian History. In 1990 the two History departments were merged into the Division of Pacific and Asian History.

The North Australia Research Unit (NARU) was established in 1973 to specialise in research in north Australia and to provide a base and logistic support for Australian National University staff and members of other Australian and overseas institutions undertaking research in north Australia. Its management committee is chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), with members from the Research School of Biology, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment; the School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Research School of Humanities and the Arts and the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences; and the Facilities & Services Division. It is located in Darwin, next to the Charles Darwin University Casuarina Campus.

The Department of Linguistics was established within the Research School of Pacific Studies in March 1968. Prior to its establishment linguistic research was carried out within a section of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology. It was primarily concerned with the analysis, description and classification of the indigenous languages of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. In 2006, teaching and research in linguistics was distributed across the ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences and the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific.

The Research School of Humanities was formed in 2006 as part of the College of Arts and Social Sciences. In 2010, the school became the Research School of Humanities & the Arts (RSHA). Professor Howard Morphy was Director from October 2007.

The Department of Geography was formed within the Research School of Pacific Studies in 1951. In 1967 Council took the decision to divide the Department and in July 1968 the Department was formally divided into two, the Department of Human Geography and the Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology. Professor O.H. K. Spate was Head of the Department until 1967 when he became Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies.

The Department of Human Geography was formed on 13 July 1968 by the division of the Department of Geography in the Research School of Pacific Studies into the Department of Human Geography and the Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology. The Department of Human Geography took over the work in economic and cultural geography. From July 1968 to December 1971 Dr H.C. Brookfield and Dr G.J.R Linge served successively as Acting Head of Department. In December 1971 Professor R.G. Ward took up his appointment as Professor and Head of the Department, and was Chair of the Department until 1980 when he took up the Directorship of the Research School of Pacific Studies. He continued his Directorship until May 1993 when he returned to the Department of Human Geography and headed the department between 1995-1998. Bryant Allen took up positions of Acting and Head of the Department before and after the appointment of Professor Katherine Gibson, who was Professor and Head of the Department from 1999-2008. In 2009 Gibson took up a position at the University of Western Sydney and Allen retired on 31 December 2009. Rather than appoint a replacement, and to help solve a critical budgetary crisis, the Department of Human Geography ceased to exist on 31 December 2009.

The first meeting of the Degree Committee was held on 10 May 1956. The Degree Committee reported to the Board of Graduate Studies up until September 1960, and from October 1960 to the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

The Centre for Continuing Education was formed after the Department of Adult Education was renamed in 1969. The Centre's first Director was Dr C Duke who commenced duty on 1 April 1969. The original objectives of the Centre was to provide opportunities for adults to further their knowledge in fields in which they worked or had a general interest. The Centre continues to provide special interest and educational courses focusing on art, archaeology, culture, history, science, literature and writing, music and life skills.

The Audit Committee was established by Council decision on 8 June 1984. Its members were initially the Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr H King), another member of the Finance Committee (Dr L Brodribb), the Treasurer (Professor Allan Barton) and the head of Finance and Accounting (Mr H Jones). The Committee's role was to advise the Council on the annual internal auditor's report through the Finance Committee. In 2005 the Committee changed its name to the Audit and Risk Management Committee.

The Australian Data Archive (ADA) was established at the Australian National University in 1981 and provides a national service for the collection and preservation of computer readable data relating to social, political and economic affairs. The ADA is a consortium managed by the ANU and includes partner nodes at the University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, University of Technology Sydney and University of Western Australia.

Early in 1999, the Board of the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) was established under the chairmanship of Professor David Beanland, followed with the appointment of the foundation Executive Director, Professor John O’Callaghan. APAC was formally launched late in 1999 through a partnership of organisations, and consortia of organisations to fund a National Facility and building of expertise and education programs in the use of advanced computing in research. APAC operated in two phases. Its first phase, funded largely from the Australian Research Council comprised the establishment of the National Facility— hosted through the ANU Supercomputing Facility. The second phase of APAC operations (2004–07) were funded through the System Infrastructure Initiatives of the Commonwealth Government. In 2007 APAC was replaced with the National Computational Infrastructure.

The Centre for the Mind was launched on August 1997 by neurologist and author Oliver Sacks, and was a joint venture of the Australian National University and the University of Sydney. The Centre headed by Professor Allan Snyder, with Nelson Mandela as the Millennium Fellow and Dr Oliver Sacks the Foundation Fellow focused on research into creativity, the brain and mind. The ANU Centre closed when Professor Snyder relocated to the University of Sydney at the end of 2006.

The Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Greenhouse Accounting was established in July 1999 with a seven year grant, and was located at the Australian National University. The centre carried out research in soil science, ecosystem ecology, remote sensing, ecophysiology, ecological modelling, forestry, agroecosystem ecology, education and science-policy interface.

The PIGS Newsletter was published by the Pacific Islands Liaison Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. The Pacific Islands Liaison Centre was set up in March/April 1994 (previously named the Pacific Islands Group), with Convenor, Stephen Henningham. and Administered (edited) by Allison Ley. Newsletter holdings: No 9, May 1994 - No 13 May 1996 (in one Type 2 box).

The Academic Board of the Australian National University was formally re-established by Council in February 2012 as a Committee of Council under the Australian National University Academic Board Statute. Academic Board is tasked with ensuring the University maintains the highest standards in teaching, scholarship and research.

The Archives of Business and Labour began in 1953 with the collecting efforts of Noel Butlin, Reader and later Professor in Economic History in the Research School of Social Sciences. The Archives was renamed in April 1992 in honour of its founder as the Noel Butlin Archives Centre.

The National Institute for Asian Pacific Studies was one of the twelve virtual 'national institutes', bringing together Research Schools, Faculties and Centres by subject discipline, created by a restructure of the University in 2001. The national institutes organised events and communicated with research and teaching staff and students through email groups and websites. A later restructure formalised these groupings into Colleges and in this case the National Institute was absorbed into the College of Asia and the Pacific.

The Kioloa Management Committee was responsible for the management of the Kioloa field research station, established as the Edith and Joy London Foundation, which was donated by Miss Joy London to the Australian National University. Its chairman reported to the ANU Council and its members included both University and voluntary staff. A review in 2000 reconstituted the Management Committee as the Kioloa Advisory Board, with the day-to-day management undertaken by a Campus Manager and a part-time Campus Administrator. The property is located on the New South Wales south coast between Kioloa and Bawley Point villages.

The Committee was formed to supervise research on the calculation of tertiary entrance scores for students wishing to enroll in a university. An earlier committee established jointly by the Australian National University, the ACT Schools Authority and the Canberra College of Advanced Education had reported in June 1986 on its investigation into whether there was any systematic bias in the calculation of scores for students in the Australian Capital Territory, arising from factors such as gender, subject choice and choice of school. One of its recommendations was for further research to be undertaken and this later Committee was formed to supervise this work.

The Committee was formed to raise funds in memory of Lord Florey (1898-1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1945, and a key figure in the development of Australian National University, particularly the John Curtin School of Medical Research.

The Board of The Faculties is a direct successor of the Board of the School of General Studies and was established by amendments to the Australian National University Act in 1979, which came into operation in 1980. These amendments established the position of Chairman of the Board (the Board having previously been officially chaired by the Vice-Chancellor but in practice by a Deputy Chairman) and renamed the School of General Studies as The Faculties comprising the Faculty of Arts, Asian Studies, Economics, Law, and Science. The Board was responsible for advising Council on all academic matters relating to The Faculties. From July 2001 to June 2004 this advice was to be transmitted through the Academic Board. It was disestablished with effect from 1 July 2004 by means of the Higher Education Support (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003.

The Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies was established by amendments to the Australian National University Act in 1960 which effected the association between the ANU and the Canberra University College. The Institute of Advanced Studies comprised the Research Schools of the University, while the CUC departments became the School of General Studies. The Board first met on 28 October 1960. The operation of the Board was governed by Statue 40 which came into operation from January 1961 identifying it as the principal academic body of the Institute, advising the Council on any matter relating to education, learning or research (in this way, it is a successor to the Board of Graduate Studies). The Board's membership included the Vice-Chancellor as Chair, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, heads of the Research Schools, heads of all departments of the Research Schools, the Principal of the School of General Studies (until 1965), the Librarian, the Registrar, the Master of University House, and three members of the Board of the School of General Studies (from 1980, the Board of The Faculties). A member of the Board was appointed as Deputy Chairman and acted as Chair in the Vice-Chancellor's absence. Further amendments to the Act in 1979, coming into operation in 1980, recognised the long-standing practice of the Deputy Chairman chairing the meetings by creating the position Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies. From July 2001 to June 2004, the advice of the Board to the Council was to be transmitted through the Academic Board. It was disestablished with effect from 1 July 2004 by means of the Higher Education Support (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003.

The Standing Committee of the Australian National University Council was provided for by section 24 of the Australian National University Act 1946 and was delegated with the authority for much of the routine management of the University. It was appointed in 1951, first meeting on 13 July that year. The Vice-Chancellor originally chaired the meetings but from 1971 the Act was amended and the Pro-Chancellor took on this role. Its membership of 7-9 Council members was largely of University officers. The Act was further amended in 1991, removing reference to the Standing Committee, although it continued to meet less frequently until June 2000.

The Building and Grounds Committee was originally known as the Advisers on Buildings and Grounds which first met in 1947. It advised Council on matters relating to the buildings and grounds of the University campus. Its membership included the Vice-Chancellor, the Principal of the School of General Studies, Council and non-Council members. It appears that the Committee did not meet between 7 April 1989 and 20 March 1992 when the minutes indicate that the Committee has been re-established.

The Advisers on Buildings and Ground was a committee which advised Council on the buildings and grounds of the University campus. It first met on 11 January 1947 and was initially chaired by Council member Warren McDonald. Its members included the Vice-Chancellor and both Council and non-Council members.

The Professorial Board was established by amendments to the Australian National University Act in 1960 as an advisory body to Council on any matter relating to education, learning or research. It was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and all professors of the University were members. As the other two Boards, the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Board of the School of General Studies (later The Faculties), were identified as being responsible for all academic matters relating to their bodies, the role of the Professorial Board was unclear. Section 15D of the Act provides that the Vice-Chancellor 'may at any time convene a meeting' and 'shall convene such a meeting' if required by the Council, either of the other two Boards, or six members of the Professorial Board. It had its first meeting on 30 September 1969, met rarely and had its last meeting on 12 April 1989.

The Finance Committee advises the Australian National University Council on financial matters. It first met on 18 October 1946 and was initially chaired by Dr H C Coombs. Its members included the Vice-Chancellor and other Council members. In 1961 the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies also became members.

The Australian National University Act 1946 establishes the Council as the governing authority of the University. The Interim Council dates from 1 August 1946 to 30 June 1951. From 1 July 1951 the term Council was used. Its membership was provided for by section 11 of the Act including members elected by the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Governor-General, Convocation, students and staff and co-opted members. It is chaired by the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor is also a member. Amendments to the Act in 1960 increased its members to include the Pro-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Principal of the School of General Studies, and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

The Board of Graduate Studies provided guidance and advice to the Australian National University Council on all matters of academic policy and practice relating to education, learning and research. It was provided for by section 22 of the Australian National University Act 1946 and statute 4 of 1950. This statute was repealed by statute 36 in 1960. It first met on 4 December 1950 and was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. Its members were Professors of the University, the Registrar, the Librarian and from 1956 the Master of University House. Its last meeting was on 23 September 1960 and it was effectively replaced by the Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

The Department of Zoology was established in the Canberra University College with the appointment of James Desmond (Des) Smyth as Professor of Zoology on 11 March 1959. In 1960 it became part of the Faculty of Science in the School of General Studies at the Australian National University. From 1 January 1991 it amalgamated with the Department of Botany to become the Botany and Zoology Division (known as BoZo) of the School of Life Sciences in the Faculty of Science.

The Humanities Research Centre was established in 1972 as a national and international centre for excellence in the Humanities and a catalyst for innovative Humanities scholarship and research within the Australian National University.

The HRC established the Freilich Foundation for the study of bigotry and tolerance in 1995. It works closely with ANU’s recently established Digital Humanities Hub. Within the University, the HRC is now part of a group of five centres that sit under the Research School of Humanities and the Arts (RSHA). Threaded through our Centre programs are our disciplinary and interdisciplinary strengths in literature, history, art, film, philosophy, critical theory, Enlightenment and Romanticism studies, Postcolonial Studies, Environmental Humanities, and Indigenous heritage, art and culture. The HRC collaborates with Australian and international research centres, libraries and other cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery. The Centre continues to strongly advocate the importance of humanities in the public sphere through its participation in key national and international networks such as the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS), The Australian Consortium of Humanities Research Centres (ACHRC) and the Consortium of Humanities Centres and Institutes (CHCI).

In 2006 the Australian National University introduced a new governance structure whereby the Faculties, Research Schools, and Centres were grouped into Colleges. The ANU College of Law was established and incorporated the Faculty of Law and the Legal Workshop.