From the Vice-Chancellor

The current financial crisis means that economics is at the forefront of the news - and our minds - on a daily basis. Economics (or perhaps I am just talking about money!) is extremely important in every aspect of our lives, and there's no exception for Australian universities, which must continue to find ways of doing more with less federal funding.

We all must pay great attention to the financial situation and respond accordingly, whether that be on a personal level or an institutional level. And although funding is extremely important to education, not everything can be measured in financial terms. Tertiary education is highly valuable and intrinsic to society, but it often defies the best efforts of accountants and economists to quantify, and perhaps that's not a bad thing.

Take, for example, the University of Adelaide's history and its enormous contribution to society over more than 130 years. While it might be possible for someone to attempt to estimate what the University of Adelaide has contributed back to society - to government, industry and the community - it would be impossible to know just how huge that contribution really has been.

Consider some of the early "firsts" that the University was responsible for: the first university in Australia to grant degrees in Science; the first Australian university to admit women to academic courses (in 1881, ahead of Oxford, which didn't do so until 1920, and Cambridge, which admitted women for the first time in 1948). These and many other major achievements have had an astonishing impact on society, not just within Adelaide or the State, but across the nation and even around the world.

Whenever I consider the University's history I also invariably think of the unique contributions of each of its individual campuses. This year, the University of Adelaide is celebrating 125 years of Roseworthy. Established in 1883, Roseworthy College (now the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide) was Australia's first agricultural college. It is an excellent example in itself of an institution that has contributed greatly to industry, government and society over time.

Over the past 125 years, Roseworthy has developed an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching in dryland agriculture, natural resources management, winemaking and animal production. There have been no shortage of challenges over the years - as an agricultural college, Roseworthy has had to weather times of drought as well as the Great Depression, waxing and waning interest in agricultural studies, and changes to academic programs.

In its 125th year, Roseworthy is looking strong. The new Veterinary Science school has brought with it renewed interest in studies at Roseworthy, and the relevance of the campus to animal science education, research and innovation in this State is at an all-time high. Roseworthy has been and will remain an Australian and world leader in dryland agriculture and animal science. Through the new Vet School, Roseworthy will also become known as a leader in animal health, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between veterinary and human medicine.

The Roseworthy Campus, like the University itself, continues to prove that tertiary education is one of the greatest investments any society can make. Education is, if you like, a blue chip investment that always provides a return to society. Such investments are very hard to find.

I join with all my colleagues in the University in congratulating Roseworthy on 125 years of success.

PROFESSOR JAMES A. McWHA
Vice-Chancellor and President