The Catholic Weekly 19 April 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 10 19, April, 2020 ADVERTORIAL FOSTERING CULTURE by supporting the arts is cen- tral to the Catholic mission of Australian Catholic Uni- versity (ACU). As a Catholic university we draw on a long and rich legacy of the Catho- lic Church as a key patron of the arts, both in Australia and globally. It is in keeping with this tra- dition that we established the ACU Prize for Poetry in 2013. Since its establishment, the prize has grown in popularity and is now one of Australia’s most esteemed poetry prizes, with poets from all over the country competing for the coveted $10,000 first prize. In 2019, a record number of over 600 entries were received from every state and territory across Australia. A theme is chosen for poets to reflect on each year with ‘Generosity’ serving as the muse for en- tries in the 2020 competition, which will open on 6 April. The prize is also honoured to have one of Australia’s most prolific and finest poets, Pro- fessor Chris Wallace-Crabbe AM again as its judge. Profes- sor Wallace-Crabbe helped shape the face of poetry and Australian culture, found- ing the Australia Centre at the University of Melbourne, where he serves as an emeri- tus professor, following his ca- reer as the chair of Australian Poetry at the university. Promoting arts and culture is a defining characteristic of the world’s leading univer- sities and is crucial to their reputation and standing. Our Arts and Culture Strategy, which includes the ACU Prize for Poetry, reflects ACU’s growing maturity as an am- bitious and outward-looking university, and builds on the Catholic mission and identity of our university. ACU’s steady rise in arts and humanities reflects the university’s strong aspiration to be a national and interna- tional leader in liberal arts re- search and education. While most Australian universities are focusing increasingly on STEM, ACU has been pursu- ing an excellence agenda in arts and humanities, and the results show. In 2020 the uni- versity surged into the Top 250 universities in the world for Arts and Humanities and is now ranked 12th in Arts and Humanities in Australia. 1 In fact, ACU is the only uni- versity in Australia to rise in international rankings every year for the past three years in arts and humanities, mak- ing us the fastest rising uni- versity in the country in this discipline. We are also ranked equal first in Australia for re- search engagement and im- pact in History, reflective of the fact that History is one of the university’s priority disci- plines. This emphasis on arts and humanities is further reflected in the recent establishment of ACU’s Institute for Humani- ties and Social Sciences and the recruitment of Professor Joy Damousi, one of the most distinguished historians in Australia and the country’s highest-profile humanities scholars as its foundation Di- rector. Professor Damousi is president of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. At ACU we believe it is central to the mission of every Catholic university to strengthen students’ under- standing of the liberal arts tra- dition, by immersing them in history, literature, art, religion, and philosophy – disciplines that have defined a liberal ed- ucation and given it meaning over time. It is therefore fit- ting that ACU will offer a new bachelor degree in Western Civilisation from 2021, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ramsay Centre for West- ern Civilisation in March this year. 1 Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 by Subject Professor Greg Craven AO, GCSG is Vice-Chancellor and President of Australian Catholic University Enriching the cultural life of the community by supporting the arts and humanities Professor Greg Craven ACU Make the common good a common act. acu.edu.au/mission CRICOS registered provider: 00004G Promoting arts and culture is a defin- ing characteristic of the world’s leading universities” WINTER WARM UP DONATION DRIVE ACU Engagement is running the Winter Warm Up donation drive to help people experiencing disadvantage. We invite the community to collect their coats, jumpers, beanies and other winter items and when the COVID-19 restrictions have been sufficiently lifted, to then donate these at their local ACU campus. For further information, please email ACU Engagement at acuengagement@acu. edu.au From left: Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe, John Foulcher, Mark Trendinnick and Geoff Page.