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We are the national university, and we belong to the people of Australia.

We hold the nation’s investment in trust, and we return it in discovery, in graduates ready to lead, and in advice that can be relied upon. Our ongoing obligations reach further: to Indigenous peoples, whose knowledge belongs at the centre of our understanding of the nation; to Asia and the Pacific, where our expertise is held for the nation; and to Canberra, the city that shaped us and that we help sustain.

Our people are central to our success. This includes our students, staff, alumni, donors, collaborators and partners.

In 1946, Australia founded a new kind of university charged with pursuing the knowledge that mattered most to our nation’s future.

Then Prime Minister J.B. (Ben) Chifley made a simple and powerful case that research about, and for, Australia was necessary for the nation’s future prosperity and security. Robert Menzies, then Leader of the Opposition, endorsed the proposal. The Australian ¾«¶«´«Ã½app University was thus created by the Parliament of Australia.

The proposition was that Australia should generate its own understanding of the world, rather than receive it second-hand. That is the purpose we were given, and it continues to define us.

We serve the Australian people by building capability the nation cannot secure elsewhere, by advising governments with the candour that only academic independence permits, and by helping Australia understand itself, our region, and our place in the world.

Eighty years on, our historic mission remains unchanged: to serve the nation with knowledge, and to give back more than we receive.

Holding such a responsibility demands integrity. It demands scrutiny. We acknowledge that some decisions in our recent past have not met the high standards expected.

The conclusion of the ANU by 2025 strategic cycle marked an opportunity to chart our next horizon. The strategy presented here is not a corporate roadmap; it is a shared agenda. It is the direct result of a co-design process that unites our staff, students and alumni in defining our shared future.

ANU by 2030 is a commitment to our foundations and prioritises institutional stability and resilience, the restoration of trust and the embedding of a culture of care for our people. It defines our immediate trajectory and lays the groundwork for the university’s longer-term strategy in coming years.

As we mark the historic milestone of our 80th anniversary and welcome the return of University House, I extend my deepest gratitude to the ANU community.

Together, we stand united in our dedication to the future promise and enduring legacy of The Australian ¾«¶«´«Ã½app University.

Professor Rebekah Brown FASSA

Interim Vice-Chancellor and President