I am delighted by the news that Griffith University is now listed in the 301-400 band on the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) following the announcement of the 2012 results. I had the good fortune to be in Canberra when the results were published, and it is pleasing to note that our performance was noted in every meeting in which I participated.
The ARWU was first published in 2003 by the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and is considered the most reputable and reliable global ranking of research performance.
Griffith remains one of only two universities in South East Queensland listed on this prestigious ranking. The University was also ranked in the Social Sciences Top 200 by the ARWU — one of seven Australian universities listed. These were ANU, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney, UNSW, Griffith and Monash.
There are strong reputational benefits to Griffith flowing from these outcomes. Prominent representation on all major rankings, in particular the ARWU, enables the University to engage internationally at a higher level with respect to collaborative research arrangements and for recruitment of academic staff and international students, especially at the doctoral level.
These outcomes strongly vindicate the strategic directions being taken to position Griffith as one of the most influential universities in the Asia-Pacific region. They also provide tangible evidence of the success of the Areas of Strategic Investment initiative and other investments into people and facilities aimed at enhancing the University’s research performance. External validation such as this supports the view that Griffith is poised to become a truly world class and comprehensive research university.
There is no doubt however that these outcomes reflect the efforts and achievements of University staff over a lengthy period of time, and I thank every part of the University community for their contribution to this outstanding performance.