Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher education institution featuring a three-semester-per-year timetable. The university is ranked 20th in the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings of the Best Small Universities in the World, and has been Australia's top university for the educational experience for 17 consecutive years. Bond comprises four main university schools and academic faculties, through which it offers a range of accelerated undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and programs, diplomas, and non-award programs.

History

Bond University was established and funded in 1987 by the chairman of Bond Corporation, Alan Bond, the president of the Japanese-based Electronics and Industrial Enterprises International (EIE), Harunori Takahashi and Dr Taro Tanioka, in a joint venture to manage the land and construction of the buildings of the university. The university's buildings and surrounding land initially covered approximately 212 hectares and encompassed what was previously a pine plantation known as the Burleigh Forest. In the 1970s, Bond had obtained control of a number of pine plantations in the region, previously owned by the Savoy Corporation Limited and Gold Coast Cooperative Plantations Society Limited, and established a new company known as the Development Equity Corporation (DEC) to develop them. DEC was managed by Brian Orr who, in 1976, put forward a proposal to the Albert Shire Council for a university at Gaven Forest. While this project did not proceed, a subsequent proposal made in 1986 to build a university at Burleigh Forest did gain traction. Orr discussed the matter with Bond and Peter Beckwith and recruited Jo Anne Cracknell to research the feasibility of venture. On 3 July 1986, Bond decided to proceed with the project and his intention to build the university, then known as the Bond University of Applied Technology, was formally announced at the National Party of Australia conference on the Gold Coast by the Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen on 17 July 1986. On 9 April 1987, the Parliament of Queensland granted Bond University university status via the passage of the Bond University Act. In 1989 the university commenced teaching with an initial intake of 322 students. In 1991, EIE acquired Bond Corporation's share of the company that controlled the land on which the university buildings were constructed and the surrounding development lands following the collapse of Bond Corporation. By 1993, EIE was in receivership and the Bond University Council commenced negotiations to acquire the campus from the mortgagee, the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. The university retained the name 'Bond' even though, within a decade of its founding, Alan Bond was sentenced to separate jail terms for investment and corporate fraud (1995 and 1996). The Bond University Council was not the only entity interested in the site which was advertised for sale in major newspapers. In 1995, the Employment, Education and Training References Committee of the Australian Senate undertook a report into the proposed sale of the campus to the University of Queensland which had outbid the Bond University Council in their earlier negotiations to acquire the site. In August 1999, the Bond University Council was successful in securing the 50 acre campus site which was acquired by a newly formed public company known as Bond University Limited. In 2019, the university celebrated its 30-year mark since it opened. The same year, the university severed ties with the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew and his former organization Pitch@Palace Global.

Campus and buildings

The Bond University campus features a series of sandstone buildings centred around human-made Lake Orr. The campus was conceived and developed by master planner Daryl Jackson of Jackson Architecture with significant input from Queensland architect Robin Gibson. The signature arch building was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, inspired by the Arch of Constantine in Rome, Italy. Students at Bond University have access to a number of academic, technological and recreational facilities. Recent alterations to the campus facilities include: Other campus facilities at Bond University include: In 2001, the university established an online MBA course, the Bond-BBT Global Leadership MBA, collaborated with Kenichi Ohmae and Business Breakthrough Inc. in Japan.

Governance and structure

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The current and eighth chancellor of the university since 2016 is Annabelle Bennett,, a retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia and an academic. The current vice-chancellor and president of the university since January 2012 is Tim Brailsford.

Faculties and departments

The university has four faculties to support both research and teaching activities.

Academic profile

Academic reputation

National publications

The 2022 Good Universities Guide gave Bond University 5-star ratings in every student experience category. More than 90 per cent of students rated their educational experience at Bond University as positive. Bond University is in the top 20 Small Universities according to the Times Higher Education rankings.

Student life

Student association

The Bond University Student Association (BUSA) is a student organisation that aims to make student life at Bond more rewarding, ranging from enhancing academic pursuits, facilitating sporting involvement and satisfying social necessities.

Sports and athletics

Sports teams in national and state-level competitions based at Bond include the Queensland Country team that plays in the National Rugby Championship, the Bond University Breakers rugby club that plays in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition, and the Bond University Bullsharks club that plays in the Queensland Football Association Division 1 (QFA Division 1) competition. Bond University fields soccer teams within Football Queensland South Coast and Football Queensland competitions. The Bond University Student Association (BUSA) assists with the university's participation in intervarsity sport on a regional and national level. Bond University was named the overall champions at the Northern University Games (NUG) in July 2011, and went on to be named Australian University Sport Per Capita Champions at the Australian University Games in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and most recently 2017.

Student accommodation

Bond University Student Housing caters for both domestic and international students, with a range of housing on campus. Bond University is centrally located on the Gold Coast, in the suburb of Robina.

Notable people

Controversies

Australian Human Rights Commission Data and Report

In 2017, Bond University, in conjunction with all Australian universities, participated in a national report undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission to tackle the issue of sexual harassment and assault. The Vice Chancellor of Bond University acknowledged the survey results saying, “Today is a wake-up call, and we understand that the issue of sexual harassment and assault is real and attitudes need to change, both in society and within the university sector. One case is one case too many. We are supportive of the recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and have already implemented the majority of the measures they have proposed.”