Doing Things Differently

A history of the first five decades of one of Australia's leading universities.

Griffith University's first students arrived on its leafy bush campus in March 1975. Without the pedigree of age, Griffith set out from the start to be different.


Drawing on interviews with over 150 staff and students, as well as wide-ranging documentary sources, Patrick Weller investigates what the university as an institution stands for: its goals, its activities, its values and its considerable achievements. He considers how its early ambitions have influenced its development, and how it has evolved over its first five decades. Doing Things Differently includes snapshots of the work of outstanding members of the Griffith community and insights into teaching, research, extra-curricular activities and governance. It asks to what extent the university achieved its ambitions and whether the values it espoused are still retained.


It is a fascinating account of one of Australia's leading institutions, one that sought to distinguish itself from the traditional models of university governances and organization.