Voices of a University: Celebrating 125 years at the University of Tasmania

The 125 Stories project is part of the year long celebrations held to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the University of Tasmania. That anniversary is well worthy of celebration. The University of Tasmania is one of that select group of only four out of the 40 universities in Australia which were established before Federation; and that in turn means that the University of Tasmania is in fact older than the great majority of the universities in the world. Of course the age of a university does not by itself necessarily demonstrate its worth but it is not an insignificant quality either. Older universities develop qualities not possessed by newer ones because it takes time for a university to mature, become entrenched as an institution of the society of which it is a part and to gain international standing in the world of scholarship. The 125 Stories project was made a prominent part of our celebrations because while there is a natural tendency to identity a university with its campuses, lecture theatres, laboratories and so on, in fact the heart of a university is to be found in its people. A university is a community: a lively interactive community of students, staff and scholars all engaged in one way or another in the transmission, creation and application of knowledge. So it was decided that an especially appropriate way of celebrating the University of Tasmania's 125th anniversary was to tell the story of that community.