One of Griffth’s founding principles was equal access to education. As Griffith grew, so did this ideal. Less than 10 years after commencing teaching in 1975, it was recognised more could be done to attract and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In the late 1980s, the Australian Government proposed changes resulting in several tertiary institutions across the country amalgamating. One of these was the Brisbane College of Advanced Education (BCAE) Mount Gravatt merging with Griffith to become our current Mount Gravatt campus. There was an ‘Aboriginal and Islander Student Group’ at BCAE and an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Unit’ had begun at Griffith in 1986. Their merger created the GUMURRII Student Success Unit.
Griffith Archive’s upcoming online exhibition, Griffith Geneses: GUMURRII Student Success Unit, examines the history of Griffith’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support services, and their impact, from its genesis in the 1980’s through to today’s GUMURRII Student Success Unit.
Contact the Library to find out more about the Griffith Archive and all the ways the Library is ‘here to help’.
Griffith University is proud to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals
Find out more about the Sustainable Development Goals.
