Abstract
THREE addresses to Victorian political organizations by Dr. R. E. Priestley, when he was vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, have been published under the title "The University and the National Life". In the first of these addresses, dealing with the finance and objectives of the University of Melbourne, Dr. Priestley attempts to summarize the functions of a university in a democratic country. First, he considers a university should admit and, if necessary, finance by scholarships, grants and loans, the pick of every generation of the youth of the State, irrespective of the class of homes or society they came from. The university's first duty should be to provide inspiring teaching and the means of full development of body, character and mind for its undergraduate students. For this purpose, research and investigation are essential and the staff must be large enough to ensure adequate contact with students as well as leisure for investigation. The university should aim at sending out graduates whose natural and recognized place would be the front ranks of the occupations they follow and who would be the natural leaders of their generation.
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University Functions and Responsibilities. Nature 140, 1007 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/1401007a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1401007a0