A proud history Named after engineer, military leader and public administrator Sir John Monash , Monash University was established by an Act of Parliament in 1958. When our first students began their studies at our foundation campus in Clayton in 1961, we became the first university established in the state of Victoria in over 100 years. Menzies building, 1970s Early years The early vision was to create a research-focused tertiary institution with an emphasis on science and technology. As Monash has always done, though, we quickly moved beyond the bounds of expectation. Free from tradition and convention, we were within just a few years of our first intake of a mere 347 students, offering courses in arts, economics, education, engineering, law, medicine, politics and science. Student protesters occupying Administration building Creativity, innovation and activism The focus on research excellence remained, but what grew around it was a culture of creativity, innovation and irreverence. In the 1970s the foundation campus at Clayton became the centre for student protest in Australia, and this philosophy of challenging the status quo permeated the University. It remains to this day, although where once it was the Vietnam war and second-wave feminism that occupied activists' attention, today it is global poverty and sustainability, among many other causes. This position of leadership was not only confined to campaigning and advocacy, however, and Monash had soon become the model for a new generation of Australian universities. Growth The growth from technology/science specialists to general university was rapid. It