The citizen scholar : the Academy at the University of Western Sydney

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the University of Western Sydney's programme of The Academy. The Academy was established with a strong intellectual base, robust historical foundation in the Socratic ideal and twenty-first century vision of an 'ideal' graduate: that is, a Citizen Scholar who is academically accomplished and civically minded. At the beginning of the journey, many colleagues" both inside and outside our institution" where sceptical of what some saw as being overly ambitious or, more cynically, simply a marketing exercise. While aging. We have seen a dramatic increase in civic engagement across the student body as well as an expansion of academic aspirations and growth in high-performance students. In many ways, we see The Academy as only the first step in developing a broader programme that meets our objectives across the student body. We agree with those critics that it is an ambitious project" but one worth pursuing" and one that is already delivering positive results. From an institutional perspective, no innovation is completely free of some necessary marketing: new ideas must be 'sold'. Yet, The Academy has allowed UWS to position itself as an innovative higher education provider, and one that is not simply based on glossy brochures, but on a unique programme that reflects the aspiration of the Citizen Scholar.