Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975. Its name is taken from Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of The University of Western Australia. Murdoch University is a research intensive institution and a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia). Its Asia Research Centre, founded in 1991 as a Special Research Centre of the Australia Research Council, is regarded as an international leader in the study of social, political and economic dynamics in East and Southeast Asia. According to The Australian newspaper ("What makes a good school of journalism"), Graduate Careers Council of Australia found its Journalism School is one of Australia's top five.