A committee appointed to advise the state government on the establishment of the new university at North Ryde nominated Abraham as the architect-planner.

Macquarie grew during the seventies and eighties with rapid expansion in courses offered, student numbers and development of the site.

In their book Liberality of Opportunity, Bruce Mansfield and Mark Hutchinson describe the founding of Macquarie University as 'an act of faith and a great experiment'.

[26] In 1973, the student union (MUSC) worked with the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) to organise one of the first "pink bans".

MUSC was successful in engaging with the BLF again in 1974 when a woman at Macquarie University had her NSW Department of Education scholarship cancelled on the basis that she was a lesbian and therefore unfit to be a teacher.

Included in the university's plans for the future was the establishment of a sustainability office in order to more effectively manage environmental and social development at Macquarie.

[13][14][15] Macquarie University's main campus is about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north-west of the Sydney CBD and is set on 126 hectares of rolling lawns and natural bushland.

[18] As the site adapted from its former rural use to a busy collegiate environment, he implemented carefully designed planting programs across the campus.

Abraham established a grid design comprising lots of 300 square feet (28 m2) running north–south, with the aim of creating a compact academic core.

The main east–west walkway that runs from the Macquarie University Research Park to the arts faculty buildings was named Wally's Walk in recognition of Abraham's contribution.

Macquarie became the first university in Australia to own and operate a private medical facility in 2010 when it opened a $300 million hospital on its campus.

Primarily designed to encourage interaction between the university and industry, commercialisation of its campus has also given the institution an additional revenue stream.

Tenants are selected based on their potential to collaborate with the university's researches or their ability to provide opportunities for its students and graduates.

Other companies that have office space at the campus include Dow Corning, Goodman Fielder, Nortel, OPSM, and Siemens.

While the Academic Senate is an independent body, it is required to make recommendations to the university Council in relation to matters outside its delegated authority.

Prior to his appointment Dowton served as a senior medical executive having held a range of positions in university, healthcare and consulting organisations.

He also served as a pediatrician at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, and as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

The university currently comprises 35 departments within four faculties:[55] Macquarie University's coat of arms (often erroneously referred to as a 'crest') was assumed through a 1967 amendment of the Macquarie University Act, 1964 (Confirmed by Letters patent of the College of Arms, 16 August 1969), and the Grant of arms reads:[56][54] The escutcheon (in green taken from the tartan of Clan MacQuarrie) displays the Macquarie Lighthouse tower, the first major public building in the colony when completed in 1816, as well as the Sirius star (in gold), which was also the name of the flagship of the First Fleet.

It facilitates and supports the commercial needs of industry, business and government organisations seeking to utilise the academic expertise of the broader university community.

All museums and galleries are open to the public and offer educational programs for students at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

The university has also committed about $7 million to the incubator with financial support of the big businesses and the New South Wales government.

[99] The Australian Government's QILT[b] conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.

[100] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[100] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.

[106] Campus Life manages the university's non-academic services: food and retail, sport and recreation, student groups, child care, and entertainment.

[111] In 2012, 9,802 students from Asia were enrolled at Macquarie University (Sydney campuses and offshore programs in China, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore).

Previously a sports hall facility, the complex was renovated and reopened in 2007 with the addition of the new gym and aquatic centre.

Just north of the campus, the fields are used by the university as well as a number of elite sporting teams, such as Sydney FC and the Matildas.

The GLP aims to instil leadership and innovation skills, cross-cultural understanding and a sense of global citizenship in its graduates.

[120] Macquarie's GLP was the first of its kind when it launched in the Australian university sector in 2005 and is the country's flagship tertiary global leadership program with more than 4000 active participants in more than 200 academic disciplines.

[141][142][143] Four Macquarie University academics were included in The World's Most Influential Minds 2014 report by Thomson Reuters, which identified the most highly cited researchers of the last 11 years.