Ghent University

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Ghent University
Universiteit Gent
Latin: Academia Gandavensis
Motto: Inter Utrumque
Established: 1817
Type: Public
Rector: Paul Van Cauwenberge
Staff: 6,400
Students: 30,000
Location: Ghent, Flanders, Belgium
Colours: blue and yellow
Mascot: the Roman goddess Minerva
Affiliations: Associatie Universiteit Gent (AUGent)
Website: http://www.ugent.be

Ghent University (in Dutch, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated UGent) is one of the three large Flemish universities. It is located in the historic town of Ghent in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking (northern) part of Belgium. It has 30,000 students and 6,400 Staff members.

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[edit] History

The university was founded by King William I as part of a policy to stem the intellectual and academic lag in the southern part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, later to become Belgium; the universities in Leuven and Liège were founded as part of the same movement. The university in Ghent was opened on 9 October 1817, with JC van Rotterdam serving as the first rector. In the first year, it had 190 students and 16 professors. The original four faculties consisted of Humanities (Letters), Law, Medicine and Science, and the language of instruction was Latin.

After peaking at a student population of 414, the number of students declined quickly following the Belgian Revolution. At this time, the faculties of Humanities and Science were broken off of the university, but they were restored five years later, in 1835.

In 1882, Sidonie Verhelst became the first female student at the university.

French became the language of instruction, taking the place of Latin, after the 1830 Revolution. In 1903, the Flemish politician Lodewijk De Raet led a successful campaign to begin instruction in Dutch, and the first courses were begun in 1906. A Flemish Institute (Vlaemsche Hoogeschool) was founded in 1916 but was disestablished due to the ongoing First World War. Cabinet Minister Pierre Nolf put forward a motion in 1923 to fully establish the university as a Dutch-speaking university, and this was realized in 1930. August Vermeylen served as the first rector of the first exclusively Dutch university in Belgium.[1]

In the Second World War, the German administration of the university attempted to create a German orientation, removing faculty members and installing loyal activists. However, the university became the focal point for many resistance members as the war progressed.

After the war, the university became a much larger institution, following government policy of democratizing higher education in Flanders during the 1950s and 1960s. By 1953, there were more than 3000 students, and by 1969 more than 11,500. The number of faculties increased to eleven, starting with Applied Sciences in 1957. It was followed by Economics and Veterinary Medicine in 1968, Psychology and Pedagogy, as well as Bioengineering, in 1969, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The faculty of Politics and Social Sciences is the most recent addition, in 1992.

The university officially changed its name from Rijksunversiteit Gent (RUG) to Universiteit Gent (UGent) in 1991 following an increased grant of autonomy by the government of the Flemish Community.

On March 22, 2005, Paul Van Cauwenberge succeeded Andreas De Leenheer as rector.

[edit] Characteristics

In contrast to the Catholic University of Leuven, or the Freethinking Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ghent University considers itself a pluralist university in a special sense (i.e. not connected to any particular religion or ideology, hence its motto 'Inter Utrumque' or 'In Between Both Extremes').

[edit] Notable alumni

The Boekentoren, designed by Henry van de Velde, is one of the most famous university buildings
The Boekentoren, designed by Henry van de Velde, is one of the most famous university buildings
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science

[edit] Notable faculty

Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
Johan Rudolf Thorbecke

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Language Come Back, TIME Magazine, April 28, 1923

[edit] External links

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Universities in Belgium