Simón Bolívar University

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Coordinates: 10.4104° N 66.8812° W

Simón Bolívar University
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Motto: "La Universidad del Futuro"
(Spanish, "The University of the Future")
Established: 1967
Type: Public
Rector: Benjamín Scharifker
Faculty: 1,000 (approx.)
Students: 10,500 (approx.)
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
Campus: Urban, ha
Website: usb.ve
Laberinto Cromovegetal (1995) by Carlos Cruz-Diez, an iconic work of gardening art
Laberinto Cromovegetal (1995) by Carlos Cruz-Diez, an iconic work of gardening art

Simón Bolívar University (Universidad Simón Bolívar in Spanish) or USB, is a public institution located in Caracas, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation. Its motto is "La Universidad del Futuro" ("The University of the Future").

Both nationally and globally, Simón Bolívar University is a well-known school with a high reputation in scientific and engineering careers. Its graduates are known for achieving high professional standards.

Contents

[edit] History

On May 1967 the government created a commission composed by Luis Manuel Peñalver, Luis Carbonell, Mercedes Fermín, Miguel Angel Pérez and Héctor Isava to study the possibility of creating a new university that would offer studies to directly promote the economical and social development of the country. On July 18th, 1967 the President of Venezuela Raúl Leoni signed a decree which officially founded the University as an Instituto Experimental de Educación Superior focused mainly on scientific and tecnological research. The original name given to the university was Universidad de Caracas; however, the first name of the Central University of Venezuela was also "Universidad de Caracas" and it was still known by that name. Members of The National Academy of History, the Bolivarian Society of Venezuela and other important institutions expressed their wish to relate the name of El Libertador Simón Bolívar to the name of the recently created university, which resulted in the change to the name of Universidad Experimental Simón Bolívar in 1969.

[edit] Campus

[edit] Location

Espejo Solar by Alejandro Otero, located at the laguna de los espejos
Espejo Solar by Alejandro Otero, located at the laguna de los espejos

The closed-campus-style grounds are located in the southern part of the city Caracas, in the Sartenejas valley, in the municipality of Baruta, Miranda State. Its total surface is approximately of 3,489,000 m². The valley is made up of two sectors. The first sector, a plain zone of approximately 90 acres (364,000 m²), raised about 1200 meters above sea level, contains the campus proper. The other sector is maintained as a nature reserve, due to its topographical characteristics, with an altitude between 1,200 and 1,400 meters above sea level.

[edit] Gardens

The University holds great pride in the keeping of its gardens; it includes numerous species of plants and animals. They were designed following an English style by Eduardo Robles Piquer and were completed in 1974. Its first Rector Mayz Vallenilla proudly holds the title of "gardener for life". Some of the most notable works of gardening are:

  • The "Laberinto Cromovegetal"
  • The pines planted in the surrounding mountains on the early years of the University
  • The tree planted by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

[edit] Art

Aside from the gardens themselves there are several works of art all over the campus. In the library and the Rectoral building there are art galleries as well as there are works of art constantly displayed and renewed inside and just outside the library. And there are some other older more important and permanent works of art in other places of the outdoor grounds.

[edit] Degrees

It offers the following undergraduate programs (B.Sc.):

It offers the following graduate programs (M.Sc., Ph.D.and Specializations):

[edit] Extra-curricular activities

USB entry on the Formula SAE
USB entry on the Formula SAE

Although the students at this university have a certain fame of being fully devoted to only their careers, a great number of them participate in several extracurricular activities including sports, recreation groups, scientific groups, musical and theatrical performances and organized charity work.

Some of these organizations are based on international competitions in which they represent both, Simón Bolívar University and Venezuela, keeping the standard of innovation that has characterized this campus. Some of these competitions are:

[edit] Traditions

Estructura Hidromecánica (aka "Poceta de King-Kong") was designed in 1975 by Gabriel Martín Landrove
Estructura Hidromecánica (aka "Poceta de King-Kong") was designed in 1975 by Gabriel Martín Landrove
Simón Bolívar statue by the Peruvian artist Joaquín Roca Rey
Simón Bolívar statue by the Peruvian artist Joaquín Roca Rey

Several myths and legends are part of the student's culture:

Do not walk behind Simón Bolívar: It is said that if you walk behind the statue of Simón Bolívar, next to the Dean's office, you will never graduate. In fact, the sidewalk in front of the statue is worn out as opposed to the sidewalk behind it which does not show evidence of traffic.

Rub the Owl's beak: It is said that those who wish to pass mathematics in the first trimester "must" rub the beak of a stone owl statue located towards the rear of the Dean's office, and if you graduate you're supposed to rub the owl's claws in a gesture of gratitude. It is jokingly remarked on how the beak is smooth and the claws rugged reflecting the ratio of people that start and those who graduate.

Owl located at the Dean's office
Owl located at the Dean's office

The Ampere: This is the central coffee shop. The name is after Dampere, a Venezuelan lastname from Zulia, some day a clever student deleted the first letter from the sign and many urban legends began.[citation needed] One myth states that the name is a play on words invoking the large number of female students that hang around the place. An ampere by definition is the scientific unit of electrical current: one coulomb of charge per second. In Venezuela, Culo is vulgar slang for "bottom" or "arse". Thus, "Un culo-mb por segundo" is understood as 'one bottom per second' (obviously of a girl), and thus an ampere.[citation needed] An external web site named after the cafeteria can be visited at [2] where students and alumni [3] from USB can share and get information about the university and the country.

La Cebolla: The logo of the university is called "la cebolla" or "the onion" in Spanish in contrast to its technological symbolism. It was designed to seem a group of doors one into another, a metaphor for the hard work and effort students have to do in order to walk from the big door that leads them in, to the little one that leads them out.[citation needed]

La poceta de King-Kong: or "King Kong's toilet" is a humorous name given to the water-kinetic fountain near the Rectoral House. The fountain was supposed to rotate when the water falls down through. However it is so heavy that has to be helped with an electromechanical system. The university turns on the fountain in special occasions, like graduations.

¡Nuevo!: when someone in one of the campus cafeterias makes a loud noise, such as by clumsily dropping their tray, people will shout "nuevo" (Spanish for newbie). Some people have gone into the main cafeteria the day of their graduation with their robes and dropped a tray on purpose in order to get ironically yelled at.

Laguna de los patos: It is an artificial small lake situated near the entrance on the university that holds a nice community of geese and ducks (patos). In Venezuela, the word "pato" or its plural "patos" is also used to refer to homosexual men. Therefore, the lake's name, the "laguna de los patos" is sometimes used to make funny comments.

Siberia: It is a cafeteria located at the sport complex center. This center, and its cafeteria are located as far from the main university buildings as Siberia is from the rest of the world. Therefore, its name. Siberia was closed in recent years.

El acuario: Or The aquarium, is the name given to another cafeteria located near the biology and architecture labs. Once again, in Venezuela the word "pargo", or red fish, can be used to refer to homosexual men. A common misconception or belief is that the majority of the male students in the architecture department are homosexuals, and that they usually go to this cafeteria for its convenient location. "Pargos" are also found in aquariums. Therefore, the name of the place is used as a pun. The cafeteria's name has changed several times with different administrations, but the name "El Acuario" is the traditional one, and is the one used by the USB community.

[edit] External links

[edit] Aerial Photos
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