| Mekelle University at Mekelle | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1991 |
| President | Professor Joachim Herzig |
| Location | Mek'ele, Ethiopia |
| Website | http://www.mu.edu.et/ |
Mekelle University is located in Northern Ethiopia (Mekelle or Mek'ele, Tigray), at a distance of 783 kilometers from the Ethiopian capital city, Addis Ababa. It has three campuses within city of Mek'ele, Endayesus campus (Dry Land Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, Natural and Computational Sciences, Enginerineeg and computer sciences, Veterinary Science), Adi Haki campus (Law and Governance, Languages and Humanities, Business and Economics), and Aider campus (College of Health Sciences). A fourth campus is under construction at Kelamino for the College of Veterinary Science. Mekelle University was established in May 2000 by the Government of Ethiopia (Council of Ministers, Regulations No. 61/1999 of Article 3) as an autonomous higher education institution having its own legal personality. The merger of the two former colleges created the University: Mekelle Business College and Mekelle University College. The two colleges have their own historical developments and relocations.
Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray National Regional State,Mekelle was founded in the 13th century. However, its heyday came soon after Emperor Yohannes IV was crowned as king of the kings of Ethiopia (1871-1889).
Emperor Yohannes IV choose Mekelle as the seat of his government and built his graceful palace, still intact, in 1870s. The palace now serves as a museum. The Emperor’s throne, royal bed, ceremonial dress, rifles and many other valuable historical collections can be seen in the museum.
Mekelle University College began life in 1993 as the Arid Zone Agricultural College which found a permanent home in Mek'ele after a series of relocations. During the former regime, the College was originally scheduled to be located near Seleh Leha, in northwestern Tigray. However it was first established at University of Asmara as a faculty, but was then moved to Agarfa in southern Ethiopia, when the Derg displaced Asmara University in 1990 due to the then current political instability. In 1991, after a further year, Asmara University returned to Asmara and the Arid Zone Agricultural Faculty moved temporarily to Alamaya University. In 1993, the Arid Zone Agricultural College was again relocated, this time to Mek'ele, as the College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, and permanently settled at the Endayesus Campus, which had been a military barracks since the time of Emperor Menelik.
The Arid Zone Agricultural College started with three degree programs in 1993 with 42 students. After two years, the Faculty of Science and Technology was established at the same campus and, together, these two faculties were then upgraded to Mekelle University College. Side by side the Law Faculty then began by accepting diploma students in the continuing education program.
Mekelle University is one of the 13 secular Universities in Ethiopia. In Mekelle University, there are seven faculties and 44 departments.
At present, the University has the following faculties: