Autonomous University of Nuevo León

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The Autonomous University of Nuevo León (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL) is a public higher-education institution with its headquarters in the suburbs of Monterrey and several campuses in various municipalities of the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León.

Brief history

Although the Catholic church already had an official cathedra of philosophy and grammar in the state by 1703, the immediate forerunner of this public university only dates back to 1859, when the Civil School (Colegio Civil) started its courses. This institution had been envisioned by Governor Santiago Vidaurri but erected by his successor, José Silvestre Aramberri, after Vidaurri was removed from office. It began by sponsoring the pharmacy and medicine courses Dr. José Eleuterio González had been teaching at the Hospital del Rosario (Hospital of the Rosary) for several decades. The academic offerings included courses in law and medicine, as well as a preparatory school. Its first director was José de Jesús Dávila y Prieto.

Dr. José Eleuterio González, "Gonzalitos", founded the Civil School of Medicine of Monterrey on October 30, 1859. He then founded the Civil Hospital in 1860. They became the UANL's School of Medicine, and the University Hospital. The UANL's School of Medicine is the best public school of Medicine in the country.

On October 29, 1932, the delegations of schools of law, medicine, the Civil School, the Teachers School, and the Pharmacy School of the State of Nuevo León, submitted to state congress a project to organize a state university to service the Greater Monterrey metropolitan area. On November 7, 1932, state congress ordered the commission of Justice and Public Instruction to proceed with the request. On September 25, 1933, the UANL started activities as such.

As time passed the number of majors and courses was increased and the institution gave birth to several specialized faculties in charge of their teaching and supervision. Said institutions did not formally organize into a university until 1933, when Universidad de Nuevo León was created. In its first year, 1,864 students were taught by 218 professors from the faculties of medicine, law, engineering, and chemistry, the Normal School, the High School, the School of Nurses and Obstetricians and the Álvaro Obregón and Pablo Livas Industrial Schools.

By 1934, the University had 1864 students with 218 teachers. On September 29, 1935, the UANL was closed by decree of state congress, only to reopen on September 13, 1943.

The number of faculty and personnel was growing, and this prompted the construction in 1958 of the Ciudad Universitaria (University City), an academic complex located in San Nicolás de los Garza, a suburb of the state capital. From 1949 to 1961, the UANL had a "Golden Age". In 1967, the Estadio Universitario is finished. From 1968 to 1972, the University was hit by the global wave of student discomfort, and had some revolts and crisis. By 1971 student protests had forced the government to stop interfering in its internal affairs and recognize a statute of autonomy that gave birth to its current name: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.

At the end of 1990s the institution saw the necessity to rent the professional soccer team which was maintained in the professional Mexican league (UANL Tigres). This team was later affected by a corruption scandal which ended with no legal consequences for those accused after several years of cooling in court.

In 1997, with the arrival of democracy to the State of Nuevo León, the University begins to implement higher quality standards.

At present

File:UANL Sabinas.jpg

Campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Sabinas Hidalgo.

Inside the state of Nuevo León the university has the largest number of researchers on the Mexican Research System. The university city iss composed of the Torre de Rectoría, thirteen schools (the Faculty of Biological Sciences, the Faculty of Chemical Sciences, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Physical Sciences-Mathematics, the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration and the Faculty of Sports Organization; a stage, two large libraries, two computer science clubs, cafeterias and a pleiad of investigation institutes, auditoriums, laboratories, gymnasiums and gardens. In the city of Monterrey, the location of the Medical Area, is composed of faculties of Medicine, Odontology, Infirmary, Psychology, Public Health and Nutrition and the University Hospital. Also located here is the Mederos Campus integrated for the faculties of Political Science, Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, Music, Visual Arts, Scenic Arts, Communication and the Center of Investigation and Development of Bilingual Education.

Outside the metropolitan area are located eight seats. In the municipality of Marín is the Faculty of Agronomy, in Linares the Forest Sciences, Earth Sciences and an extension of the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration, in Sabinas Hidalgo are located three extensions, the Faculty of Law and Criminology, the Faculty of Infirmary and the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration, which has another seat in Cadereyta Jiménez.

The official mascots of the representative teams are the Tigers (Tigres) in masculine form and the Tigresses (Tigrillas) in feminine form. The director is José Antonio González Treviño.

Mission and Vision

According to the University's Organic Law, the UANL is 'an institution of superior culture, at the service of society, decentralized from the state, with full juridical capacity and personality, and has its end in creating, preserving, and promoting culture in benefit of society'.

Its Mission Statements says:

'The UANL has as objective to educate professionals, investigators, University teachers, and technicians, and to create and promote scientific investigation in its basic and applied forms, considering regional and national problems. Also, as the other higher education institutions in the country, it will organize, create and promote artistic creations in its diverse forms of expression, and make the community participants of culture, and contribute to the preservation of the national and universal cultural heritage'.

The Vision if the UANL is to be 'recognized as the best public school in Mexico by 2006'.

Humanist presence

Notwithstanding the great emphasis that scientific and technological development has achieved at the University, it is worth mentioning the humanistic presence, mainly led by people like Alfonso Reyes, "El Regiomontano Universal", Raul Rangel Frías, Israel Cavazos, Alfonso Rangel Guerra, and Agustín Basave Fernandez del Valle, among others, who have not only contributed to a higher humanistic consciousness in the institution, but in Monterrey's community as well. UANL's humanistic investigation results are published in the annual periodical Humanitas. The university also has a Regional History Investigation Center (Centro de Investigación de Historia Regional) on the former San Pedro estate in Zuazua, a Center for Study of the University (Centro de Estudios sobre la Universidad), which houses the Magna Library, a symphony orchestra, a chamber orchestra, and a band of regional music, El Tigre. Though lacking the extensive infrastructure of the cultural centers of Monterrey, the Autonomous University of Nuevo León has achieved throughout its history the formation and conservation of a free and open information culture.

Faculties

• Agronomy
• Architecture
• Biological Sciences
• Chemical Sciences
• Civil Engineering
• Communication Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Economy
• Forestal Sciences
• Law and Criminology
• Mechanics and Electrical Engineering
• Nurse School
• Nutrition and Public Health
• Odontology - Marianela Garza Enriquez, Dean
• Philosophy and Letters - Jose Resendiz Balderas, Dean
• Physics and Mathematical Sciences
• Political Sciences and Public Administration - Manuel Estrada Camargo, M.A., Dean
• Public Accounting and Administration - Jorge Castillo Villarreal, M.A., Dean
• Psychology
• Scenic Arts
• School of Medicine
• School of Music
• Social Work
• Visual Arts
• Veterinarian and Zootechnician School of Medicine

Notable graduates

Graduates (estudios de primer ciclo):

• Governors: Jorge Treviño, Sócrates Rizzo, Fernando Elizondo Barragán and José Natividad González Parás
• Cabinet secretaries: Reyes Tamez, María Teresa Herrera and Luis Eugenio Todd

Postgraduates (estudios de segundo y tercer ciclo):

• The industrialist Mauricio Fernández Garza

See also

• XHMNU-TV
• List of universities in Mexico
• Education in Mexico
• Autonomous university

References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of 3 April 2005.

External links

• Official website of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León
• Official website of the Philosophy and Arts Department at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León