University of Havana

University of Havana . It was founded on January 5 , 1728 by Dominican friars belonging to the Order of Preachers and is the oldest university in Cuba . ^[1] It is also one of the first in America . It is attached to the Ministry of Higher Education ( MES ). It was declared a National Monument by Resolution 03 on October 10 , 1978.

Summary

[ disguise ]

• 1 History
  • 1 First stage
  • 2 Second stage
  • 3 Third stage
• 2 Current work strategies
  • 1 Mission
  • 2 Objectives
• 3 Teaching
• 4 Faculties
• 5 Chairs
• 6 Museums
• 7 Centers
• 8 Collaboration agreements
• 9 Publications
• 10 Outstanding Students and Teachers
• 11 Recognitions
• 12 References
• 13 Source

History

First stage

On January 5 , 1728, the first university in Cuba , the “Royal and Pontifical University of San Gerónimo de La Habana “, was born in the Convent of San Juan de Letrán . ^[2] At the inauguration ceremony, Fray Tomás Linares del Castillo was named as the first rector, who from that moment on would govern the first faculties: Art and Philosophy , Theology , Canons, Law and Medicine .

On January 2 , 1733, the first statutes of the University were presented ; However, it was not until August 1735 that they came into force. They established that the government of the University should be made up of a Rector, a Vice-Rector, four councilors, a Master of Ceremonies and a Secretary. Every year the Senior Senate would hold elections for these positions. In this first stage, an important professor stood out: Tomás Romay , author of transcendental research in the field of medicine and biology .

Second stage

After a process of reforms, the University of San Gerónimo de la Habana became a secular institution, and in 1850 it changed its name to “Royal and Literary University of Havana”. ^[3] In this second stage, scientific development at the University deepened. With this objective, the Natural History Museum was founded and the National Botanical Garden came to be governed by the institution. At that time, education had the faculties of Jurisprudence , Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy .

Figures such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , Antonio Bachiller y Morales , Felipe Poey , Francisco de Arango y Parreño , passed through his classrooms in these initial stages. ^[4] They contributed to forging an indigenous national thought that became a revolutionary commitment for new generations. A momentous event was the murder of eight medical students in 1871 , accused with false evidence and testimonies. Currently, university students pay tribute to those martyrs. During this period, other key events in university history occurred , such as the graduation of the first woman, Mercedes Riba , on September 23 , 1885 .

On January 3 , 1899 , Brooke delegated broad powers to the rector to resolve all the problems that the Spanish administration had left at the University. He expressed in the letter to the Rector:

“…I declare that I formally delegate to you the powers enjoyed by the supreme Spanish authority of this Island.”

Thus began the third stage of the University, now converted into the “University of Havana.”

Third stage

Under the ideas of the Varona plan , in this period the most modern teaching ideas of the time were brought to the university. However, the structural conditions of the San Juan de Lateran building were not the best: it became uncomfortable and inadequate.

On May 1 , 1902, the transfer of the University to Aróstegui Hill , ^[5] also known as the “Pyrotechnic Hill”, and located in Vedado , began . An important stage in its history also began at this time; events such as the founding of the University Student Federation , the delivery of speeches by José Antonio Echeverría , the descent down its wide and wide staircase of the centenary generation in its historic Torch March and the bravery demonstrated by its students, are some of the events that can be mentioned.

In January 1928, Havana hosted the VI Pan-American Conference, attended by leaders and representatives of countries on the American continent, including US President Calvin Coolidge . For this reason, President Gerardo Machado inaugurated several works, including the staircase of the University of Havana, which had been pending execution since the general reconstruction of the premises. ^[6]

Alma mater

Starting on the esplanade in front of the rectorate building, the staircase ends on San Lázaro Street . To preside over it, a sculpture was placed that became an emblem of the institution. The Alma Mater had been made in 1919 by the Czechoslovakian artist Mario Karbel ^[7] , who was inspired by two Cuban women: Felicia Villalón, a 16-year-old girl (for the head, face and neck), and a Havana woman of mixed race constitution. mature and solid (for the rest of the body).

On October 6 , 1933 , the Government of the Hundred Days , chaired by university professor Ramón Grau San Martín, granted the campus university autonomy, fulfilling one of the demands of the students since the time of the university reform that began in 1923. Julio Antonio Mella ^[6]

After the revolutionary triumph of 1959, the doors of the Havana University, which were closed for 3 years, were reopened. From that moment on, access was given to the entire town and with the University Reform of 1962, the student body and the faculty following the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista were purged . ^[8] Likewise, science is placed at the center of university education . From that moment on, the new university was the protagonist and important arm of the Revolution to create a new Cuba.

Thanks to the Havana Alma Mater , the José Antonio Echeverría Higher Polytechnic Institute , the Institute of Medical Sciences, the Higher Pedagogical Institute, the Higher Institute of Agricultural Sciences and the agricultural sciences of Pinar del Río and Matanzas were born . More than 50 doctoral programs and another generation of university students who have given it a place in history.

Current work strategies

Mission

To be a space for reflection, creation of scientific and technological knowledge and formation of values, to contribute to the historical continuity of the Cuban Revolution and the cultural enrichment of society, with which it will play a main role in the development, dissemination and application of the social, natural, economic and exact sciences and in the comprehensive and continuous training of professionals with the capacity for scientific and political leadership, identified with the Revolution and Socialism .

Goals

• Achieve a united, coherent, flexible, dynamic, participatory university committed to its Mission, where discipline , efficiency, self-control, cooperation and a multidisciplinary approach are characteristic of daily work.
• Strengthen the commitment of the UH with its best traditions and patriotic values, and with its participation in the political, economic, social, cultural activities and in the defense of the country.
• Consolidate the University as a space for national and international convocation for reflection and debate on problems of contemporary society .
• Integrate educational and instructive actions in the training process of highly qualified professionals loyal to the Homeland; through strengthening the capacity for self-creativity, and the humanistic and cultural dimension of the university student.
• Identify and strengthen our leadership in those areas in which the UH can make relevant contributions to the economic, social, scientific and cultural development of the country.
• Strengthen the links between research and postgraduate studies , strengthening their role in addressing social demands and needs, international relations and the development of the Faculty.
• Achieve a better correspondence of the structure and dimension of human resources with the tasks to be fulfilled, to achieve progress in working and living conditions, encouragement and social recognition for university workers.
• Increase the collection of material and financial resources, increase efficiency in their obtaining, use and control and enhance the contributions coming from genuinely university products.
• Preserve heritage , improve existing infrastructure and fully integrate information and communications technologies into university life.
• Strengthen the international ties and dimension of the UH, as ways of strategic support for substantive university activities and the defense of the principles of the Revolution.

Teaching

The University of Havana consists of 17 faculties and 15 research centers in different fields such as economics , exact sciences , natural sciences , social sciences and humanities . Currently, it has an enrollment of more than 60 thousand students distributed in 32 majors. The UH has trained 1,560 young people from third world countries, representing 65 nations.