Université Libre de Bruxelles
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| Motto | Scientia vincere tenebras |
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| Established | 1834 |
| Type | Public university |
| Rector | Philippe Vincke |
| Staff | 4,400 |
| Students | 20,000 |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Campus | Urban, park |
| Website | http://www.ulb.ac.be/ |
The Université Libre de Bruxelles (or ULB) is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has about 20,000 students.
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[edit] Name
Université Libre de Bruxelles means in English: "Free University of Brussels" or alternatively "Non-Denominational University of Brussels", but this translation is not or rarely used (university names are rarely used as translated) all the more since its Dutch-speaking counterpart, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, has the same meaning. Some facilities, shared by the ULB and VUB, use the name "Brussels Free Universities", abbreviated BFU. For example the ULB/VUB Computing Center, BFUCC ([1]).
[edit] History
The history of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is closely linked with that of Belgium itself. When the nine provinces that broke away from the Kingdom of the Netherlands formed the Belgian State in 1830, there were three state universities in the country: Ghent, Liege and Leuven. Even though Brussels had been promoted to the rank of capital, it still had no university.
For this reason, in 1831 a group of leading Brussels Masonic figures in the fields of the arts, science and education set themselves the objective of creating a university for the city. They had the choice between a state university and, failing that, a private institution, since the Belgian Constitution, the most liberal in Europe, allowed for his possibility.
Finding the financial burden of the three existing universities too onerous, the Belgian government showed little enthusiasm for yet another state university. However, when in 1834 the episcopate decided to found the Catholic University at Mechelen, things began to happen very quickly. The liberal professions and Freemasons, who were promoting the Brussels university project, stepped up their efforts, with the result that the Free University of Belgium, as it was originally known, inaugurated its first academic year on 20 November 1834.
From 1836 it was to be called the Université Libre de Bruxelles, but although the geographical term may have changed, the adjective "free" remained. This was a key point." [2]
Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, who helped make the university, is the symbol of the creation of the university. November 20th, called 'St V' is a holiday for students.
Since 1935 some courses were taught in both French and Dutch, but it was only in 1963 that all faculties held courses in both languages. Shortly after the language dispute at the Catholic University of Leuven, in October 1969 the French and Dutch entities of the ULB separated into two distinct universities. With the act of 28 May 1970, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université Libre de Bruxelles officially became two separate legal, administrative and scientific entities.
[edit] Campuses
The ULB comprises three main campuses: the Campus de la Plaine in Ixelles, the Campus du Solbosch, on the territories of Brussels and Ixelles municipalities, in the Brussels-Capital Region and the Campus Erasme (faculty of medecine) in Anderlecht beside the Erasme Hospital but the university has also buildings and activities in Charleroi, Parentville, Treignes and Nivelles.
[edit] Faculties
- Faculty of Philosophy, and Letters
- Faculty of Law, and Criminological Science
- Faculty of Social, Political, Economic Science & Solvay Business School
- Faculty of Psychological Science, and of Education
- Faculty of Sciences (recently absorbed the Institute of Environment Gestion (IGEAT))
- Faculty of Medicine
- School of Public Health
- High institute of physical education, and Kinesitherapy
- Institute of Pharmacy
- Faculty of Applied Sciences
- Institute of Work Sciences
- Institute of European Studies
- Institute of Statistics and Operational Research
[edit] Famous alumni
- Amir Abbas Hoveida, executed Prime Minister of Iran
- Enver Hoxha, communist leader of Albania
- Ilya Prigogine, physicist and chemist, laureate of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Pierre Deligne, mathematician, laureate of the 1978 Fields Medal
- Jacques Tits, mathematician, laureate of the 1993 Wolf Prize
- David Ruelle, mathematical physicist
- Francois Englert, physicist, laureate of the 2004 Wolf Prize
- Robert Brout, physicist, laureate of the 2004 Wolf Prize
- Henri La Fontaine, lawyer, laureate of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Peace
- Jules Bordet, physician, laureate of the 1919 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Albert Claude, biologist, laureate of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| edit | |
| Flemish : UA | VUB | KU Brussel | UGent | UHasselt / tUL | K.U.Leuven/KULAK | FCSR | ETF | |
| Francophone : FPMs | FUCAM | FUNDP | FUSL | FUSAGx | UCL | ULB | ULg | UMH | |
| Bilingual : Brussels Faculty for Protestant Theology | Royal Military Academy | |
| English : BSIS | VeCo | Coleurop | UNU/CRIS | |
