University of Bucharest

Infobox University
name=University of Bucharest


image_size=270px
caption=
established=1864
type=Public
rector= Prof. Univ. Dr. Ioan Pânzaru
students=34,000
city=Bucharest
country=Romania
website= http://www.unibuc.ro
The University of Bucharest ( _ro. Universitatea din Bucureşti), in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.

History

In 1694 Constantin Brâncoveanu, ruler of Wallachia, had founded the Princely Academy of Saint Sava in Bucharest with lectures delivered in Greek. In 1776, Alexander Ypsilantis, ruler of Wallachia, reformed the curriculum of the Saint Sava Academy, where courses of French, Italian and Latin were now taught. In 1859, the Faculty of Law was created. In 1857, Carol Davila created the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy. In 1857, the foundation stone of the University Palace in Bucharest was laid.

On July 4/16 1864 Prince Alexander John Cuza created the University of Bucharest, bringing together the Faculties of Law, Sciences and Letters as one single body. In the following years, new faculties were created: 1884 – the Faculty of Theology; 1906 – the Institute of Geology; 1913 – the Academic Institute for Electrotechnology; 1921 – the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; 1923 – the Faculty of Pharmacy, 1924 – the Mina Minovici Institute of Forensic Medicine.

In 1956, student leaders, mainly from this university, planned a peaceful protest against Romania's Communist regime but were forcibly prevented from carrying it out.

Post-1989 history

The area around the old University building (the University Square), adjacent to the C. A. Rosetti, Roman, Kogălniceanu, and Union Squares was the scene of many riots, protests and clashes with the security forces during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. During the months of April-June 1990, the University of Bucharest was the centre of anti-communist protests.

In 1996, Emil Constantinescu, the then rector of the University of Bucharest, was elected President of Romania, after defeating Ion Iliescu in national presidential elections.

Faculties

Currently the University has 18 departments, covering fields such as natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and theology:
* [http://fmi.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science]
* [http://fizica.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Physics]
* [http://chimie.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Chemistry]
* [http://www.bio.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Biology]
* [http://drept.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Law]
* [http://geo.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Geography]
* [http://ub-filosofie.ro/ Faculty of Philosophy]
* [http://gg.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Geology and Geophysics]
* [http://www.fjsc.ro/ Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies]
* [http://www.limbi-straine.ro/ Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures]
* [http://www.fspub.ro/ Faculty of Political Science]
* [http://www.unibuc.ro/ro/fac_litr_ro Faculty of Letters]
* [http://online.sas.unibuc.ro/ Faculty of Sociology and Social Work]
* [http://www.unibuc.ro/ro/fac_fistr_ro Faculty of History]
* [http://www.fpse.ro/ Faculty of Psychology And Educational Studies]
* [http://www.unibuc.ro/ro/fac_ftb_ro Faculty of Baptist Theology]
* [http://www.unibuc.ro/ro/fac_fto_ro Faculty of Orthodox Theology]
* [http://www.unibuc.ro/ro/fac_ftrcas_ro Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology and Social Work]

The University also has a publishing house, different research institutes and research groups (such as the Institute for Political Research, the Institute for Mathematics, the Center for Byzantine Studies, the Vasile Pârvan Archeology Seminary, the Center for Nuclear Research, etc.), master and doctorate programmes, and a number of life-long learning facilities and programmes. It has partnership agreements with over 50 universities in 40 countries, and participates in European programmes such as ERASMUS, Lingua, Naric, Leonardo da Vinci, UNICA, AMOS, TEMPUS, TEMPRA. It is an accredited Cisco Academy, has Microsoft curriculum, and is accredited by Red Hat for its academic programme.

The University of Bucharest has been awarded the 2000 National Academic Excellence Diploma, and the 2004 National Academic Excellence Medal. All of the degrees and diplomas awarded by the university are internationally recognised.

Facilities

The University of Bucharest has a number of buildings throughout Bucharest, so in that respect it does not have a single campus. Its two main buildings are:
* The Old Building, in the University Square (practically right in the center of the city), housing the Faculties of Mathematics and Computer Science, History, Chemistry, Geography, and Literature.
* The Kogălniceanu Building, near the Opera House, housing the Administrative section and the Faculty of Law.

Other faculties have their own buildings and research facilities, scattered throughout the city, such as:
* The Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Languages, on Pitar Moş street.
* The Faculty of Physics, in the small town of Măgurele, situated 16 km (10 miles) south of Bucharest.
* The Faculty of Political Science, on Sfântu Ştefan street.
* The Faculty of Orthodox Theology, in the Unirii Square

This, mixed with the fact that student dormitories and other facilities are located in very different locations, prompted the University to print a yearly guide for freshmen.

Notable alumni

*Zoia Ceauşescu - mathematician, daughter of Nicolae Ceauşescu
*Iosif Constantin Drăgan - businessman, writer and historian
*Mircea Eliade - historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago
*Traian Lalescu - mathematician
*Gheorghe Mihoc - mathematician
*Grigore Moisil - mathematician and computer scientist
*Miron Nicolescu - mathematician
*Grigore Iunian - politician
*Ştefan Odobleja - scientist, one of the precursors of cybernetics
*Octav Onicescu - mathematician
*George Emil Palade - cell biologist, 1974 Nobel Prize laureate
*Valentin Poénaru - mathematician
*Constantin Rădulescu-Motru - psychologist and sociologist
*Mihail Sadoveanu - writer
*Dan-Virgil Voiculescu - mathematician
*Şerban Ţiţeica - physicist
*Horia Hulubei - physicist
*Mircea Rusu - physicist

Notable faculty members

*Ion Barbu also known as Dan Barbilian - matematician and poet;
*Silviu Brucan - political analyst and author
*George Călinescu - writer and literary critic
*Emil Constantinescu - former President of Romania
*Alexandru Graur - linguist
*Spiru Haret - mathematician, astronomer and politician
*Nicolae Iorga - historian, literary critic and politician
*Gabriel Liiceanu - philosopher
*Solomon Marcus - mathematician
*Miron Nicolescu - mathematician
*Miron Nicolescu - mathematician
*Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu - writer and philologist
*Dimitrie Pompeiu - mathematician
*Ion Th. Simionescu
*Simion Stoilow - mathematician
*Dan-Virgil Voiculescu - mathematician
*Gheorghe Vrânceanu - mathematician

External links

*en icon [http://www.unibuc.ro/en/home Official site]