Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara

The Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara A.C. (UAG) is a private university in Mexico, the first of its kind in the country in recent times.Fact|date=September 2008 The campuses are located in Zapopan, Jalisco. The university has become one of the bestweasel-inline educational institutions in allweasel-inline of Latin America, attracting students from Mexico, South America, Puerto Rico, the United States and Canada. Much of this prestige is due to the Medical School but UAG offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

History

The university was founded in 1935 by students opposed to the socialist education mandated by Mexico's then president, General Lázaro Cárdenas. Those who sought to circumvent Cárdenas' educational system endured many struggles and threats from the government. The unsanctioned institution first known as Universidad del Occidente ("University of the West"), would later be styled La Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara A.C., its current official name, meaning "The Independent University of Guadalajara". The A.C. suffix is quite common in the Hispanosphere, seen attached to all types of enterprises. The shortening is from Asociación Civil and denotes a non-profit enterprise. The School's College of Medicine first classes were held June 5 1935.

On March 3, 2005 the university celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Two university presidents from recent memory are Dr. Luis Garibay Gutiérrez and Dr. Antonio Leaño Álvarez del Castillo. The current president is the Lic. Antonio Leaño Reyes.

Medical School

Unreferencedsection|date=June 2008It is the oldest private medical school in Mexico. The first class was taught on June 5 1935, the same year of the school's birthdate and its first residency quarters were located on Tolsa Avenue in Guadalajara, in an area donated by Ramón Garibay which later became the university's hospital. Later the hospital was named Hospital Ramón Garibay in honor of its patron.The school improved its facilities by adding new multimedia stations to all the lecture halls, and totally refurbishing restrooms in the center of the International Programs classes. The UAG Faculty of Medicine has over 8,000 graduates practicing medicine in all 50 states of the U.S.A.

Soccer

The school's professional football (soccer) team is named Tecos after the university symbol, the Tecolote, which is the Nahuatl word for owl. The team plays in Estadio Tres de Marzo named for the founding date of the institution.

External links

* (es) [http://www.uag.mx Official site of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara]