Ghent University
Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands. After the Belgian revolution of 1830, the newly formed Belgian state began to administer the university. In 1930, the university became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium, whereas French had previously been the standard academic language in what was Université de Gand. In 1991, it was granted major autonomy and changed its name accordingly from State University of Ghent to its current designation.
In contrast to the Catholic University of Leuven or the Free University of Brussels, UGent considers itself a pluralist university in a special sense, i.e. not connected to any particular religion or political ideology. Its motto Inter Utrumque, on the coat of arms, suggests the acquisition of wisdom and science comes only in an atmosphere of peace, when the institution is fully supported by the monarchy and fatherland.
Ghent University is one of the biggest Flemish universities, consisting of 44,000 students and 9,000 staff members. The University also supports the University Library and the University Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals in Belgium. It is one of the greatest beneficiaries of funding from the Research Foundation - Flanders. Ghent University consistently rates among the top 100 universities in the world.
History
Foundation, in the 19th century
The university in Ghent was opened on October 9, 1817, with JC van Rotterdam serving as the first rector. In the first year, it had 190 students and 16 professors. The original four faculties consisted of Humanities, Law, Medicine and Science, and the language of instruction was Latin. The university was founded by King William I as part of a policy to stem the intellectual and academic lag in the southern part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, later to become Belgium.After peaking at a student population of 414, the number of students declined quickly following the Belgian Revolution. At this time, the Faculties of Humanities and Science were broken from the university, but they were restored five years later, in 1835.
Ghent University played a role in the foundation of modern organic chemistry. Friedrich August Kekulé unraveled the structure of benzene at Ghent and Adolf von Baeyer, a student of August Kekulé, made contributions to organic chemistry.
In 1882, Sidonie Verhelst became the first female student at the university.
French became the language of instruction, taking the place of Latin, after the 1830 Revolution. In 1903, the Flemish politician Lodewijk De Raet led a successful campaign to begin instruction in Dutch, and the first courses were begun in 1906.
Developments since the 20th century
During World War I, the occupying German administration conducted Flamenpolitik and turned Ghent University into the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. A Flemish Institute, commonly known as Von Bissing University, was founded in 1916 but was disestablished after the war and French language was fully reinstated. In 1923, Cabinet Minister Pierre Nolf put forward a motion to definitively establish the university as a Dutch-speaking university, and this was realized in 1930. August Vermeylen served as the first rector of a Dutch-language university in Belgium.In the Second World War, the German administration of the university attempted to create a German orientation, removing faculty members and installing loyal activists.
After the war, the university became a much larger institution, following government policy of democratizing higher education in Flanders during the 1950s and 1960s. By 1953, there were more than 3,000 students, and by 1969 more than 11,500. The number of faculties increased to eleven, starting with Applied Sciences in 1957. It was followed by Economics and Veterinary Medicine in 1968, Psychology and Pedagogy, as well as Bioengineering, in 1969, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The faculty of Politics and Social Sciences is the most recent addition, in 1992. In the 1960s to 1980s, there were several student demonstrations at Ghent University, notably around the Blandijn site, which houses the Faculty of Arts & Philosophy. The severest demonstrations took place in 1969 in the wake of May 1968.
In 1991, the university officially changed its name from Rijksuniversiteit Gent to Universiteit Gent, following an increased grant of autonomy by the government of the Flemish Community.
Academic Profile
Organisation and structure
Ghent University consists of eleven Faculties with over 130 individual departments. In addition, the university maintains the Zwijnaarde science park and Greenbridge science park.List of faculties
- Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
- Faculty of Bio-science Engineering
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Sciences
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Faculty of Engineering and Architecture
- Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
Library
Reputation & rankings
Ghent University consistently ranks among the best 100 universities in the world. In 2017, it was ranked, globally, 69th by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and 125th by QS World University Rankings. For 2018, Ghent University has been ranked, worldwide, 88th by U.S. News & World Report and 107th by Times Higher Education.International relations
The university maintains many partnerships within Belgium, across Europe, and throughout the world. For instance, Ghent University supports the Belgian Co-ordinated Collections of Micro-organisms and the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie. Within Europe, it is a member of the Santander Network and the U4 Network. It also participates in the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research. In addition, the University cooperates with numerous universities for the Erasmus and Erasmus Mundus programs; within the framework of the latter, it heads the International Master of Science in Rural Development and the International Master of Science in Soils and Global Change.Outside of Europe, Ghent University conducts exchange programs on all six continents.
Associated contributions and innovations
Ghent University has been instrumental in the development of COinS and Unipept.Gallery
People
Notable alumni
- Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau, physicist, mathematician
- Leo Apostel, philosopher
- Leo Baekeland, chemist, inventor of Bakelite
- Wim Blockmans, historian
- Thierry Bogaert, founder of DevGen
- Luc Bossyns, civil engineer
- Marc Bossuyt, judge, professor
- Dries Buytaert, computer scientist, founder of the Drupal CMS
- Robert Cailliau, co-inventor of the World Wide Web
- Luc Coene, economy, governor of the National Bank of Belgium
- Marc Coucke, co-founder of Omega Pharma
- Martin De Prycker, engineer
- Bertha De Vriese, first woman to enroll and graduate as a physician
- Franz Cumont, historian
- , gynecologist, best known as chocolate maker of the brands Leonidas and Daskalidès.
- Bert De Graeve, law, businessman
- Michel de Kemmeter, author and researcher in human sustainable development
- Rudy Dekeyser, molecular biologist, assistant director of the VIB
- Arnoud De Meyer director of Judge Business School University of Cambridge
- Wim De Waele, economy and computer science, Director of the IBBT
- Catherine de Zegher, international curator, art critic, and art historian
- Martin Dobelle, veteran orthopedic surgeon
- Yaakov Dori, first chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Paul Fredericq, historian
- Walter Fiers, molecular biologist
- Leopold Flam, historian, philosopher
- Dirk Frimout, physicist, astronaut
- Derrick Gosselin, engineer, economist, business manager
- Joseph Guislain, physiologist and psychiatrist
- Jacques-Joseph Haus, jurist
- Lucienne Herman-Michielsens, law, politician
- Philippe Herreweghe, doctor, psychiatrist, orchestra conductor
- Corneille Heymans, physiologist
- Jan Hoet,, art historian, museum director, founding director of the SMAK
- Mark Janse, classicist and linguist
- Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, chemist
- Jaap Kruithof, philosopher
- Tom Lanoye, philologist, writer
- François Laurent, jurist
- Marguerite Legot, jurist, first Belgian woman to serve as a government minister
- Yves Leterme, Prime Minister of Belgium
- Emma Leclercq Cell biologist
- Herman Liebaers, writer, former Marschal of the Royal Household.
- Suzanne Lilar , philosopher, jurist, essayist, novelist
- Julius Mac Leod, botanist
- Maurice Maeterlinck, jurist, writer
- Paul Mansion, mathematician
- Rudi Mariën, pharmacy, Chairman of Innogenetics
- Gerard Mortier, artistic director
- Roland Peelman, conductor and musical director
- Jean-Pierre Nuel, physiologist
- Peter Piot, doctor, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations
- Henri Pirenne, historian
- Karel Poma, chemist and politician
- Ockert Potgieter missionary and film director
- Adolphe Quetelet, statistician
- Godfried-Willem Raes, composer, performer and instrument maker
- Jacques Rogge, doctor, president of the International Olympic Committee
- Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns, jurist, diplomat and cofounder of the Institut de droit international
- Jozef Schell, molecular biologist
- Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert, physician and writer
- Luc Van den Bossche, law, politician
- Guido van Gheluwe, jurist and founder of the Orde van den Prince
- Herman Vanderpoorten, politician
- Hugo Van Heuverswyn chemist, biotech pioneer and businessman
- Ann Van Gysel, zoology
- Dirk Van de Put, businessman, incoming CEO of Mondelez International
- Karel van de Woestijne, writer
- Henry van de Velde, architect
- Alexander Van Dijck, pioneer in rare diseases
- Prudens van Duyse, writer
- Paul van Geert, psychologist
- Marc Van Montagu, biotech pioneer
- Désiré van Monckhoven, physicist
- Jules Van Praet, statesman
- Piet Vanthemsche, veterinary surgeon
- Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet
- Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium, liberal European politician
- Dirk Verhofstadt, publisher
- Etienne Vermeersch, philosopher
- Katrien Vermeire, artist
- André Vlerick, economy
- Emile Waxweiler, engineer and sociologist
- Marc Zabeau, zoology
Notable faculty
- S.N. Balagangadhara, comparative science of cultures
- George de Hevesy, Nobel Prize winner, Chemistry
- François Laurent, historian and jurisconsult
- Jan De Maeseneer, medicine, family medicine
- Georges De Moor, medicine, medical informatics
- Walter Fiers, molecular biologist
- Corneille Heymans, physiologist
- Joseph Plateau, physicist
- Xavier Saelens, biotechnology
- Jeff Schell, biotech pioneer
- Erwin Schrödinger, physicist, visiting scholar
- Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, statesman
- Marc Van Montagu, biotech pioneer
- August Vermeylen, author, art historian, statesman
- Adolf von Baeyer, chemist, visiting scholar
- August Kekulé, chemist
List of rectors
- 1817–1818: Jean Charles Van Rotterdam
- 1818–1819:
- 1819–1820: Jean Baptiste Hellebaut
- 1820–1821:
- 1821–1822: François Egide Verbeeck
- 1822–1823: Jean Guillaume Garnier
- 1823–1824: Pierre De Ryckere
- 1824–1825: Louis Vincent Raoul
- 1825–1826: Jacques Louis Kesteloot
- 1826–1827: Jean Charles Hauff
- 1827–1828: Jacques Joseph Haus
- 1828–1829: Pierre Lammens
- 1829–1830:
- 1830–1831: Jacques Van Breda
- 1831–1832: Leopold Auguste Warnkoenig
- 1832–1833: François Verbeeck
- 1833–1834: Jacques Joseph Haus
- 1834–1835: Jacques Louis Kesteloot
- 1835–1838: Jacques Joseph Haus
- 1838–1839: Philippe Auguste De Rote
- 1839–1840:
- 1840–1841: Jean Timmermans
- 1841–1842: Josephus Nelis
- 1842–1843: Georg Wilhelm Rassmann
- 1843–1844: Charles Van Coetsem
- 1844–1845: Marie-Charles Margerin
- 1845–1846: Jean-Baptiste Minne-Barth
- 1846–1847: Joseph Roulez
- 1847–1848: François Verbeeck
- 1848–1852: Eloi Manderlier
- 1852–1855:
- 1855–1857:
- 1857–1864: Joseph Roulez
- 1864–1867: Jacques Joseph Haus
- 1867–1870:
- 1870–1873: Joseph Jean Fuerison
- 1873–1879:
- 1879–1885:
- 1885–1887: Jean-Jacques Kickx
- 1887–1891: Gustave Wolters
- 1891–1894: Adhémar Motte
- 1894–1897: Charles Van Cauwenberghe
- 1897–1900: Polynice Van Wetter
- 1900–1903:
- 1903–1906:
- 1906–1909: Hector Leboucq
- 1909–1912:
- 1912–1915: Henri Schoentjes
- 1916–1918: Pierre Hoffmann
- 1918–1919: Henri Schoentjes
- 1919–1921: Henri Pirenne
- 1921–1923: Eugène Eeman
- 1923–1924: Jean-François Heymans
- 1924–1927:
- 1927–1929: Camille De Bruyne
- 1929–1930:
- 1930–1933: August Vermeylen
- 1933–1936:
- 1936–1938:
- 1938–1939: Jean Haesaert
- 1939–1941: René Goubau
- 1940–1944:
- 1944–1947:
- 1947–1950:
- 1950–1953:
- 1953–1957:
- 1957–1961:
- 1961–1969:
- 1969–1973:
- 1973–1977:
- 1977–1981:
- 1981–1985:
- 1985–1993:
- 1993–2001:
- 2001–2005:
- 2005–2013: Paul Van Cauwenberge
- 2013–2017:
- 2017–2021: