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 .
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, Friar Tomás Linares del Castillo was named the first rector, who from that moment on would govern the first faculties: Art and Philosophy , Theology , Canon 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. Each year the Great Cloister 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 its name was changed to “Royal and Literary University of Havana”. [3] In this second stage, scientific development at the University was deepened. With this objective, the Museum of Natural History was founded and the National Botanical Garden became governed by the institution. At that time, the teaching included the faculties of Law , Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy .
Figures such as Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , Antonio Bachiller y Morales , Felipe Poey , Francisco de Arango y Parreño , passed through its classrooms in these initial stages. [4] They contributed to forging an indigenous national thought that became a revolutionary commitment for the new generations. A transcendental event was the murder of eight medical students in 1871 , accused with false evidence and testimonies. Currently, university students pay homage to those martyrs. Other key events in university history occurred during this period , such as the graduation of the first woman, Mercedes Riba , on September 23 , 1885 .
On January 3, 1899 , Brooke delegated to the rector broad powers to resolve all the problems that the Spanish administration had left at the University. He stated in the letter to the Rector:
“…I declare that I formally delegate to you the powers enjoyed by the supreme Spanish authority on 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 , the most modern teaching ideas of the time were brought to the university during this period. However, the structural conditions of the San Juan de Letran building were not the best: it became uncomfortable and inadequate.
On May 1 , 1902, the University began to move to Aróstegui Hill , [5] also known as the “Hill of Fireworks” and located in Vedado . At this time, an important stage of its history also began; events such as the founding of the University Student Federation , the speeches of José Antonio Echeverría , the descent down its wide and broad staircase of the centenary generation in its historic Torch March and the bravery shown by its students, are some of the events that can be mentioned.
In January 1928, Havana was the venue for the VI Pan-American Conference, which was attended by leaders and representatives of countries from the American continent, including the American president Calvin Coolidge . For this reason, President Gerardo Machado inaugurated several works, including the steps of the University of Havana, which had been pending since the general reconstruction of the premises. [6]
Alma mater
Beginning at the esplanade in front of the rectorate building, the staircase ends at San Lázaro Street . A sculpture was placed at its head, which became the emblem of the institution. The Alma Mater had been made in 1919 by the Czechoslovak 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 mestiza woman from Havana with a mature and solid constitution (for the rest of the body).
On October 6, 1933 , the Hundred Days Government , 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 initiated in 1923 by Julio Antonio Mella [6]
Following the revolutionary triumph of 1959, the doors of the University of Havana, which had been closed for three years, were reopened. From that moment on, access was granted to all the people and with the University Reform of 1962 , the students and faculty that followed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista were purged . [8] Science was also placed at the center of university education . From that moment on, the new university was a protagonist and an important arm of the Revolution to create a new Cuba.
Thanks to the Alma Mater of Havana, the José Antonio Echeverría Polytechnic Institute , the Institute of Medical Sciences, the Higher Pedagogical Institute, the 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 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 leading 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 scientific and political leadership capacity, identified with the Revolution and Socialism .
Goals
- Achieve a united, coherent, flexible, dynamic, participatory and committed university with its Mission, where discipline ,efficiency, self-control, cooperation and a multidisciplinary approach are characteristics of daily work.
- Strengthen the UH’s commitment to its best traditions and patriotic values, and to its participation in political, economic, social, cultural and national defense affairs.
- To consolidate the University as a space for national and international reflection and debate on the problems of contemporary society.
- Integrate educational and instructive actions in the process of training highly qualified professionals who are loyal to the country; through the strengthening of the capacity for self-creativity, and the humanistic and cultural dimension of the university student.
- Identify and strengthen our leadership in those areaswhere 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, reinforcing their role in meeting social demands and needs, international relations and the development of the Faculty.
- To achieve a better correspondence between the structure and size of human resources and the tasks to be performed, in order to achieve progress in working and living conditions, as well as encouragement and social recognition for university workers.
- Increase the acquisition of material and financial resources, improve efficiency in their acquisition, use and control, and enhance contributions from genuinely university products.
- Preserve heritage ,improve existing infrastructure and fully integrate information and communications technologies into university life.
- Strengthen the international links and dimension of the UH, as avenues 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 programs. The UH has trained 1,560 young people from third world countries, representing 65 nations.