Ghent University

Ghent University

Universiteit Gent
Latin: Academia Gandavensis
Former names	State University of Ghent
Motto	Audere Sapiens
Motto in English	Dare to Think
Type	Public
Established	1817
Rector	Anne De Paepe[1]
Administrative staff	9,000 [2]
Students	+41,000 [2]
Location	Ghent, Kortrijk, Belgium[3]
Affiliations	CESAER Erasmus Student Network European University Association Santander Network U4
Website	http://www.ugent.be

Established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands, Ghent University (Dutch: Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. After the Belgian revolution of 1830, the newly formed Belgian state began to administer the university. In 1930, it became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium—French having been the academic language up to that point. In 1991, the university was granted major autonomy and changed its name from State University of Ghent (Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Gent, abbreviated as RUG) to its current designation. It is one of the largest Flemish universities, consisting of 41,000 students and 9,000 staff members. The current rector is Anne De Paepe.

Ghent consistently rates among the top universities not only in Belgium but also throughout the world. The 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Ghent at 62nd. As of 2015, Ghent University ranks 118th globally according to Times Higher Education,^[4] 124th according to QS World University Rankings,^[5] and 71st according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.^[6] While U.S. News & World Report Ranked Ghent 98 globally in the 2017 rankings.

History

The university in Ghent was opened on 9 October 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 (Letters), 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. The University of Liège was founded as part of the same movement.

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 big role in the foundation of modern organic chemistry. Friedrich August Kekulé (7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896) unraveled the structure of benzene at Ghent and Adolf von Baeyer (Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer), a student of August Kekulé, made seminal 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.

Painting of the establishment of the State University of Ghent in 1817 when the city was under Dutch rule

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 (Vlaemsche Hoogeschool), 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.^[7]

In the Second World War, the German administration of the university attempted to create a German orientation, removing faculty members and installing loyal activists. However, the university became the focal point for many resistance members as the war progressed.

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.^[8] The severest demonstrations took place in 1969 in the wake of May 1968.

The university officially changed its name from Rijksuniversiteit Gent (RUG) to Universiteit Gent (UGent) in 1991 following an increased grant of autonomy by the government of the Flemish Community.

On 1 October 2013, Anne De Paepe succeeded Paul Van Cauwenberge as rector.

List of rectors

#	Name	Birth and death	Office started	Office ended	Vice rector
	André Devreker	8 November 1922 Leisele (West Flanders) – 15 April 2012 Sint-Martens-Leerne (East Flanders)	1973	1977
	Julien Hoste	30 May 1921 Ghent (East Flanders) – 1 December 2011	1977	1981
	André Cottenie	15 September 1919 Evergem (East Flanders) – op 21 February 1997 Mariakerke (East Flanders)	1981	1985	Julien Hoste
	Leon De Meyer		1985	1993
	Jacques Willems	Bruges (West Flanders)	1993	2001	Etienne Vermeersch (1993–'97)
					Andreas De Leenheer (1997–'01)
	Andreas De Leenheer	16 May 1941 Zele (East Flanders)	2001	2005	Marc De Clercq
	Paul Van Cauwenberge	2 April 1949 Zottegem (East Flanders)	1 October 2005	30 September 2013	Luc Moens
	Anne De Paepe (first female rector)	4 October 1955 Ghent (East Flanders)	1 October 2013		Freddy Mortier

Faculties

Ghent University consists of eleven Faculties, composed of more than 130 departments.

List of faculties

• Faculty of Arts and Philosophy^[9]
• Faculty of Bio-science Engineering^[10]
• Faculty of Law^[11]
• Faculty of Sciences^[12]
• Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences^[13]
• Faculty of Engineering and Architecture^[14]
• Faculty of Economics and Business Administration^[15]
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine^[16]
• Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences^[17]
• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences^[18]
• Faculty of Political and Social Sciences^[19]

Characteristics

In contrast to the Catholic University of Leuven, or the Free University of Brussels, Ghent University considers itself a pluralist university in a special sense (i.e. not connected to any particular religion or ideology, hence its motto Inter Utrumque or 'In Between Both Extremes').

Rankings

As of September 2016

University rankings
Global
ARWU[20]	62
Times[21]	118
QS[22]	131
Europe
ARWU[23]	21
Times[24]	52
QS[25]	52

Ghent University is consistently ranked among the best universities in Belgium and worldwide (top 100). Ghent University rises from place 85 to 62 (2016^[26]) in the recently published Shanghai ranking. Again Ghent University has the highest score of all Belgian universities in this world ranking of universities. In the 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings (From 2010 two separate rankings will be produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings) list of the top 100 universities in the world, Ghent University was ranked in 136th place. In the Times Top 50 Life Sciences Universities 2011-2012, Ghent ranked 36th. In the 2010 QS World University Rankings^[27] it was ranked 192nd, whereas the 2011 rankings placed it at 165th.^[28] In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2010, it was ranked 124nd. An overview of the last years:

Year	Rank (change)
2014	85 ( 5)
2013	90 ( 16)
2012	106 ( 59)
2011	165 ( 27)
2010	192 ( 56)
2009	136 ()
2008	136 ( 12)
2007	124 ( 20)
2006	141 ( 77)

Ghent University was ranked 89th among world universities by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2012.^[29] The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and then updated annually. An overview of the last years:

Year	Rank (change)
2013	85 ()
2012	89 ()
2011	89 ()
2010	90 ()

Ghent was also placed among top 95 universities in the world according to the Russian-based Global University Ranking.^[30]

International relations

The university has several partner universities in the frame of Erasmus or Erasmus Mundus. Outside Europe UGhent has exchange programs on all six continents.^[31]

Notable alumni

Leo Apostel (1925–1995), philosopher Leo Baekeland (1863–1944), chemist Wim Blockmans (born 1945), historian Thierry Bogaert, founder of DevGen Luc Bossyns, civil engineer Marc Bossuyt (born 1944), judge, professor Jo Bury, pharmacology, General Director of the VIB Dries Buytaert (born 1978), computer scientist, founder of the Drupal CMS Robert Cailliau (born 1947), co-inventor of the World Wide Web Luc Coene, economy, governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) Marc Coucke (born 1965), co-founder of Omega Pharma Martin De Prycker (born 1955), engineer Franz Cumont (1868–1947), historian Jean Daskalidès (1922–1992), gynecologist, best known as chocolate maker of the brands Leonidas and Daskalidès.[32] Els De Bens, philologist, media specialist Bert De Graeve, law, businessman Michel de Kemmeter, author and researcher in human sustainable development Rudy Dekeyser, molecular biologist, assistant director of the VIB Jozef De Ley, the founder of the Laboratory of Microbiology at the Faculty of Sciences Arnoud De Meyer (presently) director of Judge Business School University of Cambridge Wim De Waele, economy and computer science, Director of the IBBT Martin Dobelle, veteran orthopedic surgeon Yaakov Dori, first chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces Paul Fredericq, historian Walter Fiers (born 1931), molecular biologist Leopold Flam (1912–1995), historian, philosopher Dirk Frimout (born 1941), physicist, astronaut

Derrick Gosselin (born 1956), engineer, economist, business manager Joseph Guislain (1797–1860), physiologist and psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Haus (1796–1881), jurist Lucienne Herman-Michielsens (1926–1995), law, politician Philippe Herreweghe (born 1947), doctor, psychiatrist, orchestra conductor Corneille Heymans (1892–1968), physiologist (Nobel prize winner) Mark Janse (born 1959), classicist and linguist Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–1896), chemist Jaap Kruithof, philosopher Tom Lanoye (born 1958), philologist, writer François Laurent (1810–1887), jurist Marguerite Legot (1913–1977), jurist, first Belgian woman to serve as a government minister Yves Leterme (born 1960), Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Liebaers (born 1919), writer, former Marschal of the Royal Household. Suzanne Lilar (born Suzanne Verbist) (1901–1992), philosopher, jurist, essayist, novelist Julius Mac Leod (1857–1919), botanist Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949), jurist, writer (Nobel prize winner) Paul Mansion, mathematician Rudi Mariën, pharmacy, Chairman of Innogenetics Gerard Mortier (born 1943), artistic director Jean-Pierre Nuel (1847–1920), physiologist Peter Piot (born 1949), doctor, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations Henri Pirenne (1862–1935), historian Karel Poma (born 1920), chemist and politician Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874), statistician Godfried-Willem Raes (born 1952), composer, performer and instrument maker

Jacques Rogge (born 1942), doctor, president of the International Olympic Committee Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns (1835–1902), jurist, diplomat and cofounder of the Institut de droit international Jozef Schell (1935–2003), molecular biologist Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert (1809–1872), physician and writer Luc Van den Bossche (born 1947), law, politician Guido van Gheluwe (born 1926), jurist and founder of the Orde van den Prince Herman Vanderpoorten (1922–1984), politician Hugo Van Heuverswyn (born 1948) chemist, biotech pioneer and businessman Ann Van Gysel, zoology Karel van de Woestijne (1878–1929), writer Henry van de Velde (1863–1957), architect Alexander Van Dijck, pioneer in rare diseases Prudens van Duyse (1804–1859), writer Marc Van Montagu (born 1933), biotech pioneer Désiré van Monckhoven (1934–1882), physicist Jules Van Praet (1806–1887), statesman Piet Vanthemsche, veterinary surgeon Daniel Varoujan (1884-1915), Armenian poet Guy Verhofstadt (born 1953), former Prime Minister of Belgium Dirk Verhofstadt (born 1955), publisher Etienne Vermeersch (born 1934), philosopher Kristiaan Versluys, literary scholar André Vlerick (1919–1990), economy Emile Waxweiler (1867–1916), engineer and sociologist Marc Zabeau (born 1949), zoology

Notable faculty

Johan Rudolf Thorbecke

• S.N. Balagangadhara (born 1952), comparative science of cultures
• George de Hevesy (1885–1966), Nobel Prize winner, Chemistry
• Jozef De Ley, the founder of the Laboratory of Microbiology at the Faculty of Sciences
• Jan De Maeseneer (born 1952), medicine, family medicine
• Georges De Moor (born 1953), medicine, medical informatics
• Walter Fiers (born 1931), molecular biologist
• Corneille Heymans (1892–1968), physiologist (Nobel prize winner)
• Joseph Plateau (1801–1883), physicist
• Xavier Saelens (born 1965), biotechnology
• Jeff Schell (1935-2003), biotech pioneer
• Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961), physicist (Nobel Prize winner), visiting scholar
• Johan Rudolf Thorbecke (1798–1872), statesman
• Alexander Van Dijk, pioneer in rare diseases
• Marc Van Montagu (born 1933), biotech pioneer
• August Vermeylen (1872–1945), author, art historian, statesman
• Adolf von Baeyer (1835–1917), chemist (Nobel prize winner), visiting scholar

• Gallery
• 
  The Boekentoren, designed by Henry van de Velde, is one of the most famous university buildings
• 
  The Blandijn houses the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy
• 
  Faculty of Science, campus Ledeganck, with the entrance to the botanical garden at the front

See also

• Belgian Co-ordinated Collections of Micro-organisms (BCCM)
• Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology (VIB)
• Ghent Bio-Energy Valley
• Ghent University Hospital (UZ Gent)
• Greenbridge science park
• Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC)
• Science and technology in Flanders
• University Foundation
• Zwijnaarde science park
• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
• List of universities in Belgium

See also

• Associatie Universiteit Gent

Notes and references

1. Ghent University central administration – rector. UGent. Retrieved February 4, 2010
2. (Dutch) Feiten en cijfers - Universiteit Gent. UGent. Retrieved September 15, 2014
3. Ghent University at a glance: facts and figures. UGent. Retrieved February 4, 2010
4. "The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-2015". timeshighereducation.com.
5. "QS Top Universities Ranking 2014-2015".
6. "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2014".
7. A Language Come Back, TIME Magazine, April 28, 1923
8. Danniau, Fien. "Haard van verzet" (in Dutch). UGent Memorie. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
9. Vervaeke, Ann. "Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte - Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte".
10. Vervaeke, Ann. "Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte - Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte".
11. http://www.law.ugent.be/en/
12. "Faculty of Sciences — Ghent University".
13. "Faculteit Geneeskunde en Gezondheidswetenschappen — Universiteit Gent".
14. "Faculty of Engineering and Architecture — Ghent University".
15. http://www.feb.ugent.be/en/index.asp
16. "Faculty of Veterinary Medicine — Ghent University".
17. "Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagoghische Wetenschappen (FPPW)".
18. "Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences — Ghent University".
19. "Faculty of Political and Social Sciences — Ghent University".
20. "Academic Ranking of World Universities: Global". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
21. "World University Rankings 2016-2017". Times Higher Education. 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
22. "QS World University Rankings 2016/17". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
23. "Academic Ranking of World Universities: Global". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
24. "Best universities in Europe 2017". The Times Higher Education. 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
25. "QS World University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
26. "Shanghai Ranking 2016 Results".
27. "QS World University Rankings 2010 Results".
28. "QS World University Rankings - 2011". Top Universities. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
29. "Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2012| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2012 | World University Ranking - 2012". Shanghai Ranking. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
30. http://www.globaluniversitiesranking.org/images/banners/top-100(eng).pdf
31. "Bestemmingen — Studentenportaal — Universiteit Gent". ugent.be.
32. "Daskalidès, Jean (1922-1992) | UGentMemorie". Ugentmemorie.be. Retrieved 2013-10-15.

External links

• Official website
• More information about higher education in Flanders/Belgium (in English)
• Find an officially recognised programme of this institution in the Higher Education Register
• THE Rankings – Ghent University (2008)