University of Salamanca

Not to be confused with the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

University of Salamanca
Universidad de Salamanca
Seal of the University of Salamanca
Latin: Universitas Studii Salamanticensis
Motto	Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat (Latin)
Motto in English	What nature doesn't give, Salamanca doesn't provide
Type	Public
Established	Unknown; teaching existed since at least 1130. It was chartered by the pope Alexander IV in 1255.^[1]
Rector	Daniel Hernández Ruipérez
Academic staff	2,453 ^[2]
Administrative staff	1,252 ^[2]
Students	ca. 28,000 ^[3]
Doctoral students	2,240 ^[3]
Location	Salamanca, Spain
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	EUA, Coimbra Group
Website	www.usal.es

Close up of the plateresque façade of the University of Salamanca.

Plateresque façade of the University facing a statue of Fray Luis de León.

School Courtyard in the University.

The old library of the University of Salamanca.

Fray Luis de León's classroom.

The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European university in continuous operations. The formal title of "University" was granted by King Alfonso X in 1254 and recognized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.

History

Its origin, like all older universities, was a Cathedral School, whose existence can be traced back to 1130. The university was founded in 1134 and recognized as a "General School of the Kingdom" by the Leonese King Alfonso IX in 1218. Granted Royal Chart by King Alfonso X, dated 8 May 1254, as the University of Salamanca this established the rules for organization and financial endowment.

On the basis of a papal bull by Alexander IV in 1255, which confirmed the Royal Charter of Alfonso X,^[4] the school obtained the title of University.

The historical phrases Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat (what nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend, in Latin) and Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet (many and very versed Salamanca has) give an idea of the prestige the institution rapidly acquired.^[5]

In the reign of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, the Spanish government was revamped. Contemporary with the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims, and the conquest of Granada, there was a certain professionalization of the apparatus of the state. This involved the massive employment of "letrados", i.e., bureaucrats and lawyers, who were "licenciados" (university graduates), particularly, of Salamanca, and the newly founded University of Alcalá. These men staffed the various councils of state, including, eventually, the Consejo de Indias and Casa de Contratacion, the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the Spanish Empire in the New World.

While Columbus was lobbying the King and Queen for a contract to seek out a western route to the Indies, he made his case to a council of geographers at the University of Salamanca. In the next century, the morality of colonization in the Indies was debated by the School of Salamanca, along with questions of economics, philosophy and theology.

By the end of the Spanish Golden Age (c. 1550–1715), the quality of academics in Spanish universities declined. The frequency of the awarding of degrees dropped, the range of studies shrank, and there was a sharp decline in the number of its students. The centuries-old European wide prestige of Salamanca declined.

Like Oxford and Cambridge, Salamanca had a number of colleges (Colegios Mayores). These were founded as charitable institutions to enable poor scholars to attend the University. By the eighteenth century they had become closed corporations controlled by the families of their founders, and dominated the university between them. Most were destroyed by Napoleon's troops. Today some have been turned into faculty buildings while others survive as halls of residence.

In the 19th century, the Spanish government dissolved the university's faculties of canon law and theology. They were later reestablished in the 1940s as part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

Related affairs

The faculty of this university discussed the feasibility of Christopher Columbus's project and the effects his claims brought. Once America was discovered, they discussed the rights of indigenous people as being recognized with full plenitude, which was revolutionary for that period, economic processes were analyzed for the first time and they developed the science of law as it became a classical scholarly focus. It was the period when some of the brightest minds attended the university and it was known as the School of Salamanca. The school's members renovated theology, laid the foundation for modern-day law, international law, modern economic science and actively participated in the Council of Trent. The school's mathematicians studied the calendar reform, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and proposed the solution that was later implemented. By 1580, 6,500 new students had arrived at Salamanca each year, amongst the graduates were state officials of the Spanish monarchy administration were nourished. It was also during this period when the first female university students were probably admitted, Beatriz Galindo and Lucía de Medrano, the latter being the first woman ever to give classes at a university.

Present day

Salamanca draws undergraduate and graduate students from across Spain and the world; it is the top-ranked university in Spain based on the number of students coming from other regions.^[6] It is also known for its Spanish courses for non-native speakers, which attract more than two thousand foreign students each year.^[7]

Today the University of Salamanca is an important center for the study of humanities and is particularly noted for its language studies, as well as in laws and economics. Scientific research is carried out in the university and research centers associated with it, such as at the Centro de Investigación del Cáncer [Cancer Research Centre],^[8] Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León [Institute of Neuroscience of Castile and León],^[9] Centro de Láseres Pulsados Ultracortos Ultraintensos [Ultrashort Ultraintense Pulse Lasers Centre].

In conjunction with the University of Cambridge, the University of Salamanca co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) in 1989.

In 2018, the institution will celebrate its eighth centennial, for which preparations are currently being made.^[10]

Library

The library holds about 906,000 volumes.^[11]

Notable people

Notable staff

Francisco Elías de Tejada y Spínola, professor of Philosophy of Law and Natural Law
Enrique Gil Robles, professor of Natural Law
Paul Nuñez Coronel (d.1534), professor of Hebrew
Miguel de Unamuno, writer

Notable students

Miguel de Cervantes, author
Aristides Royo, President of Panama

Other notable students and academic teachers include:

Notes and references

↑ ÁLVAREZ VILLAR, Julián (1993), La Universidad de Salamanca: arte y tradiciones, ISBN 847481751X
1 2 University of Salamanca. "Personal" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-09-15.
1 2 University of Salamanca. "Estudiantes" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-09-15.
↑ University of Salamanca, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA.
↑ VIII Centenario de la Universidad de Salamanca - Reseña Histórica de la Universidad de Salamanca:. Centenario.usal.es. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
↑ http://www.usal.es/webusal/files/Discurso_rector_Inauguracion_09_10_0.pdf
↑ La USAL inaugura los cursos de verano con 2.000 estudiantes extranjeros. elmundo.es. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
↑ http://www.cicancer.org/
↑ (Spanish) INCyL. INCyL. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
↑ VIII Centenario de la Universidad de Salamanca - VIII Centenario de la Universidad de Salamanca. Centenario.usal.es. Retrieved on 2013-09-05.
↑ Spain – Libraries and museums

Literature

Manuel Fernández Álvarez, Luis E. Rodríguez San Pedro & Julián Álvarez Villar, The University of Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1992. ISBN 84-7481-701-3.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Salamanca.

University website
VIII Centenario website
Language courses in Salamanca University, marketed by a private company, Accom Consulting Spain S. L., an authorized University agent
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "University of Salamanca". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Universities in Spain

Andalusia	Almería Cádiz Córdoba Granada Huelva Jaén Malaga Seville International University of Andalucía Pablo de Olavide Loyola Andalucía

Aragon	Zaragoza San Jorge

Asturias	Oviedo

Balearic Islands	University of the Balearic Islands

Basque Country	Deusto University of the Basque Country Mondragon

Canary Islands	La Laguna Las Palmas de Gran Canaria European University of Canarias Fernando Pessoa-Canarias

Cantabria	University of Cantabria European University of the Atlantic

Castilla–La Mancha	University of Castilla–La Mancha

Castile and León	Burgos León Salamanca Valladolid Catholic University of Ávila IE University Isabel I University Miguel de Cervantes European University Pontifical University of Salamanca

Catalonia	Barcelona Girona Lleida Abat Oliba CEU Autonomous University of Barcelona International University of Catalonia Open University of Catalonia Polytechnic University of Catalonia Pompeu Fabra Ramon Llull Rovira i Virgili Vic

Extremadura	University of Extremadura

Galicia	A Coruña Santiago de Compostela Vigo

La Rioja	University of La Rioja International University of La Rioja

Madrid	Alcalá Autonomous University of Madrid Carlos III Complutense Menéndez Pelayo International University UNED King Juan Carlos Technical University of Madrid Antonio de Nebrija Camilo José Cela CEU San Pablo European University of Madrid Francisco de Vitoria Comillas San Dámaso Universidad a Distancia de Madrid

Murcia	University of Murcia San Antonio Technical University of Cartagena

Navarre	University of Navarra Universidad Pública de Navarra

Valencian Community	Alicante Jaume I Miguel Hernández Technical University of Valencia Valencia San Vicente Mártir CEU Cardenal Herrera Valencian International University European University of Valencia

Compostela Group of Universities

Erasmus University College Brussels São Paulo State University University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy Universidad Mayor Masaryk University Santo Domingo Institute of Technology University of Oulu University of Nantes Ilia State University International School of Management Philipps-Universität Marburg University of Regensburg University of Pécs University of Foggia Kore University of Enna International Telematic University University of Perugia International School of Law and Business University of Malta Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Universidad Anáhuac Xalapa University of Monterrey University of Guadalajara Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior Universidad La Salle University of Bergen University of Lima Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Adam Mickiewicz University University of Łódź University of Évora University of Lisbon University of Minho Columbus University Pan-European University EMUNI University University of A Coruña University of Almeria University of the Basque Country University of Burgos University of Cádiz University of Cantabria University of Extremadura University of Girona University of Jaen Jaume I University University of León University of Lleida University of Málaga University of Oviedo University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena Rovira i Virgili University Salamanca University University of Santiago de Compostela Technical University of Madrid University of Vigo University of Zaragoza Karlstad University University of Fribourg University of Roehampton University of Arizona Drexel University University of Massachusetts Lowell

European University Association Networks of European universities

Coimbra Group of European research universities

Aarhus Barcelona Bergen Bologna Bristol Budapest Coimbra Dublin Durham Edinburgh Galway Geneva Göttingen Granada Graz Groningen Heidelberg Iași Istanbul Jena Kraków Leiden Leuven Louvain-la-Neuve Lyon Montpellier Padua Pavia Poitiers Prague St. Petersburg Salamanca Siena Tartu Turku I Turku II Uppsala Würzburg

Coordinates: 40°57′42″N 5°40′03″W / 40.961612°N 5.667607°W / 40.961612; -5.667607

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