The Autonomous University of Nuevo León (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL) is a public higher-education institution with its headquarters in the suburbs of Monterrey and several campii in various municipalities of the Mexican state of Nuevo León.

Brief history

Although the Catholic church already had an official cathedra of philosophy and grammar in the state by 1703, the immediate antecedents of the public university date back from 1859, when the Civil School (Colegio Civil) started its courses. This institution had been envisaged by Governor Santiago Vidaurri but erected by his successor, José Silvestre Aramberri , after Vidaurri was removed from office. It began by sponsoring the pharmacy and medicine courses Dr. José Eleuterio González had been teaching at the Hospital del Rosario for several decades. The academic offerings included courses of law, medicine and a preparatory school. Its first director was José de Jesús Dávila y Prieto .

As time passed the number of majors and courses was increased and the institution gave birth to several specialized faculties encargadas de la enseñanza y supervisión de los mismos. Dichas instituciones se organizarían formalmente en una universidad hasta el año de 1933, cuando dio inicio de manera formal la Universidad de Nuevo León. In its first year, 218 professors from the faculties of medicine, law, engineering & chemistry, la Escuela Normal, la Escuela de Bachilleres, the School of Nurses and Obstetricians and the Álvaro Obregón and Pablo Livas Industrial School were teaching courses to 1,864 students.

The number of faculty and personnel was growing, and this prompted the construction in 1958 of the Ciudad Universitaria, an academic complex located in San Nicolás de los Garza, a suburb of the state's capital. By 1971 several student protests forced the government to stop interfering in its internal affairs and recognize a statute of autonomy that gave birth to its current name: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.

At the end of 90's the institution saw the necessity de arrendar the professional footbal team which was maintained in the professional Mexican league (Club Tigres de la UANL ) and later it was affected by a corruption scandal that after several years de ventilarse in the courts, there were no legal consequences for those accused.

At present

At the end of the year 2003, the universtiy contaba con el mayor número de investigadores en el sistema de investigación mexicano. The university city was composted of the Torre de Rectoría, thirteen schools (the Faculty of Biological Sciences, the Faculty of Chemical Sciences, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Physical Sciences-Mathematics, the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration and the Faculty of Sports Organization; a stage, two large libraries, two computer science clubs, cafeterias and a pleiad of investigation institutes, auditoriums, laboratories, gymnasiums and gardens. In the city of Monterrey, the location of the Medical Area, is composed of faculties of Medicine, Odontology, Enfermería, Psychology, Public Health and Nutrition and the University Hospital. Also located here is the Mederos Campus integrated for the faculties of Political Science, Veterinary Medicine and Zootecnia, Music, Visual Arts, Scenic Arts, Communication and the Center of Investigation and Desarrollo of Bilingual Education

Outside the metropolitan area are located seven seats. In the municipality of Marín is the Faculty of Agronomy, in Linares the Forest Sciences, Earth Sciences and an extension of the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration, in Sabinas Hidalgo are located two extensions, the Faculty of Rights and Criminology and the Faculty of Public Accounting and Administration, which has another seat in Cadereyta Jiménez .

The official mascots of the representative teams are the Tigers (Tigres) in masculine form and the Tigresses (Tigrillas) in feminine form. The director is el Ing. José Antonio González Treviño .

Humanist presence

In face of the huge emphasis scientific and tecnological development has achieved in the University, it is worthy to mention the humanistic presence, mainly led by people like Alfonso Reyes "El Regiomontano Universal", Raul Rangel Frías, Israel Cavazos, Alfonso Rangel Guerra, Agustín Basave Fernandez del Valle, among others; who have not only contributed to a higher humanistic consciousness in the institution, but in the regiomontana community as well. UANL's humanistic investigation outcomes, are published in the annuary Humanitas, it also has a Regional History Investigation Center (Centro de Investigación de Historia Regional), in the exhacienda San Pedro, in Zuazua, Center for Studies about the University (Centro de Estudios sobre la Universidad), con cede en la biblioteca Magna, Orquesta Sinfónica, Orquesta de Cámara, y el grupo de música regional El Tigre. Sin la ostentosa infraestructura de los centros culturales en Monterrey, la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, ha logrado a lo largo de su historia, formar y conservar una cultura sincera y de libre acceso.

Notable graduates

Graduates (estudios de primer ciclo):

• Governors: Jorge Treviño , Sócrates Rizzo , Fernando Canales Clariond , Fernando Elizondo Barragán and José Natividad González Parás . Secretaries of State: Reyes Tamez , María Teresa Herrera and Luis Eugenio Todd .

Postgraduates (estudios de segundo y tercer ciclo):

• the industrialist Mauricio Fernández Garza .

Related articles

• List of universities in Mexico
• Education in Mexico

References

This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of April 3, 2005.

External links

• Official website of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León
• Official website of the Philosophy and Arts Department at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León