University of Fribourg

The University of Fribourg (French: UniversitÃ© de Fribourg; German: UniversitÃ¤t Freiburg) is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.

The roots of the University can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the CollÃ¨ge Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Fribourg which formed the nucleus of the present Law Faculty. The University of Fribourg was finally created in 1889 by an Act of the parliament of the Swiss Canton of Fribourg.

The University of Fribourg is Switzerlandâ€™s only bilingual university and offers full curricula in those two Swiss national languages. Students number is about 10,000, there are about 200 tenured professors and 700 other academic teaching and research personnel. The Misericorde Campus, constructed between 1939â€"42, was designed by the architects Honegger and Dumas, students of Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

There are five faculties: Catholic theology, law, natural sciences, humanities, and economics and social sciences.

History

The University owes its earliest origin to the foundation of the Jesuit College St. Michel on Belze Hill by Peter Canisius in 1580 at the invitation of the government of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of Law was founded, housed in the Albertinium (now a Dominican residence). In 1834, the cantonal library was formed from works brought to Fribourg (from Catholic monasteries) for safekeeping. The College St. Michel was closed following the expulsion of the Jesuits from Fribourg after the canton's defeat in the Sonderbund war.

In 1886, Georges Python, founder of the cantonal bank and State Counsellor for Fribourg (M.P. in the upper house of the Swiss parliament) became Director of Public Education. He raised funds through a lottery and was granted some 2,500,000 CHF by the canton. The cantonal library became integrated with that of the university and the Academy became the Faculty of Law. In 1939, the university moved to a new campus constructed on the former cemetery of Misericorde, ceding St. Michel to one of Fribourg's gymnasia, which took the name College St. Michel. During the Second World War, the University sets up "university camps" along with the University of ZÃ¼rich, HEC in St. Gall and a LycÃ©e camp at Wetzikon provided a wide variety of courses to educate Polish prisoners of war.

The Perolles campus was constructed on the site of a former wagon factory.

Although many lectures were originally in Latin, Fribourg is now the only French/German bilingual university in the world (45% French and 55% German). The town itself is 70% French and 30% German. This fact, coupled with the traditional dominance of French as the language of the city aristocracy explains why French has remained so dominant in university administration and in the AGEF (Association Generale des Etudiants Fribourgois), the Student's Union. To commemorate the centerary of the University La Poste issued a stamp depicting the figures Science and Sagesse.

Recent developments

In 2005, the university inaugurated its Perolles 2 campus, to which the Faculty of Economics and Social Science relocated. The university has the third largest collection of Biblical antiquities in the world after the British Museum and the Cairo Museum. Fribourg has also developed FriMat, a centre of excellence in nanotechnology. As part of the BeNeFri association comprising the Universities of Berne, NeuchÃ¢tel and Fribourg, students at any one of these universities may take courses at another in the association and still receive credit at their home institution. The academic degrees were the Demi-Licence, Licence, DEA / DESS, Doctorate. The university now follows the requirements of the Bologna process. The University of Fribourg launched for the 2009â€"2010 academic year a new postgraduate law programme, the "Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice" (MLCBP), an LL.M taught entirely in English.

Campuses

Fribourg has no central campus and its buildings are located throughout the city. The main sites are:

Misericorde - Humanities and central administration (including the famous Senate room)
Perolles - Science
Perolles 2 - Economics & Social Sciences
Regina Mundi - Psychology
BCU centrale - Main Library
Pierre Aeby - Department of Classical Philology
Bonnesfontaines - Pedagogy
Stade St. Leonard - University Stadium

Faculties

The Fribourg University is divided in five faculties:

The Faculty of Humanities is the largest faculty with about 4,000 students. They follow courses and seminars in the fields of philosophy, historical sciences, languages, literature, education, psychology or social sciences.
The Faculty of Law has about 1,900 students. The program includes national and international law; both subjects areas can be followed bilingual.
The Faculty of Theology is the largest and the most international of Switzerland, and, with Lucerne, it is the only state university in Switzerland to have a Faculty of Catholic Theology.
Approximately 1,900 students are enrolled in one of the four Bachelor programmes and one of the seven Master programmes of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. The faculty is composed of four departments: business management, economics, computer science, media and communication. In addition, the international institute of management in technology (iimt) and the Verbandsmanagement Institute (VMI) are attached to the Faculty.
The Faculty of Science was founded in 1896 and has seven departments: biology, chemistry, geosciences, computer science, mathematics, medicine and physics. The Faculty is composed of 14 fields: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, human medicine and dentistry (Bachelor), mathematics, neuroscience, pharmacy, physics, biomedical sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences (geology) and sport.

Traditions

Dies Academicus - On this day in November every year, no lectures are held. Festivities begin with Mass in the Chapel of the CollÃ¨ge St. Michel. The members of the University then proceed to the Aula Magna (Great Hall) in solemn procession. After an address by the rector and a prominent guest speaker, honorary degrees are awarded. The student guilds attend in ceremonial dress including swords.
Corporations - These are similar to the Studentenverbindungen in Germany and Austria, but there is no de facto constraint to participate as it is in the student nations at the universities of Uppsala, Lund and Helsinki. They maintain Central European student traditions and meet at least once a week around a Stammtisch ("regular's table") in order to socialise, drink and sing together. They tend to be organised on linguistic lines. One of them is still engaged in dueling, while the other Corporations in Fribourg already rejected this tradition at the time they were founded, amongst others for religious reasons. Membership has often been considered advantageous for those wishing to pursue a career in business, politics or law. Most of Fribourg's student corporations belong to the formerly catholic Schweizerischer Studentenverein. An example is AV Fryburgia.
The Day of Welcomes (Jour D'Accueil) - Similar to Fresher's Week in Anglophonic Universities. New students are invited to the Aula Magna, where they are welcomed to Fribourg by the Rector and the Syndic (Mayor of the City of Fribourg). This is followed by a meal in the university Mensa provided by the city, where new students are expected to dine with the rest of the Faculty to which they have been admitted.
Every year, the Catholic Church holds collections during masses throughout Switzerland. Known as Fribourg Sunday, the funds raised are mainly used to award scholarships to foreign priests by the Faculty of Theology.

Branding

The University Seal depicts a Cross and Bishop's ring representing the University's Catholic ethos on a shield of black and white, representing the canton of Fribourg. The logo of the UniversitÃ© is a blue stylized "F" (with triangles echoing the facade structure of the MisÃ©ricorde Building and symbolizing the Alps) and the name of the University in Latin.

Notable alumni and faculty

Writers and academics

Maurice Zermatten, writer, winner of the Schiller International Prize
LÃ©on Savary, writer and journalist.
Tariq Ramadan, philosopher and Islamic scholar
Michel Plancherel, mathematician
Albert Gockel, physicist, a graduate of Heidelberg but a Professor of Fribourg, involved in the discovery of cosmic radiation
Gonzague de Reynold, writer and academic, author of CitÃ©s et pays suisse
Mary Daly, feminist theologian and advocate of parthenogenesis
Emmanuel Levinas, philosopher
Thierry Madies, economic advisor to French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
Philippe Gugler, president, European International Business Academy
Peter Trudgill, British sociolinguist and dialectologist
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Professor of New Testament at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem
Jean Zermatten, academic and Chair of U.N. Commission on the Rights of the Child.
Luc E. Weber, Rector Emeritus of the University of Geneva
Werner Ulrich, Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher, one of the originators of "critical systems thinking" (CST).
Hans Wolfgang Brachinger, German mathematician and econometrician
Patrick Aebischer, the current president of the Ã‰cole Polytechnique FÃ©dÃ©rale de Lausanne
Caroline Jaden Stussi, Screenplay Writer and Actress
Pietro Balestra, Swiss economist specialized in econometrics
Philippe J. Deschamps, Belgian economist specialized in econometrics
Reiner Eichenberger, Chair of the Center for Public Finance at the University of Fribourg
Hugo Obermaier, prehistorian and anthropologist
Wilhelm Schmidt (linguist), Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist.
Peter Thullen, mathematician.
Winfried Sebald, German writer
Vincas Mykolaitis, Lithuanian poet and writer
Eliseo VerÃ³n, sociologist

Clergy

Cardinal Georges Cottier, official theologian to the Papal Household (under John Paul II), Secretary of the International Theological Commission
Cardinal Christoph SchÃ¶nborn, Archbishop of Vienna
Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, former Archbishop of Cracow
Cardinal Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice
Cardinal Basil Hume, former Archbishop of Westminster
Cardinal Henri Schwery, Bishop of Sion
Cardinal Michael Browne O.P., Master General of the Order of Preachers
Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni, Prefect Emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature
Cardinal Gaspard Mermillod, attended the Jesuit Seminary that was the forerunner of the University, Cardinal Beer takes its name from him.
Cardinal Aloisius Joseph Muench, Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota
Prince Max von Sachsen, Bishop, Prince of Saxony and son of King George of Saxony and Donna Maria Anna, the Infanta of Portugal
Bernard Genoud, Bishop of Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg
Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB
Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen
Rupert Mayer Blessed, Jesuit critic of the Nationalist Socialist Regime

Politics

Giuseppe Motta, Federal Chancellor (Swiss Cabinet member) 1911-40 (President of Switzerland 1915, '20, '27, '32, '37), President of the League of Nations 1924-25
Joseph Deiss, Federal Chancellor 1999-2006, President of Switzerland 2004, President of the United Nations General Assembly 2010-11
Ruth Metzler, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1999-2003
Chaim Weizmann, First President of Israel
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain
Albert Pintat, head of the government of Andorra
Giuseppe Lepori, Federal Chancellor and Consigliere del popolo (M.P.) for Ticino
Ignacy MoÅ›cicki, President of Poland 1926-1939
Bill Press, U.S. political commentator and former Chairman of the Democratic Party of California
Corina Casanova, Federal Chancellor of Switzerland 2008â€"Present
Flavio Cotti, President of the Swiss Confederation 1991, 1998
Enrico Celio, President of the Swiss Confederation 1943, 1948
Kurt Furgler, President of the Swiss Confederation 1977, 1981 and 1985
Ludwig von Moos, President of the Swiss Confederation 1964, 1969
Hans HÃ¼rlimann, President of the Swiss Confederation 1979
Arnold Koller, President of the Swiss Confederation 1990, 1997
Simonetta Sommaruga, Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2010â€"Present
Martine Brunschwig Graf, Swiss politician, member of the Swiss National Council
Richard Thomas "Dick" McCormack, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States 1985-1989, US Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs 1989-1991
Otmar Hasler, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein 2001-09
Gerard Batliner, former Head of Government (Regierungschef) of Liechtenstein (1962â€"1970)
Elijah Malok Aleng,Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan and President of othe Bank of Southern Sudan(BOSS) (2005â€"2011)
Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian politician and 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Jean-Marie Musy, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council
Juli Minoves, Andorran ambassador, plenipotentiary, and political scientist

Business and economics

Heinrich Burk, former CEO of ACNielsen
Klaus Martin Schwab, German economist, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum
Adolphe Merkle, founder of Vibro-Meter International AG, Adolphe Merkle Foundation
Urs Felber, Swiss industrialist, philanthropist and design pioneer.
Albert M. Baehny, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Geberit Group since January 1, 2005
Jean-Marie Ayer, co-founder of Dartfish, Chairman and CEO 1999-2003.
Arthur Dunkel (August 26, 1932 - June 8, 2005) was a Swiss (Portuguese-born) administrator and a professor at the University of Fribourg. He served as director-general of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade between 1980 and 1993.
Marc Moret, former Chairman of Sandoz, uncle of Daniel Vasella's wife

Sports

Architecture

Mario Botta, Founder of the Academy of Architecture at Mendrisio (Honoris Causa)

Judiciary

Antonin Gregory Scalia, U.S. Justice
Giusep Nay, president of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland 2005-2006, 1988â€"2006
Alois Pfister, member of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland
Luzius Wildhaber Swiss judge and first President of the European Court of Human Rights

Media

Miguel San Juan, Mister Switzerland 2006
Christa Rigozzi, Miss Switzerland 2006-2007
Andrea Jansen, Moderatorin beim Schweizer Fernsehen

Arts

Three of the members of the medieval ensemble Freiburger Spielleyt are graduates of the University's early music program

In fiction

Prof. Paul Cantonneau, modelled on Georges Python, is a Professor at Fribourg in one of the Tintin comics.

Notes and references

External links

http://www.unifr.ch
Information's about the University of Fribourg
See Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice, the University of Fribourg new LL.M Programme

University of Fribourg

Kamis, 19 Maret 2015