University of Amsterdam

Athenaeum Illustre (1632–1877) In January 1632, the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam (Latin: Illustrious School of Amsterdam) was founded by the municipal authorities in Amsterdam. In 1815 it was given the statutory obligation "to disseminate taste, civilisation and learning" and "to replace, at least in part, the institutes of higher education and an academic education for those young men whose circumstances unable them to fully spend the time necessary for an academic career at an institute of higher education." The Athenaeum began offering classes for students attending non-academic professional training in pharmacy and surgery in 1800. The Athenaeum Illustre largely worked together with Amsterdam's theological institutions such as the Evangelisch-Luthers Seminarium (evangelical-Lutheran) and the Klinische School (medical school), the successor to the Collegium Chirurgicum. The Athenaeum remained a small institution until the 19th century, with no more than 250 students and eight professors. Alumni of the Athenaeum include Cornelis Petrus Tiele. Municipal university (1877–1961) In 1877, the Athenuem Illustre became the Municipal University of Amsterdam and received the right to confer doctoral degrees. This gave the university the same privileges as national universities while being funded by the city of Amsterdam. The professors and lecturers were appointed by the municipal council. This resulted in a staff that was in many ways more colorful than the staffs of national universities. During its time as a municipal university, the university flourished, in particular in the science department, which counted many Nobel prize winners: Tobias Asser, Christiaan Eijkman, Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Pieter Zeeman, and Frits Zernike. The University of Amsterdam's municipal status brought about the relatively early addition of the faculties of Economics and Social Sciences. After the World War II a significant rise in the cost of university education put a constraint on the university's growth. During the 1970s and 1980s, the university was often the target of nationwide student actions. The university saw considerable expansion since becoming a national university, from 7,500 students in 1960 to over 32,000 in 2010. In 2007, UvA undertook the construction of the Science Park Amsterdam, a campus to house the Faculty of Science along with the new University Sports Center. Much of the park has now been completed. The University of Amsterdam began working in close collaboration with the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. In 2008, the University of Amsterdam and VU University jointly founded the Amsterdam University College (AUC), an interuniversity institute that offers a three-year Bachelor (Honors) program in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Bungehuis occupation ended with the arrest of the 46 protesters on 24 February 2015. The following day a group of protesters forced the door of the Maagdenhuis, the main administrative building of the UvA, and began occupying it, once again raising their demands. The occupation lasted 45 days; the occupiers were evicted on 11 April. University logo The current logo of the University of Amsterdam consists of a black square with three white Saint Andrew's Crosses and a white "U." This an adaptation of the coat of arms of Amsterdam which also uses a black background and three white or silver Saint Andrew's Crosses. The three Saint Andrew's Crosses have been said to represent the three plagues of Amsterdam: fire, floods, and the Black Death. Another rumor is that they represent three fords in the River Amstel. These two explanations have no historical basis, however. It is believed by historians that the coat of arms of Amsterdam is derived from the coat of arms of Jan Persijn, the lord of Amsterdam between 1280 and 1282. The "U" represents the word "university" while the colours and three crosses represent the city of Amsterdam. == Campus ==