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历史

The university was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra, then Minister of Education in the Porfirio Díaz' regime, who sought to create a very different institution from its 19th century precursor; the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, which had been founded on 21 September 1551 by a royal decree signed by Crown Prince Phillip on behalf of Charles I of Spain and brought to a definitive closure in 1867 by Benito Juárez and his fellow Liberals. Instead of reviving what he saw as an anachronistic institution with strong ties to the Roman Catholic Church, he aimed to create a new university, secular in nature and national in scope, that may reorganize higher education within the country, serve as a model of positivism and encompass the ideas of the dominant Mexican liberalism.

The project initially unified the Fine Arts, Business, Political Science, Jurisprudence, Engineering, Medicine, Normal and the National Preparatory schools, and had Joaquin Eguía y Lis as its first rector.

The new university’s challenges were mostly political, with some resisting the establishment of the institution on philosophical grounds, but the main challenges came from the ongoing Mexican Revolution and the fact that the federal government had direct control over the university’s policies and curriculum. This led to disruptions in the function of the university when political instability forced resignations in the government, including that of President Díaz. Internally, the first student strike occurred in 1912 to protest examination methods introduced by director of the School of Jurisprudence, Luis Cabrera. By July of that year, a majority of the law students decided to abandon the university and join the newly-created Free School of Law.

In 1914, initial efforts to gain autonomy for the university were undertaken without success. In 1920, José Vasconcelos became rector. In 1921, he created the school’s coat-of-arms: the image of an eagle and a condor surrounding a map of 拉丁语 America, from Mexico's northern border to Tierra del Fuego and the motto, "The Spirit shall speak for my race." Efforts to gain autonomy for the university continued in the early 1920s. In the mid-1920s, a second wave of student strikes was held when the university decided to impose a new grading system. This led to major classroom walkouts in the law school and confrontation with police at the medical school. The striking students were supported by many of the professors and subsequent negotiations eventually led to autonomy for the university. The institution was no longer a dependency of the Secretariat of Public Education; the university rector became the final authority, eliminating much of the duplicity in authority that had existed earlier.

Initial decisions to move the university from the various buildings it occupied in the city center to a new and consolidated university campus were taken in 1943, and to place this new Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) in San Ángel, to the south of the city. The first stone of the faculty of Sciences, the first building of Ciudad Universitaria, was laid. President Miguel Alemán Valdés participated in the ceremony on 20 November 1952. The University Olympic Stadium was inaugurated on the same day. In 1957, the Doctorate Council was created to regulate and organize graduate studies.

Another major student strike, again over examination regulations, occurred in 1966. Students invaded the rectorate and forced the rector to resign. The Board of Regents did not accept this resignation. Then the professors went on strike, paralyzing the university and the resignation was accepted. In the summer, outbreaks of violence occurred on a number of the campuses of the University-affiliated preparatory schools, prompted harsh police reaction. Police took over a number of high school campuses, with injuries. On the main campus during August 1968, protests formed against the police actions in its main campues and in the center of the city. The protests grew into a student movement which demanded the resignation of the police chief among other things. More protests followed in September, gaining frequency and protestors. During a meeting of the student leaders, the army fired on the Chihuahua building in Tlatelolco where the student organization supposedly was. They also fired on the crowd that was outside, with many dead, wounded and detained. Protests continued after that. Only ten days after, the 1968 Olympic Games were inaugurated at the University Stadium. The games shut the University down for the duration. After that, there was some progress to bringing things back to normal.

The 1970s and 1980s are mostly marked by the opening of satellite campuses in other parts of Mexico and nearby areas, to decentralize the system. There were some minor student strikes, mostly over grading and tuition. The last major student strike at the university occurred in 1999-2000 when students shut down the campus for almost a year to protest a proposal to charge students the equivalent of $150 USD per semester for those who could afford it. The strike lasted for almost a year, with the campus being empty much of that time. Referendums were held by both the university and the strikers but neither side accepted the others’ results. Acting on a judge’s order, the police stormed the buildings held by strikers on 7 February 2000, putting an end to the strike..

In 2009 the university was bestowed with the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities and began the celebration of its centennial with several activities that will last until 2011.

Campuses

University City

"Ciudad Universitaria" (University City) is UNAM's main campus, located within Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City. Designed by architects Mario Pani, Enrique del Moral, Domingo García Ramos, Armando Franco Rovira and others, it encloses the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, about 40 faculties and institutes, the Cultural Center, an ecological reserve, the Central Library, and a few museums. It was built during the 1950s on an ancient solidified lava bed to replace the scattered buildings in downtown Mexico City where classes were given. It was completed in 1954 and is almost a separate region within Mexico City, with its own regulations, councils, and police (to some extent) in a more fundamental way than most universities around the world. Law enforcement officials from outside the university are not allowed to enter without the consent of the university authorities.

In June 2007, its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Satellite campuses

Apart from Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM has several campuses in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (Acatlán, Aragón, Cuautitlán, Iztacala, Xochimilco and Zaragoza), as well as many others in several locations across Mexico (in Santiago de Querétaro, Morelia, Mérida, Ensenada, and Cuernavaca), mainly aimed at research and graduate studies. It has also four small foreign campuses in the United States and Canada, focusing on Spanish language and Mexico's culture:UNAM San Antonio, TX; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; Gatineau, Quebec.

External buildings of interest

Palacio de Minería

Under the care of UNAM's Engineering Faculty, the Colonial Palace of Mining is located in the historical center of Mexico City. Formerly the School of Engineering, it has three floors, and houses the International Book Expo ("Feria Internacional del Libro" or "FIL") and the International Day of Computing Security Congress ("DISC"), among regular events. It also has a permanent exhibition of historical books, mostly topographical and naturalist works of 19th century Mexican scientists, in the former library of the School of Engineers. It has also several exhibitions related to mining, the prime engineering occupation during the Spanish colonization. It is considered to be one of the most significant of Mexican architecture of its period.

Casa del Lago

House of the Lake, in Chapultepec Park, is a place devoted to cultural activities including dancing, theatre plays and ballet. It also serves as meeting place for university-related organizations and committees.

Museum of San Ildefonso

This museum and cultural center considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican muralism movement. San Ildefonso began as a prestigious Jesuit boarding school, and after the Reform War, it gained educational prestige again as National Preparatory School, which was closely linked to the founding of UNAM. This school and the building closed completely in 1978, then reopened as a museum and cultural center in 1994 administer jointly by UNAM, the National Council for Culture and Arts and the government of the Federal District of Mexico City. The museum has permanent and temporary art and archeological exhibitions in addition to the many murals painted on its walls by Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and others. The complex is located between San Ildefonso Street and Justo Sierra Street in the historic center of Mexico City .

Chopo University Museum

Possessing an artistic architecture, large crystal panels and two iron towers designed by Gustave Eiffel; it served the National Museum of Natural History for almost 50 years. It is now devoted to the temporary exhibitions of visual arts. The Chopo Museum was begun with part of the collection of the now-defunct Public Museum of Natural History, Archeology and History, which eventually became the National Museum of Cultures.

National Astronomical Observatory

The National Astronomical Observatory is located in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir mountain range in Baja California, about 130 kilometers south of United States-Mexican border. It has been in operation since 1970 and it currently boasts three large reflecting telescopes, with plans for installing a large instrument sensitive to milimetric wavelengths already under way.

组织

It consists of faculties rather than departments. Both undergraduate and graduate studies are available. UNAM is also responsible for the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (ENP) (National Preparatory School), and the Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades (CCH) (Science and Humanities College), which consist of several high schools, spread around Mexico City. Counting ENEP, CCH, FES (Facultad de Estudios Profesionales) undergraduate and graduate students, UNAM has over 269,000 students, making it one of the world's largest universities.

Faculties and National Schools

UNAM recognizes two different types of university schools: Faculties and National Schools. Faculties are the only institutions that have postgraduate studies. Currently, most of the schools, either inside or outside the University City, had this title. A National School is an institution that cannot offer all postgraduate studies (Master's degrees and Doctorates). This is the case of the National School of Music, the National School of Arts, the National School of Nursery and Obstetrics, and the National School of Social Work.

List of Faculties, National Schools and Institutes

• Faculty of Accounting and Administration
• Faculty of Architecture
• Faculty of Chemistry
• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Aragón
• Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Acatlán
• Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Cuautitlán
• Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Iztacala
• Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Zaragoza
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Odontology
• Faculty of Philosophy and Literature
• Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Psychology
• Faculty of Sciences
• Faculty of Veterinarian Medicine

• National School of Arts
• National School of Music
• National School of Nursery and Obstetrics
• National School of Social Work
• National Preparatory School (with 9 high schools)

• College of Sciences and Humanities (with 5 high schools)
• Institute of Aesthetic Research
• Center for Genomic Sciences (CCG)

学术

Rankings

According to 2009 THES - QS World University Rankings, the University is the 190th best ranked university in the world and the second best in Ibero-America after the University of Barcelona. According to the 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities developed by the Institute of Higher Education of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, UNAM is ranked in the 152-200 tier and holds the 2nd place among Ibero-American universities in a tie between the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Barcelona but below the University of Sao Paulo (101-151 tier).

Research

UNAM has excelled in many areas of research and houses many of Mexico's premiere research institutions. In recent years it has attracted students and hired professional scientists from all over the world (most notably from Russia, India and the United States), which has created a unique diverse scientific community.

Scientific research at UNAM is divided between faculties, institutes, centers and schools, and covers a range of disciplines in 拉丁语 America. Some of the more noted institutes include: Institute of Astronomy, Institute of Biotechnology, Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Institute of Physics, Institute of Cell Physiology, Institute of Geophysics, Institute of Engineering, Institute of Materials Research, Institute of Chemistry, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, and the Applied Mathematics and Systems Research Institute.

Research centers tend to focus on multidisciplinary problems particularly relevant to Mexico and the developing world, most notably: Center of Applied Sciences and Technological Development, which focuses on connecting the sciences to real-world problems (e.g., optics, nanosciences) and Center of Energy Research, which does world-class research in alternative energies.

All research centers are open to students from Mexico and around the world. The UNAM holds a number of programs for students within the country to make scientific internships in order to impulse research in the country.

UNAM's scientific output continues to grow, despite numerous attempts by the Mexican government to curtail its budget, the University currently producing 60% of all scientific publications in Mexico.

As for basic sciences, UNAM currently has two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholars and endowment from the NIH extramural research program.

Students and faculty

Sports, clubs, and traditions

It has been suggested that Pumas Dorados de la UNAM be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Professional football team

UNAM's football team Club Universidad Nacional participates in the Primera División de México of the Mexican Football League Division. The club became two-time consecutive champions of the Apertura, and the Clausura in 2004. Their home ground is the Estadio Olímpico Universitario stadium.

The University, has as a yearly tradition to make a large display of Ofrendas all over the main square of Ciudad Universitaria, each school builds an ofrenda, and in the center there is usually a biggest one that has a different theme each year, depending on the festivities of the University that year.

Political activism

UNAM students and professors are regarded throughout Mexico as very politically aware and sometimes intensely politically active. While most of its students usually adhere to left-wing political ideologies and movements, the University has also been the alma mater of a number of prominent right-wing and neo-liberal politicians such as Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Manuel Gómez Morín.

Student associations

The UNAM is made up of several associations of current students and alumni that provide extra-curricular activities to the whole community, enriching the University's activities with cultural, social and scientific events.

• Fundacion UNAM
• Nibiru Sociedad Astronomica
• SAFIR

Alleged links between UNAM and FARC

See also Faculty of Philosophy and Literature links with FARC

On June 2003 former Colombian ambassador in Mexico Luis Guzmán said that there were FARC offices on the UNAM Faculty of Philosophy and Literature and these offices were making propaganda and recruiting people to participate on the guerrilla. [1]

Noted alumni

See also Category:National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni

Many of the most prominent figures in the economical, political, scientific and artistic life in Mexico have been a member of the UNAM alumni or faculty:

Heads of state

• Miguel Alemán Valdés (President of Mexico 1946–1952)
• Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (President of Mexico 1982–1988)
• Luis Echeverría Álvarez (President of Mexico 1970–1976)
• José López Portillo y Pacheco (President of Mexico 1976–1982)
• Abel Pacheco de la Espriella (President of Costa Rica 2002–2006)
• Alfonso Portillo (President of Guatemala 2000–2004)
• Carlos Salinas de Gortari (President of Mexico 1988–1994)

Politicians

• Antonio Carrillo Flores (cabinet minister in several previous administrations, 1929, 1950)
• Alfonso Caso y Andrade (a very noted archaeologist)
• Alan Cranston (U.S. Senator from California)
• Álvaro García Linera (vice-president of Bolivia)
• Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Head of Government of the Federal District from 2000 to 2005, candidate for the Presidency of Mexico in 2006)
• Abel Pacheco (president of Costa Rica)
• Alfonso Portillo (president of Guatemala)
• Veton Surroi (Kosovo publicist and leader of the Kosovar Party ORA)

Diplomats

• Narciso Bassols (former ambassador to Russia, France, and Great Britain; former director of UNAM's School of Law)
• Antonio Carrillo Flores (Ministry of Mexican Foreign Affairs during the Díaz Ordaz administration)
• Alfonso García Robles (a Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
• Antonio Gómez Robledo (Ministry of Mexican Foreign Affairs during the López Portillo administration)
• Rosario Green (Ministry of Mexican Foreign Affairs during the Zedillo administration)

Artists, writers and humanists

• William F. Buckley, writer and political philosopher; attended in 1943 prior to being commissioned in the US Army during the World War II.
• Alfonso Caso, archaeologist.
• Fernando del Paso, writer.
• Salvador Elizondo, writer and a member of El Colegio Nacional.
• Bolívar Echeverría, ecuadorian writer and philosopher.
• Carlos Fuentes, writer, essayist and a member of El Colegio Nacional
• Alfonso García Robles, a Peace Nobel Prize laureate.
• Enrique Krauze, historian, essayist and publisher (director of Letras Libres journal).
• Agustín Landa Verdugo, architect and urban planner.
• Audre Lorde, writer, poet and activist.
• Horst Matthai Quelle, philosopher
• Carlos Monsiváis, editorialist and writer.
• José Emilio Pacheco, writer and a member of El Colegio Nacional.
• Eduardo Pareyón Moreno, archaeologist.
• Octavio Paz, poet and essayist; a Literature Nobel Prize laureate (he never graduated).
• Elena Poniatowska, journalist and writer.
• Alfonso Reyes, writer, philosopher and diplomat.
• Alejandro Rossi, philosopher and writer.
• Jaime Sabines, poet.
• Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez, philosopher and writer.
• Enrique Semo, historian, writer, activist, Mexico City Secretary of Culture
• Jaime Torres Bodet, writer and politician.
• Ayako Tsuru,Mural Artist.
• Jorge Volpi, novelist and essayist; current director of Canal 22 in Mexican free television.
• Jacobo Zabludovsky, lawyer, journalist and first TV Anchorman in Mexico.
• Juan García Esquivel, musician

Physicians and surgeons

• Carlos Fernández del Castillo, M.D. (a specialist in pancreatic diseases, pancreatobiliary surgery, gastrointestinal surgery) (Massachusetts General Hospital, USA) [2]
• Guillermo Soberón Acevedo (biochemist and a member of El Colegio Nacional)

Scientists

• Miguel Alcubierre, theoretical and computational physicist (see Alcubierre metric).
• Nabor Carrillo Flores, a soil mechanics expert, a nuclear energy advisor and former president of UNAM.
• Miguel de Icaza, free software programmer (dropped out).
• Carlos Frenk, astronomer, a pioneer in simulations of large-scale structures.
• Guillermo Haro, astronomer, co-discoverer of Herbig–Haro objects.
• Jerzy Rzedowski, plant scientist; he was a pioneer in the field of Neotropical florsitics
• Antonio Lazcano, a notable biologist working in the field of origin of life; a current member of the group of scientists working to understand and fight against the A/H1N1 virus.
• Luis E. Miramontes, co-inventor of the contraceptive pill.
• Mario J. Molina, a Chemistry Nobel Prize laureate.
• Marcos Moshinsky, a theoretical physicist.
• Rodolfo Neri Vela, the first Mexican in space.
• Víctor Neumann-Lara, a pioneer in graph theory in Mexico.
• Ruy Pérez Tamayo, a pathologist and a member of El Colegio Nacional.
• Constantino Reyes-Valerio, chemist and historian who coined the term arte indocristiano and contributed to the discovery of the production of Maya blue pigment.
• Miguel José Yacamán, physicist.
• Salvador Zubirán, a physician, founder of the National Institute of Nutrition.
• Santiago Lopez de Medrano.Mathematician of the Institute of Mathematics,UNAM

Businesspeople

• Gilberto Borja Navarrete, engineer, founder of Grupo ICA, one of the main national and international building companies.
• Carlos Slim Helú, businessman and engineer and the richest person in the world.

Sports stars

• Hugo Sánchez Márquez, one of Mexico's most acknowledged football players. Former Mexian National football team and Almeria manager.

• María Eugenia "Cuca" Huerta, one of Mexico's top female football flag players and multiple champion at local and international leagues.

Noted faculty

See also Category:National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty

• Jorge González Reyna, architect.
• Max Cetto, architect.
• Alejandro Corichi, astrophysicist.
• Axel Didriksson Takanayagui, a writer education researcher and current Secretary of Education working for the Government of Mexico City.
• Erich Fromm, a German-born philosopher and psychoanalist, founder of the Mexican Institute of Psychoanalysis.
• José Gaos, philosopher.
• es:Pablo González Casanova, sociologist and former president of the UNAM.
• Jorge González Torres, politician, former presidential candidate.
• Paul Kirchhoff, anthropologist and ethnohistorian, one of the founders of anthropological studies at UNAM.
• José Miguel Insulza, a Chilean politician, secretary of the Organization of American States.
• Larry Laudan, philosopher
• Miguel León-Portilla, historian and náhuatl language researcher.
• Florian Luca, mathematician
• Rodolfo Neri Vela, the first Mexican astronaut to go into space.
• Edmundo O'Gorman, historian and writer.
• Imanol Ordorika, a specialist in education.
• Kiyoto Ota, sculptor.
• Arturo Rosenblueth, physiologist.
• Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez, a Spanish-born philosopher.
• Manuel Sandoval Vallarta, physicist and cosmic ray researcher.
• Sara Sefchovich, writer.

UNAM's Philharmonic Orchestra (OFUNAM)

更多

• XHUNAM-TV ("TVunam", UNAM's educational and cultural television channel)
• DGSCA (Dirección General de Servicios de Cómputo Académico, Hub of Computer Sciences/Engineering in UNAM)

参考文献

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Autonomous University of Mexico

• Official website
• Mexico Diplomat
• News in Spanish about UNAM