History
October 18, 1945 is considered to be the official date of Uzhhorod State University foundation. Just on this day the Council of the People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine passed the common decree (resolution) on the inauguration of the state university in Uzhhorod. This decree (resolution) says in particular: “Taking into consideration the exceptional (exclusive) necessity to raise (raise) culture in Transcarpathian Ukraine and the petition (intercession) of the People’s Council of Transcarpathian Ukraine, the Council of the People’s Commission of the USSR and the Central Committee of the Ukrainian CP resolve:”to found the state university in Uzhhorod in 1945 with the following faculties: of history, philological, biological and medical ones”.
The famous Ukrainian writer, a Transcarpathian by his origin, Ivan Chendey wrote in the columns of the newspaper “Zakarpatska Pravda” very emotionally: “On the pages of the history of cultural life of our country there will be written down the date of the State University foundation. So many best sons of our people dreamed to continue their education after secondary school studies. But rarely were they able to fulfil it. They had to leave their native land and enter foreign faculties. The life of these young people who wished to study was quite difficult: they had to work hard at nights to earn their living… Hence the long-awaited day has come at last.” In October 1945 the foundation course for those wishing to be admitted to university began its work. On February 1, 1946 the first students took their desk seats. 168 young boys and girls from different towns and villages of Ukraine began their student life. The education process began at four faculties – historical, philological, biological and medical. Stepan Dobosh became the first University Rector.
The education process in the University was mostly performed by specialists and scientists from other higher educational establishments of the Soviet Union because of the lack of the efficient staff for the university teaching in Uzhhorod.
The candidate of biological sciences, assistant professor I. H. Rohal became the first dean of the Medical and Biological Faculties; senior teacher M. H. Yasko became the dean of the Philological Faculty; senior teacher I. K. Borysov became the acting dean of the Historical Faculty.
There have been appointed the heads of the departments of: Ukrainian literature – M. H. Yasko; Ukrainian philology – T. H. Cherednychenko; Russian literature – I. K. Bolysov; foreign language – V. I. Sulinchak; USSR history – P. M. Smiyan; organic chemistry – A. M. Kurishko; non-organic chemistry – S. T. Orlovsky; botany – Kh. Yu. Krasnopolska; physics - V. M. Bushin; Marxism-leninism – M. P. Redko. In the course of the academic year 23 more lecturers from different higher educational and research establishments of Ukraine came to the University. The natives of Zakarpattya began to work here too.
The Botanic Gardens was founded in the university in 1946. More than 500 species of trees and bushes and about 450 subtropical and tropical cultures are growing in it now.
By 1 July 1946 the University had embodied (included) 15 departments with 42 lecturers working there. The university staff included one professor, 9 assistant professors, 14 senior teachers, 11 teachers, 8 assistant teachers. In the same year the Council of Ministers upgraded Uzhhorod State University to the first category of higher schools and gave it under/within the authority / jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Soviet Union.
In 1946 the Faculty of Chemistry and in 1950 the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics began their work. Twenty five future physicists and twenty five future mathematicians were enrolled to the first year of studies.
In 1951 the first graduation of specialists took place and next year the first graduation of doctors took place in the medical faculty.
Post-graduation courses in Uzhhorod State University were founded in 1953. The first post graduates who defended their candidate thesis became Yu. I. Baleha, M. I. Holovey, O. M. Kyshko, I. V. Smolanka.
At the beginning of the 1950s the University newspaper “Radyansky student” began to be issued / come out to be published/.
Timeline
|
1954 |
Uzhhorod Teacher Training Institute was added to the University. The Institute worked from 1950 and prepared more than 500 teachers with incomplete (unfinished) higher education during its short time of functioning. |
|
|
1957 |
The University station (post) of observation of artificial Earth Sputniks was established on Kalvaria Hill in the northern suburb of Uzhhorod. The University laboratory of space research is stationed there now. |
|
|
1959 |
Six University faculties established their evening departments to prepare university professionals without discontinuing their work (for part-time students). |
|
|
1960 |
|
General Engineering Department engaged in training engineers for industrial enterprises of Zakarpattya opened and started its work at the University. It carried out the first stage of training. After the third year, the students were transferred to other universities of Ukraine for graduation. The same year, the university launched a programme of research trips to foreign countries. Social and cultural activities were not neglected in this year as well. There were created the cameo theatre and the brass band, which often performed in front of students, the university staff and the residents of the city. |
|
1962 |
|
The University hosted an all-union conference on physics of electronic and atomic collisions for the first time. |
|
1963 |
|
The Faculty of Sciences with four departments was opened. It was renamed the Faculty of Correspondence Studies later. That same year was the foundation year of the Department of Hungarian language and literature at the Philological Faculty. It was training teachers for schools with Hungarian language of instruction. The same year, the university started international cooperation with Szeged Pedagogical Institute named after Dyula Ûgas (Hungary). |
|
1964 |
|
The University created the amateur male choir of academic and assistant staff ‘Boyan’. The same year, a student recreation centre “Skalka”, located near the village Kam'yanitsya, in the picturesque, mountainous area on the slopes of the mountain range “Synatoriya”, was built. |
|
1966 |
|
The Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology was opened. In the same year, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics was divided into two separate structural units. |
|
1973 |
|
The construction of the first stage/round of the sports centre “Burevisnyk “was over. Its main building houses two large gyms, the Department of Physical Education and a radio station. Other sporting facilities as volleyball, tennis and basketball courts, soccer field and running track were built up around the sports centre. |
|
1974 |
|
The construction of the main academic building of the university began. Among the university students and lecturers, as well as the residents of Uzhhorod, it received an informal name 'BAM'. This is due to the fact that the same 1974 the Baikal-Amur Railway, abbreviated 'BAM' was being built in the Soviet Union. Its construction was declared 'an all-union top-priority Komsomol project.' Therefore, a large number of young people across the Soviet Union took part in its construction. Hence, by analogy, as the main academic building was largely built by the students of the university it got its name. It was ceremonially opened in 1980. The same year a new hall of residence № 4, designed to accommodate 1500 students was completed. |
|
1982 |
|
The University-TV-Centre, which was to broadcast written admission examinations, was opened. |
|
1987 |
|
The Correspondence School of Economics of the University was upgraded to full time department. This year the Hungarology centre was opened with the assistance of the University and the Ministry for Culture of Hungary. |
|
1991 |
|
Ukraine became independent. A new era began in the history of the University. This year was marked by the opening of the Faculty of Engineering and the Department of Law at the Faculty of Economics. |
|
1992 |
|
Research Institutes of Herbal Medicine, Physics and Chemistry of Solids, the Institute of Karpatoznavstva were created. That same year, the University switched to the two-level system of training (Bachelor degree and Master degree). |
|
1993 |
|
By the decision of the Interdisciplinary Accreditation Commission and the Collegium of the Ministry for Education of Ukraine the University was awarded the full fourth level of accreditation, with autonomy in solving of many issues of the university life. The same year the University opened the Faculty of Law. |
|
2000 |
|
For a significant contribution to the development of national education and science the University was conferred national status and renamed Uzhhorod National University with the fourth level of accreditation by the Decree of the President of Ukraine. |
S. Golik
14.01.2015
