University of Salamanca

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University of Salamanca
Universidad de Salamanca

Seal of the University of Salamanca
Latin: Universitas Studii Salamanticensis
Established	1218
Type:	Public
Rector:	Dr José Ramón Alonso Peña
Students:	ca. 32,000
Location	Salamanca, Spain
Affiliations:	EUA, Coimbra Group
Website:	www.usal.es

Plateresque facade of the University

The old library of the University of Salamanca

The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca), located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid, is the second oldest university in Spain (the first one is the university of Palencia, now disappeared), and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded by Alfonso IX in 1218.

[edit] History

The university was founded as a "General School of the kingdom" by the Leonese king Alfonso IX in 1218 to allow the Leonese people to study at home without having to leave for Castile.

In the reign of Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella, Queen of Castile, the Spanish government was revamped. Contemporary with the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion capitol of florida Alcala de Henares. These men staffed the various councils of state, including, eventually, the Consejo de Indias and Casa de Contratacion, the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the Spanish Empire in the New World. While Columbus was lobbying the King and Queen for a contract to seek out a western route to the Indies, he made his case to a council of geographers at the University of Salamanca. In the next century, the morality of colonization in the Indies was debated by the School of Salamanca, along with questions of economics, philosophy and theology.

By the end of the Spanish Golden Age (1550-1650), the quality of academics in all Spanish universities had declined. Professors and students rarely attended class, the frequency of the awarding of degrees dropped, and their prestige receded.

Like Oxford and Cambridge, Salamanca had a number of colleges (Colegios Mayores). These were founded as charitable institutions to enable poor scholars to attend the University. By the eighteenth century they had become closed corporations controlled by the families of their founders, and dominated the university between them. Today some have been turned into faculty buildings while others survive as halls of residence.

In the 19th century, the Spanish government dissolved the university's faculties of canon law and theology. They were later reestablished in the 1940s as part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

The University regained prestige during the 20th century, especially since the death of Franco, and today the Universidad de Salamanca is considered one of Europe's premier research universities.

In conjunction with the University of Cambridge, the University of Salamanca co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) in 1989.

Notable students and academic teachers include: