Ghent University

Ghent University

Universiteit Gent
Latin: Academia Gandavensis
Former names	State University of Ghent
Motto	Audere Sapiens
Motto in English	Dare to Think
Type	Public
Established	1817
Rector	Anne De Paepe ()
Administrative staff	9,000
Students	+41,000
Location	Ghent, Kortrijk, Belgium
Affiliations	CESAER Erasmus Student Network European University Association Santander Network U4
Website	http://www.ugent.be

Ghent University (Dutch: Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands. After the Belgian revolution of 1830, the newly formed Belgian state began to administer the university. In 1930, it became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium—French having been the academic language up to that point. In 1991, the university was granted major autonomy and changed its name from State University of Ghent (Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Gent, abbreviated as RUG) to its current designation. It is one of the largest Flemish universities, consisting of 41,000 students and 9,000 staff members. The current rector is Anne De Paepe ().

Ghent consistently rates among the top universities not only in Belgium but also throughout the world. The 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Ghent at 62nd. As of 2015, Ghent University ranks 118th globally according to Times Higher Education, 124th according to QS World University Rankings, and 71st according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. While U.S. News & World Report Ranked Ghent 98 globally in the 2017 rankings.

The university in Ghent was opened on 9 October 1817, with JC van Rotterdam serving as the first rector. In the first year, it had 190 students and 16 professors. The original four faculties consisted of Humanities (Letters), Law, Medicine and Science, and the language of instruction was Latin. The university was founded by King William I as part of a policy to stem the intellectual and academic lag in the southern part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, later to become Belgium.