University of Concepción
| Universidad de Concepción | |
 |
|
| Motto | Por el desarrollo libre del espíritu. |
|---|---|
|
Motto in English
|
For the free development of the spirit. |
| Type | Private (with State contributions) |
| Established | May 14, 1919 |
| Budget | US$66 million |
| Rector | Sergio Lavanchy Merino |
|
Academic staff
|
1,164 |
| Students | 23,130 |
| Postgraduates | 1,597 |
| Location |
Concepción, Región del Biobío,  Chile
|
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Blue and yellow |
| Sports | University of Concepción F.C. |
| Website | udec |
The University of Concepción (Spanish: Universidad de Concepción), also known by its acronym UDEC, is a private-law Chilean traditional university in Concepción, Chile. It is the third oldest and one of the most prestigious universities in Chile.
It was the first university founded in the south of Chile, and the first to become a private-law corporation. In addition, it belongs to the Southern Cross University Network (in Spanish: Red Universitaria Cruz del Sur) and has additional campuses in the cities of Chillán and Los Ángeles.
The QS University Ranking 2012 ranks the University of Concepción as the ninth best in Latin America. The 2011 CSIC University Ranking named it as the second best in Chile and 19th best in Latin America, while business magazine America Economía's 2010 SIR Iberoamerican Ranking rates it as the nation’s number three university.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many scholars from Concepción started to plead for the construction of a university for the south of Chile where it would be possible to study professional degrees outside the capital, Santiago. However, a project of this magnitude required a high level of organization, which as yet did not exist. In February 1917, the newspaper El Sur reported:
The idea of creating a university cannot yet be possible because of "the lack of organization of those who want to create it".
On March 23, 1917, the first official meeting took place to realise two dreams of the citizens of Concepción: a clinical hospital and a university.
After debate, a committee was named to take charge of the construction of these two projects. The projects were closely related because the hospital would become the base of the new university's medical school. Some notable members of the committee included Enrique Molina Garmendia, Pedro Nolasco, Edmundo Larenas and Virginio Gómez.
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