University of Los Andes (Venezuela)

The Universidad de Los Andes or ULA is a public and autonomous university located in the Venezuelan Andes. Its main headquarters and rectory are located in the city of Mérida. It was founded by the clergy as a house of studies on March 29, 1785, later elevated to a seminary and finally recognized as a University on September 21, 1810 under a decree issued by the Governing Board of the province of the Crown of Spain.

It is one of the main universities in Venezuela due to its age, the number of students it houses, its academic level and its research contributions that have contributed to the study and development of science. The purpose of the university is to strengthen the comprehensive training initiated in the primary and secondary education cycles, in addition to forming professional and technical teams necessary for the development and progress of Venezuela.

The university is made up of 11 faculties distributed in the Mérida Nucleus (located in the city of Mérida), 4 autonomous nuclei located in the cities of San Cristóbal, Trujillo, El Vigía and Tovar, in addition to several university extensions with studies in undergraduate, postgraduate and professional updating, highlighting that of the city of Valera, along with other extensions such as Barinas, Guanare, Barquisimeto, Maracaibo, Caracas, Zea and Bailadores, and various university facilities within the national territory such as experimental stations, production farms farms, natural reserves for the development of fauna and flora and research laboratories.

History

Plaza del Rectorado, statue of Fray Juan Ramos de Lora.

In 1785 the Real Colegio Seminario de San Buenaventura de Mérida was founded by the Bishop of Mérida, Fray Juan Ramos de Lora. Its creation was made official on June 9 of the same year when King Carlos IV of Spain recognizes the foundation made by the Monsignor. Signed in a document of June 18, 1806 and then on October 6, 1807, due to the loss of the document of the previous date, the San Buenaventura Seminary was granted by order of King Carlos IV of Spain the power or faculty to grant the major and minor degrees in: Philosophy, Theology and Canons.

It was not until September 21, 1810 that by Decree issued by the Provincial Government Board the first Republican University in Latin America was founded under the name of Royal University of San Buenaventura de Mérida de los Caballeros, thus granting the Seminary the grace of a University with all the privileges of the University of Caracas and with the power to issue diplomas in all major and minor degrees in "Philosophy, Medicine, Civil and Canon Law and Theology." Decree that was later confirmed by Simón Bolívar in 1813.

Until 1832 it was an ecclesiastical institution, beginning its secularization by Decree of the National Government chaired at that time by General José Antonio Páez to later become a public institution, and adopt in 1883 the name which it has maintained until the Currently, except in a period between 1904 and 1905 in which it was designated as Occidental University.

Headquarters of the administrative offices of the University of Los Andes.

This institution is the second university in chronological order in Venezuela, which makes it one of the most important in the history of this country. Among its faculties, the oldest is that of Law (today the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences), whose first degree was awarded in 1808, but it is recorded in the University Archive that a class of Roman Civil Law was already taught in 1798; other Faculties such as Medicine and Pharmacy, inaugurated in 1810 and in 1894 respectively, which were closed at different periods of time, during the dictatorial governments of Venezuela, among them the Government of General Cipriano Castro who would close them in the year 1906, however after its reopening in 1928 they have not stopped their work, working tirelessly up to the present to currently constitute the Faculty of Medicine made up of the school of medicine, the School of Nursing and the School of Nutrition and Dietetics (these last 2 created in 1967 and 1972 respectively), and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis (named like this since 2002 after the creation of the School of Bioanalysis formed in 1950).

In 1843, the Department of Mathematics was created, initially run by Dr. Eloy Paredes. This would later give rise to the Faculty of Exact Sciences, which would have Departments of Higher Algebra, Analytical and Descriptive Geometry, Infinitesimal Calculus, Rational Mechanics, Geodesy, Astronomy and Physics, from which the School of Physical-Mathematical and Natural Sciences would emerge in 1918, and in 1932 it became the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, these would be the origins for which the faculty of engineering will be created on On October 14, 1936, the management of the then rector Dr. Humberto Ruíz Fonseca fell, as well as the Experimental Faculty of Sciences in 1967, which would form the current Faculty of Sciences from the year 1969 by approval of the National Council of Universities.

In 1939 the Faculty of Dentistry was organized from the old School of Dentistry belonging to the Faculty of Medicine, in 1948 the School of Forest Engineering was opened; In the late 1950s, the School of Letters, the School of History and the School of Humanities were created in 1955, which became a faculty in 1958 together with the creation of the Faculty of Economics. In 1961 Architecture and the University Extension of "Valera" were created, later in 1963 the School of Electrical Engineering; In 1967, the Táchira Nucleus was created, located in the city of San Cristóbal and today called "Pedro Ricón Gutiérrez" in honor of the rector of rectors and one of the great exponents of the fight for university autonomy. In 1971 the School of Mechanical, Chemical and Systems Engineering was instituted, already in 1972 the Trujillo nucleus, located in the previous ones of the city of Trujillo.

Former ULA Acts Hall, c. 1929.

Aula Magna de la ULA.

Started in the 2000s with the entry of the XXI Century the University decided to expand to other geographical areas of the state of Mérida, keeping an eye on the South Zones of the Lake and Valle del Mocotíes, with the intention of exploiting, improving, technicalizing and professionalizing the talents of said zones, being industry, technology, economy, agriculture and food in the case of El Vigía as well as the arts, culture, education and health in the case of Tovar, the latest creations of this house of studies being the "Alberto Adriani" University Nucleus of the city of El Vigía: created by unanimous decree of the University Council on January 22, 2007 and the “Valle del Mocotíes” University Nucleus in Tovar: created in April of the same year, being inaugurated as an extension on September 8, 2007 and then elevated to a nucleus on March 16, 2015, later the creation of the extensions of Zea, Bailadores, Mucuchíes and Pueblo Llano.

Currently, the Universidad de Los Andes has offices in more than three states of Venezuela, its epicenter being the Andean Region (Táchira, Mérida and Trujillo) teaching studies in the areas of Basic Sciences, Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Sciences Agriculture and the Sea, Health Sciences, Education Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Letters and Arts.

The University of Los Andes is currently ranked among the 5,000 universities in the world, ranked 37th in academic diffusion via the web, thanks in large part to the Saber-ULA site; also on the web it can be found among the top 60 in university rankings regarding quality and quantity of articles, reports and other types of academic documents, and among the top 1000 on the planet in general.

It maintains agreements with the main houses of studies internationally, including the University of Cambridge, the National University of Colombia, Oxford, Salamanca, Princeton, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Pontifical Javeriana University of Colombia, and the University of Pamplona as well. in Colombia,Harvard, Carlos III University of Madrid, Polytechnic University of Valencia, French universities and the University of Tehran.

Institutional Symbols

Escudo de la Universidad de Los Andes

The coat of arms of the University of Los Andes was created under the rectory of More and Rubí in 1868. The ULA symbol is essentially Christian.

Anthem of the University of Los Andes

The creation of the Anthem of the University of Los Andes dates back to 1947. The Department of Culture of the University, then under the direction of Rafael Gallegos Ortiz, opened a contest among members of the university community to select the university anthem. Professors Luis Noguera Molina, Luis Espinetti Dini and Luis Espinel were the members of the jury who had the responsibility to select the winner of that contest. The lyrics came out of the pen of the Bachelor Juan Rojas, who was born and a student of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the music was inspired by the ejidense teacher José Rafael Rivas, director of the University Orfeón ULA.

Composition

The university is distributed mainly in the three Venezuelan Andean states: Táchira, Mérida and Trujillo, having its main headquarters and rectory in the City of Mérida, in addition to the 11 faculties distributed within the limits of the aforementioned metropolis, which make up the so-called Merida Nucleus. Similarly, it has 4 autonomous nuclei located in the cities of San Cristóbal, Trujillo, El Vigía and Tovar, the latter 2 located in the southern areas of Lake Maracaibo and Valle del Mocotíes in the state of Mérida respectively, in addition to university extensions that allow the development of academic and extension activities with undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development studies in the cities of Valera, Barinas, Zea, Bailadores, Río Negro, Guanare, Barquisimeto, Maracaibo and Caracas, among others.

Physically, the university is organized in nuclei and these in turn in University Complexes, however, there are faculties that are not part of any group, but are isolated from other faculties.

University Buildings

School of Music and Art Gallery The Other Band.

Rector

The building of the rectory, is an infrastructure of a governmental nature, it serves as the headquarters of the maximum university council of this house of study, as well as the office of the Rector(a), the Vicerrector(a) Académico(a) and the Secretary(a) of the university, who represent 3 of the 4 authorities that make up the so-called governing team. Within its structure are also the Magna Classroom, the Hall Fray Juan Ramos de Lora, the Paraninfo, the Archaeological Museum of Merida, the Patio del Rectorado, the University Theatre César Rengifo, the Faculty of Dentistry, as well as some administrative offices. It is located in the heart of the city of Merida, in a perimeter consisting of 2 Ramos de Lora Avenues and 3 Independence as well as 24th and 23rd Streets.

Administrative Building

It is an 8-story high tower located in the Av. Don Tulio Febres Cordero of the City of Merida, it serves as the headquarters of the main administrative offices it confers a governmental character, because it is the office of the Deputy Administrative Rector (a) (also a member of the Governing Team).

Art Gallery «The Other Band»

This very particular architecture building is located in the center of the City of Merida, in the corner of 24th Street with Avenida 5. It hosts the Art Gallery La Otra Banda, one of the main exhibition centers of the city, and also hosts the School of performing Arts and the School of Music, two of the three schools of the Faculty of Art of the University of Los Andes.

Cores

Partial view of the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the University of Los Andes. In the façade the mural of the Venezuelan artist Zapata is estrena.

The university nuclei are physical units or campuses that concentrate several faculties, these being more specific and concentrated on the area of study. Some faculties are not part of any university nucleus. The university is made up of four primary nuclei, the Mérida Nucleus, the main headquarters of the ULA, located in the city of Mérida, and the others are foreign and are located in San Cristóbal, Trujillo, El Vigía and Tovar.

Cosmographic Soul in FACES.

Of the eleven faculties located in the Mérida Nucleus, eight are grouped into Groups and three are scattered throughout the city. Below are the University Ensembles of the Mérida Nucleus as well as the other University Nuclei that make up the physical plant of the Universidad de Los Andes:

Mérida Core Complex

• University Complex «Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez, La Hechicera»: is located at the northeast end of the city of Merida in an undeveloped area and at an altitude above 2000 m. n. m., is the largest ensemble of the city with about 1 km2 of surface. It is made up of the Faculty of Architecture and Design, the Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, the Integral Library of Architecture, Sciences and Engineering BIACI, a university dining room, a sports area (Bysbol, Football, Swimming, Karate and Taekwondo), the headquarters of the University Sports Directorate, the University Chapel «Jesus Master» as well as neighboring units among which are: the Botanical Garden of Merida, the University Bioterion and the "Santa Rosa" Experimental Station.

• University Complex «Los Chorros»: known as «Basic Cycle», since at this headquarters he had for years the initial basic cycle of the Faculty of Engineering. It is located in the Main Avenue of Milla Chorros from the city of Merida, which leads to the famous Chorros de Milla Zoo. The group is surrounded by important forest reserves that give it the emblem of the races that are imparted here, in this headquarters resides exclusively the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences and is also one of the headquarters of the School of performing arts of the Faculty of Art with its pocket theater "José Ignacio Cabrujas" and a baseball stadium, in addition to the administrative offices of: Student Admission, of Student Records

• University Complex «La Liria»: located in the north center of the city of Mérida in front of the Albarregas Recreational Complex where the Plaza Monumental Román Eduardo Sandia is located. avenida Las Américas and the avenida Los Proceres. It is the second largest in scope and the highest demographic index, it houses the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Legal and Political Sciences and Humanities and Education, in addition to a university dining room, the Center of Sports Applied Sciences, an amphitheater, as well as neighboring facilities such as the Audiovisual Media School.

• University Complex «Don Tulio Febres-Cordero»: located in the sector El Llano, crossed by the Avenue of the same name, comprises a complex of older buildings of the University, where the Faculty of Medicine with almost all their schools except the School of Nursing which is located on the corner of Avenue 8 with 24th Street; in that complex are located most of the laboratories of the Faculty of Engineering such as the Laboratory of Catalysis and Polymers of Chemical Engineering, some research centers such as the Laboratory of Metalography, Manufacturing, the area of Mechanical Engineering Thermal Sciences, the installations of the Chairs of Electrical Machines and Circuits of Electrical Engineering and the areas of Resistance of Civil Engineering Materials, etc. In the surroundings of the complex sports facilities such as the Cancha de la FEderation of Cstudents UUniversities and the Complejo de Canchas Luis Ghersy Govea, as well as the Female Student Residences "Mama Chela", the University Fire Department and the headquarters of the F.C.U., so it is one of the most dense complexes of the University, in terms of administrative units.

• University Complex «Campo de Oro»: is located in the sector known as Campo de Oro in Merida, which is located outside the Meseta del Tatuy, surrounded by Humberto Tejera Avenue. Its facilities are formed by an open field with few buildings, on this campus only the Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, as well as the addresses of: Transport, Surveillance and Maintenance, as well as the male residences and sports facilities such as the Olympic pool, the Poly-Sport Stadium, the Softball stadium, and the rugby, judo and beach volleyball training fields.

Faculties not clustered within the Merida Nucleus

• Faculty of Medicine: despite having its headquarters in the Don Tulio Febres-Cordero Complex has buildings located in other areas of the city such as the School of Nursing located in the corner of the 8th Avenue 24th Street, headquarters Psychological Research Centre between the Avenida Don Tulio Febres Cordero and the Avenida 4 Bolívar, the Institute of Clinical Immunology located in the field of Gold behind the I.A.H.U.L.A. and the Palomaris Building located on 34th Street Avenida Don Tulio Febres Cordero and the Avenida 4 Bolívarwhere the Decanato works and the main administrative offices of it.

• Faculty of Dentistry: located in the rectory building, where administrative offices, classrooms and classrooms are located, however it has other facilities such as the care module located in the La Arenita sector in the prolongation of the Humberto Tejera Avenue. Currently the university has a project to build a new headquarters within the University group «Campo de Oro».

• Faculty of Art: is the youngest faculty of the Andean university, it is located scattered within the city of Mérida, its main headquarters is in the Urb. Santa Maria Sur in the Avenida Principal de la Hoyada de Millawhere the main administrative offices are located, as well as the decanato. The Faculty consists of three schools and three headquarters, the first headquarters at the Avenida Principal de la Hoyada de Milla, you will find the School of Visual Arts and Graphic Design, and its homonymous bachelorettes, the second headquarters is located in the University group «Los Chorros» and here is the first headquarters of the School of Performing Arts and its Bachelor of Performance, next to the Chamber of Pocket Theatre "José Ignacio Cabrujas" and finally, a third headquarters of the faculty, is the building San José, where is the headquarters of the School of Music and the second headquarters of the School of performing Arts and its Bachelor of Dance and Arts of the Movement that share spaces with the "Gal".

Foreign headquarters and nuclei

View of the Cultural Center "Elbano Mendez Osuna", main headquarters of the University Nucleus «Valle del Mocotíes»

• University Nucleus «Rafael Rangel» (NURR): is the headquarters of the university for the city of Trujillo, Trujillo State. In these facilities, more than 20 races are given, mostly in the areas of: Education, Engineering, Social Sciences and Agro Sciences, among which are the Engineering of Production in Agroecosystems, Agricultural Engineering, Administration, Accounting, Social Communication, Education Ecology and Environmental Education.

• University Nucleus «Dr. Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez» (NUTULA): known as Nucleus Táchira, is located in the city of San Cristobal, Táchira State. There are 8 undergraduate races between which Social Communication highlights.

• University Nucleus «Alberto Adriani» (NUAA): located in the city of El Vigía, Mérida State and created under unanimous decree of the University Council on January 22, 2007, it is currently located in the former Hacienda La Judibana, where currently buildings, classrooms and sports, cultural and recreational facilities are built, until the time the basic cycles of the careers of civil engineering, mechanics, electric, chemistry, gegresológica and in systems are given, Its main mission is to bring university education to the residents of the vast area of the Lake of Maracaibo, including localities such as: El Vigía, Santa Barbara del Zulia, El Chivo, Santa Elena de Arenales, La Tendida, Coloncito, Tucaní, Caja Seca, New Bolivia, among others.

• University Nucleus «Valle del Mocotíes» (NUVAM): its origins are based in the 60s when a group of cultural makers requested the ULA to create a cultural extension for the population of Tovar, however its conformation as a university extension was carried out in April 2007, being its official inauguration on September 8 of the same year, and then it was changed from denomination to university degree. Since 2016, it has 4 extensions located in the Black River (Guraque Museum), Canagua (Arzobispo Chacón Museum), Caño El Tigre (Zea Museum) and Dancers (Rivas Dávila Museum) these 2 last where it is planned to start the T.S.U. races in Forestal and Gastronomy respectively.

• University Extension of "Valera": The Extension of the School of Medicine in the city of Valera was created in the year of 1961 because of the excessive demand of students of Medicine in this house of studies, today it is proposed to open the first year of the medical career, in order to decongest the school of the main core in the city of Mérida.

• University Extension of Barinas: The Extension of the School of Medicine in the city of Barinas is created on June 1, 1977 under the coordination of José León Tapia, in order to expand the offer of internships to the students of this race and in the same way extend an institutional arm to the Hospital Dr. Luis Razetti from the town.

Faculties

Work of Carlos Cruz-Díez in the University Set "La Hechicera".

Merida Astrophysics or simply the Llano del Hato Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at a height of 3,600 m. n. m. turning it into one of the world's highest enslaved observatories.

The Universidad de Los Andes is made up of eleven (11) Faculties, each of which is made up of Schools and Departments, and by majors in their specific area. The faculties are autonomous, they have a first university authority that is the Dean, in addition to the directors of each school or department that integrates it.

The Faculties and Schools of the University of Los Andes are:

Institutes and Research Centers

Other dependencies

Vista de la Torre del Instituto Autónomo Hospital Universitario de Los Andes, headquarters of different graduates and researches, in addition to being the first assistance center in the west of the country.

Auditorium and Teatro César Rengifo.

• CAMIULA, Centro de Atención Médica Integral de la Universidad de Los Andes

• Historical Archive of the University of Los Andes

• National Astronomical Observatory of Llano del Hato

• Polydeportivo Complex "Luis Ghersy"

• Polydeportivo Complex "Lourdes"

• Music School Building

• Nursing School Building

• Female Residences «Mama Chela»

• Male Residences «Pedro Rincón Gútierrez» (ULAMCD)

• APULA Headquarters

• Educational unit «Dr. Carlos Emilio Muñoz Oraá» (C.E.A.P.U.L.A.)

• Headquarters Federation of University Centres

• University firefighters

• Bioterior

• Electoral Commission

• Caparo Experimental Station

• Experimental Station The Irel

• San Eusebio Experimental Station

• Experimental Station The Caimital

• San Juan Experimental Station

• Ticoporo Experimental Station

• Orphan of the University of Los Andes

University government

Rector Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez for the sculptor Manuel de la Fuente at the Rectorate of ULA.

The supreme authority of the university resides in the University Council, which exercises government functions and is made up of the Rector, who chairs it, the Academic Vice Rector, the Administrative Vice Rector and the Secretary, in addition to the Deans of the Faculties, five representatives of the professors, three representatives of the students, a representative of the graduates and a delegate of the Ministry of Education.

Ordinarily, the members of the University Council meet once a week. However, given the specificity or seriousness of some situations, a meeting can be called at any time to hold an extraordinary Council. The Rector is the legal representative of the University and its communication body with all the authorities of the Republic and national or foreign institutions.

The maximum authority of each Faculty or Nucleus falls on its Faculty Assembly or Nucleus Assembly, made up of Honorary Professors, Full Professors, Associates, Associates, and Assistants, by student representatives and by representatives of graduates of the respective faculties and nuclei.

Each faculty also has a Faculty Council, which is the authority in charge of making autonomous decisions that concern exclusively the Faculty in which it is constituted, in the same way each nucleus has a Nucleus Council. These are made up of: the Dean of the Faculty or Vice Chancellor of the nucleus, seven representatives of the Professors, a representative of the graduates, elected by the corresponding professional association or association, two representatives of the students, elected by the regular students of the last biennium. of the career, and the Directors of the School and Institutes of the Faculty or, in their absence, by the Academic, Administrative and Extension Coordinators of the nucleus.

A dean is the head of the direction of each Faculty, as well as there is a titular Vice-rector of each nucleus. Both authorities are appointed by the Chancellor, from a shortlist selected by each Faculty Assembly or Nucleus Assembly.

Admission

Former courtyard of the ULA with the busts of José Antonio Páez, the canon Uzcátegui and Eloy Paredes.

Central square of the Faculty of Political and Legal Sciences.

Undergraduate

The university carries out two admission processes each year, admission can be achieved by various modalities:

• Selection Test: It is a general written test that evaluates the knowledge acquired by the aspirant during his years of study in the baccalaureate, and selects those who have the greatest ability to enter the university, through the qualification obtained in that examination. The test varies according to the race.
• Assignment of quotas by the Office of Planning of the University Sector (OPSU): this new modality has recently entered into force once a year by the OPSU, a public entity attached to the Ministry of University Education, and that selects a quota of applicants through an online register according to the academic index of each student.
• ULA-Gremios Convention: it is a form of admission agreed with the labor unions that integrate the university. Under this system they have the option to enter the consanguineous, legally adopted and recognized children of the entire staff of the institution, as well as the spouses and the same administrative, technical and worker staff of the university, non-professional. However, there are careers that do not have this entry option, as well as each Faculty or Nucleus requires a series of academic requirements for applicants who opt for a quota using this method.
• Venezuelan Indigenous Population.
• Artists of outstanding trajectory.
• High-competitive athletes.
• High performance: it is established for applicants who have studied Basic, Media, Divesified and Professional Education in the Region of the Andes: Mérida, Táchira, Trujillo, Barinas and Municipality Páez de Apure, who have obtained between the seventh grade of Basic Media and the first year of Media Diversified a general average of at least 18 points without approximation.
• Fray Juan Ramos de Lora Program: it is a modality designed to guarantee the admission to the most talented, bright and outstanding students, coming from the most important public and renowned campuses of the Andean Region. These are selected through different individual tests of high rigorousness to determine who are the best. Later For one year the applicants will have to study different subjects, which are dictated by excellent specialists in the facilities of the University of De los Andes to acquire previous knowledge where they will identify in which university career they would have better performance, and finally get their quota of admission to the University of Los Andes the students who manage to stand out more within the group of pre-selected.

Postgraduate

The procedures for admission to a Postgraduate course at the Universidad de Los Andes are carried out directly at the Faculty or Nucleus to which it is attached.

Media

Radius

ULA FM is a regional station with entities from the states of Táchira and Trujillo. Its broadcasts began on March 21, 1997 as the first university-based commercial station, its dial is 107.7 and its programming is general and educational. In 2007, the society Circuito Radial Universitario de la ULA was established with the opening of new radio stations in Táchira (106.5 FM) and Trujillo (97.9 FM). Its legal domicile is at AV. 3 between 20th and 30th streets, La Eva building, I floor.

Television

The University of the Andes (ULA) had a television station called ULA TV, in which its programming included educational programs, art, history, documentaries, and programming dedicated to the youngest. However, it is currently off the air since June 15, 2017 by order of CONATEL.

University Authorities

Rectors

*Official of the Rectoral Period

Deans of Faculties

*Official Decanal Period. Bonucci to date is still in power without calling for elections, thus becoming the most deferred in the History of this loable house of study

**Deposed by decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela

*** Named directly by the Rector and approved by the University Council

Trade Institutions

At the Universidad de Los Andes, the creation of unions and guilds corresponds to professors, administrative workers and labor personnel, of which the following are currently (2008):

• ULA Employees Association (AEULA).
• Association of ULA Teachers (APULA)[2].
• Union of Graphic Arts of the ULA (SAGEULA).
• Union of ULA Professionals ([3]).
• Union of ULA Sports Professionals. (SIPRDEULA).
• ULA Workers' Union (SITRAULA).
• Union of ULA Workers (SOULA).