History of the University
Founded on November 16, 1948 by a group of young people led by Mario Laserna Pinzón, the Universidad de los Andes is the first private higher education institution in Colombia of secular nature and independent from political parties, unconnected with defending the interests of any social or economic group.
In fact, these characteristics turned the Los Andes University into a front-line educational project at a historical turning point in the country, in which private universities had the influence of partisan struggle within their classrooms.
Within this historical context, "the beginning of Los Andes did not only obey to the desire of bringing another university to life, or to an exclusively educational interest, but rather to the intention of creating a new country. To the purpose of educating and training new generations to build a new nation," according to Francisco Pizano de Brigard, former president of the University.
Hence, since its foundation, the goal of Los Andes has been to provide an education of excellence, which contributes to closing the gap of knowledge in Colombia with the world's scientific advances.
With its new vision - later on adopted by other Colombian universities - Uniandes opened in 1949 with seven programs, 79 students, and 16 professors.
Thus, in 2008, the Universidad de los Andes celebrated 60 years of excellence at the service of the country, with a consolidated academic project and a clear goal: Becoming a University engaged in research, which continues contributing to the development of Colombia.
Today, the Universidad de los Andes has a faculty characterized by high academic and human qualities, which are recognized in the country for their excellent education, with indices well above the national average. The year 2008 ends with 517 equivalent full-time professors, 51% of whom hold a doctorate degree, a figure which exceeds the country's 3% standard by far.
The Universidad de los Andes stands out for being the private higher education institution in Colombia with the highest number of groups acknowledged by Colciencias (112 of their 135 endorsed groups). Up until 2007, 59 of such Groups were rated as category "A" owing to their qualities of excellence with regard to research and for setting the pace for transformation in various academic fields.
Thus, at the end of the year 2008, the University had 12,150 students in 28 undergraduate programs, 1,611 students in 33 master's degree programs, and 88 students in 15 doctorate degree programs.
For additional information, go to:
http://www.uniandes.edu.co/la_universidad/informacion_general/Historia.php.