The story
Creation
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is a direct descendant of Brazil's first higher education courses. Created on September 7, 1920 (Brazilian Independence Day) by president Epitácio Pessoa through the Law Decree 14343, the institution was initially named "University of Rio de Janeiro". Its history, however, is much vaster and parallel to that of the country's cultural, economic and social development (many of its courses trace back to the very foundations of Brazilian higher education system).
In its inception, the university was composed by the "Escola Politécnica" (Polytechnic School, founded on December 17, 1792 as Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design, during the reign of Portuguese Queen Maria I),, which subsequently became the Royal Military Academy of Rio de Janeiro.
The Medicine School, Faculdade Nacional de Medicina, traces back to April 2, 1808, when Dom João VI founded it under the name of Academy of Medicine and Surgery. The Law School, "Faculdade Nacional de Direito", came to exist after the fusion between the College of Legal and Social Sciences and the Free College of Law - both recognized by the Law Decree 693 of October 1, 1891).
To these initial schools many others were progressively added, such as Fine Arts, "Escola Nacional de Belas Artes" and the "Faculdade Nacional de Filosofia" (National College of Philosophy). Thanks to such achievements, the UFRJ took a crucial role in the implantation of Brazilian higher education, which was in fact an aspiration from Brazilian intellectual elite since the country's colonial era. Due to the longstanding tradition of its pioneering courses, the university functioned as the "scholar mill" upon which most of Brazil's subsequent higher education institutions were molded.
Restructuring
In 1937, Getúlio Vargas's minister of education, Gustavo Capanema, announced a reform of the education system, under which the institution changed its name to the "University of Brazil". The change reflected the government's aim of controlling the quality of the national higher education system - mainly by setting a standard by which all other universities would have to conform. Such decision was strongly influenced by the French concept of university - that in which component schools are isolated in order to assume a specific professionalizing teaching method under strong state control -, which contrasted to the German model seen, for example, in the University of São Paulo, founded in 1934.
The early 1950s marked the institutionalization of research in the university, which consequentially led to the implementation of research institutes, full-time academic staff, instruction of highly specialized professors and the establishment of partnership with national and international financing agencies.
In 1958, occasion for the 150-year anniversary of the UFRJ's Medicine School, the university was faced by the urgent needs of a structural reform that stimulated deeper participation and cooperation among professors and students with college affairs and a more rational, efficiency-based use of public resources. After an ample sequence of debates and public consultations, the resulting plans for reforms in University of Brazil were quickly absorbed by the scientific community, set a new standard for national college planning and influenced even, among others, Brazilian communication industries and government's decisional spheres.
In 1965, under the government of general Castelo Branco, the university would achieve plain financial, didactic and academic autonomy - a condition called, according to Brazilian legislature, "autarchy" - and acquire its current name, which followed the still-active standard for federal university naming (i.e.: Federal University of name of State or region).
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After the reformation process, the university was propelled into a deeper and riskier restructuring phase that aimed to make the institution fit for the recently approved Law Decree of March 13, 1967 - a situation widely regarded as too bold for a nation with recent history as an independent territory and a culture that, inheriting traits from the Portuguese colonial rule, heavily emphasized tradition and stability.
Present day
The UFRJ keeps an "open-doors policy" regarding foreigners who arrive at it to disseminate or accumulate expertise; this also allows for internship or job opportunities for its teaching staff in different institutions and areas of research. International interexchange and partnerships are profuse, leading to reformist tendencies that most of times successfully coexist with the university's strong traditional ties.
The UFRJ adopts the Roman goddess Minerva - patroness of the Arts and all professions; also associated with knowledge and intellectuality - as its mascot, and many sculptures depicting the goddess are seem scattered throughout the institution. In 2000, the rectory requested to the Federal Justice that the university's name was changed back to "University of Brazil", as the old name has been changed by an arbitrary decree during the country's years of military dictatorship. The request was deferred, so it is correct to address the university by either names.
The university manages an ambitious program for extension courses, consisting mostly in providing full-time education to financially debilitated non-students of varying education backgrounds. Besides, the UFRJ contributes heavily to Rio de Janeiro's public health with its nine college hospitals, providing for over one thousand vacancies, and its deep integration with the State's health treatment network. In 2010, the institution achieved a "very good" evaluation and a maximum score in the Ministry of Education's General Index of College Courses ("Índice Geral de Cursos", or IGC in Portuguese). Its clear emphasis on research alludes to the personal motto of one of its most famous and distinguished scientists:In a university, one teaches because one researches.
From Wikipedia’s article on Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4