The story
History
The university originated from the Escola de Farmácia e Química (School of Pharmacy and Chemistry) in 1895. It was expanded in 1896, when the Engineering College was created. This was the beginning of higher education in Rio Grande do Sul. In the end of the 19th century, the Medicine and Law schools were founded, the latter being the first school of humanities tertiary education in the state.
In November 1934, the Universidade de Porto Alegre (University of Porto Alegre) was founded, initially composed of the following units:
Engineering School, with its Astronomy, Electrical and Industrial Chemistry institutes;
Medical College, with its Dentistry and Pharmacy institutes;
Law College, with the School of Commerce;
Communication College (called FABICO), which comprises the Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations programs;
Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine Colleges;
Philosophy, Science and Linguistics Colleges; and
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Institute of Fine Arts
The third transformation took place in 1947, when it became the Universidade do Rio Grande do Sul (University of Rio Grande do Sul), URGS, incorporating the Law and Dentistry Colleges from Pelotas and with the Pharmacy College from Santa Maria. These units, however, separated from URGS when the Federal University of Pelotas and the Federal University of Santa Maria were founded.
In December 1950, control of the university passed to the Federal Government. After that, the name of the institution became Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul).
The institute also has a profound political history. Between 1964 and 1969, during the worst years of the military dictatorship, 33 professors were eliminated, as well as a good number of students. Many high-ranking officials, including three presidents - Getúlio Vargas, João Goulart and Dilma Rousseff - as well as the majority of the history, philosophy and social sciences teachers in smaller universities throughout the state were educated in the institution. The climate of intellectual debate and analysis of public issues has also been important in training students (often with scholarships and/or student apprenticeships) to work for non-governmental and governmental organisations which contribute to the critical reflection and planning of development programs.
History
Lauri Miranda Silva, Professor
From Wikipedia’s article on Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4