The story
With his background as a teacher at Taman Siswa, Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, H. Probosutedjo established Akademi Wiraswasta Dewantara (Dewantara Entrepreneur Academy; AWD) on November 10, 1981. Its groundbreaking was conducted by H. Adam Malik, former Indonesian vice president. The name was taken from a national education figure: Ki Hajar Dewantara.
Before it had its own campus, lectures were given at Gedung Yayasan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (the Building of Indonesian Migrant Workers’s Foundation – YTKI) on Jalan Gatot Soebroto. In 1984, Yayasan Menara Bhakti (Menara Bhakti Foundation) built the Menara Bhakti Campus.
In 1985, plans were made to erect a university-level institution. With a decree of the chairman of Menara Bhakti Foundation, they in 1985 formed a committee to establish a university. On the committee were chairman Dr. Sri-Edi Swasono assisted by H. Abdul Madjid, Dr. Iman Santosa Sukardi, Dr. M. Enoch Markum, Ir. Suharyadi, M.S., Soekarno and Prijo S. Parwoto.
Kopertis Region III (Responsible for Jadetabek region) granted an operational permit to Mercu Buana University. On October 22, 1985 Mercu Buana was officially declared as a university with faculties and departments as follows:
Faculty of Engineering, with Architecture and Civil Engineering Departments
Faculty of Agriculture, with Agribusiness and Agronomy Departments
Economics, with Management and Accounting Departments
The number of students in the first year was 118. A year later, based upon assessment result conducted by Kopertis Region III, the six departments received “Registered” status from Minister of Education and Culture.
From Wikipedia’s article on Mercu Buana University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3