The story
19th Century
The origins of the University of León date back to 1843, with the creation of the Normal School of Teachers or Teacher Training Seminary of Public Instruction, which later became the Faculty of Education. In 1852, the Subordinate Veterinary School was established, which eventually became the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the university's most renowned and prestigious faculty. No new educational centers were created during the rest of the 19th century, and the next developments came with the turn of the century.
20th Century
In 1914, the Elementary School of Commerce was founded following repeated efforts by the leaders of the León Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 1943, the Subordinate Veterinary School became the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, which, in turn, established the Biological Sciences section in 1961, although its activities did not commence until 1968.
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was the true cornerstone of the University of León. In addition to housing the Biological Sciences section, it hosted the Law program, the San Raimundo de Peñafort Academy, and the SEU (Student Union), all affiliated with the University of Oviedo. Furthermore, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine also accommodated the School of Mine Overseers and Metallurgical Factories, founded in 1943, which later became the Higher Technical School of Mining Engineering. Similarly, the School of Agricultural Overseers, established in 1963, became the origin of the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering.
The establishment of the university
The path to establishing the university required surpassing the legal requirement of three faculties needed to be recognized as a university. In 1970, the General Education Law, which allowed the incorporation of existing university schools, spurred the León community to begin the process of creating the University of León.
In 1972, the León University College was founded, sponsored by Caja León, now known as Caja España. Initially, it offered programs in Philosophy and Arts and later expanded to include Law. The Biological Sciences section became a faculty in 1975.
Read the full text
The transformation was completed in 1979, during the democratic era, with the publication of Law 29/1979, which officially established the University of León. The new university catalog included technical industrial engineering schools, nursing schools (then managed by the León Provincial Council), the teacher training school in Ponferrada (sponsored by the Catholic Church), and the school of social work.
21st Century
Today, the University of León has two campuses: one in León, located on Vegazana grounds, which once belonged to the Diocese of León and were later purchased by Caja León (now Caja España) and donated for the creation of the León University College, and another in Ponferrada, situated around the old "Camino de Santiago" hospital and inaugurated in 1996. Together, the university offers 39 undergraduate degrees, 38 Master's programs, and 17 doctoral programs, along with 11 proprietary degrees, forming the educational offerings across its two campuses.
In recent years, the university has signed significant collaboration agreements, including one with the University of Washington, leading to the establishment of the University of Washington León Center, its second European campus, and another with the Xiangtan University, which facilitated the creation of the Confucius Institute of the University of León. Both universities have their own facilities in the city: the first at the Palace of the Count Luna and the second at Calle Jesús Rubio, 2, near the Language Center of the University of León.
From Wikipedia’s article on University of León, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4