University of Basel

History

The University of Basel was founded in connection with the Council of Basel. It was during the years the catholic clergy resided in Basel, a temporary university was established between the years 1432 und 1448. In May 1432 it was authorized for Simon de Valla from Venice to lecture on canon law, in 1434 Jacques d'Attigny from France and was also permitted to lecture on canon law in Basel. d'Attigny had before been lecturing canon law at the University of Rome. In 1437 Demetrius was called to lecture Greek language. Also the function of a bedel is mentioned, but there was no mention of a dean or a university order. The same year Pope Eugene IV attempted to move the council to Ferrara, but many involved in Basel stayed and kept negotiating and in 1439 the council elected a counter pope in the figure of the Duke of Savoy Amadeus VIII, who would become known as Felix V. Felix V then established a formal "University of the Clergy" (German: Kurienuniversität), which was inaugurated in November 1440 with a mass in the Barfüsser Church. In 1448, the German King Frederick III came to an agreement with Pope Nicholas V, the successor of Eugen IV and ordered the city to remove the security of the councilors. The university was then formally closed in July 1448 and the clergy moved on to Lausanne. After they left, the former lecturers urged for a regular university to be established. The deed of foundation given in the form of a Papal bull by Pope Pius II on 12 November 1459 in Mantua and the official opening ceremony was held on 4 April 1460, the day of Saint Ambrose in the Minster of Basel. Originally the University of Basel was decreed to have four faculties—arts, medicine, theology, and jurisprudence. From 1497, the Grand Council of Basel discussed whether the university was to be closed and only in 1501, the year Basel joined the Swiss Confederation, it was decided not to close the university. The faculty of arts served until 1818 as the foundation for the other three academic subjects. In the eighteenth century as Basel became more commercial, the university, one of the centres of learning in the Renaissance, slipped into insignificance. Enrollment which had been over a thousand around 1600, dropped to sixty in 1785 with eighteen professors. The professors themselves were mostly sons of the elite.

Over the course of centuries as many scholars came to the city, Basel became an early centre of book printing and humanism. Around the same time as the university itself, the Basel University Library was founded. Today it has over three million books and writings and is the largest library in Switzerland.

Located in what was once a politically volatile area, the university's fate often ebbed and flowed with regional political developments, including the Reformation, the Kantonstrennung (separation of the Canton of Basel City from Basel Land), and both World Wars. These factors affected student attendance, funding, university-government relations. In 1833 the Canton of Basel split in two with the Federal Diet requiring that the canton's assets, including the books at the university library, be divided—two-thirds going to the new half canton of Basel-Landschaft. The city, Basel-Stadt, had to buy back this share and the university became so impoverished that it drastically reduced its course offerings. Students were expected to continue their education after two years or so at a German university.

Seal

Since 1460, the seal of the university showed a Virgin surrounded with sun rays standing a crescent moon as mentioned in the Revelation of John. Below the moon is the coat of arms of Basel. In her right hand, she holds a scepter, and on her left arm sits Jesus the child. The religious motive is described to denote the religious bond the university counted with at the beginning of its existence. The seal was also used after the reformation and used continuously until 1992.

Reputation and rankings

Well-respected rankings attest to the University of Basel's international academic performance:

Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE) (2021): 92

CWTS Leiden Ranking (2019): 53

Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) (2019): 87

Organisation

University administration

Since 1 January 1996, the University of Basel has been independent. The University Law of 1995 stipulates that, "The University of Basel is an institution established under public law. It has its own legal personality and right to self-government." As the entity that formally receives the Performance Mandate (Leistungsauftrag) for the university from both supporting cantons, the University Council (Universitätsrat) is the supreme decision-making body of the university. The council consists of eleven voting members and three non-voting members, including the president, the executive director, and the secretary of the council.

Beneath the University Council are the Senate (Regenz) and the President's Board. The 80-member Senate consists of the senior members of the President's Board, faculty deans, professors, lecturers and research assistants, assistants, students, and administrative and technical employees.

The President's Office is tasked with leading the overall university business. It consists of the president and her staff, a General Secretariat, an Administrative Directorate, the Communications and Marketing Office, and two respective vice-presidents for research and education.

Faculties and departments

The University of Basel currently houses seven faculties:

Theology

Law

Medicine

Department of Biomedicine Archived 26 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine (a joint venture among the University of Basel, the University Hospital, and the University Children's Hospital)

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Department of Public Health

Department of Clinical Research

Department of Sport, Exercise and Health Archived 3 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine

Humanities and Social Sciences (Phil I)

Department of Ancient Civilizations Archived 9 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine

Department of History Archived 9 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine

Department of Social Sciences

Department Arts, Media, Philosophy Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Department of Languages and Literatures Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Digital Humanities Lab

Science (Phil II)

Biozentrum

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

Interdisciplinary institutions

Institute for European Global Studies

Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS)

Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB) Archived 3 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Institute of Education

Associated institutes

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)[1]

Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI)

Basel Institute on Governance [2] Archived 24 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine

Swiss Centre for Rescue, Emergency and Disaster Medicine (SZRNK)

Swisspeace

Notable alumni and faculty

The university is counted among the country's leading institutions of higher learning and has a large number of politicians, scientists and thinkers as professors and alumni from around the world:

Emil Abderhalden (1877–1950), Swiss biochemist and physiologist

Bonifacius Amerbach (1495–1562) Swiss jurist

Johann Konrad Ammann (1669–1724, Swiss physicist and educator of deaf children)

Werner Arber (1929–), Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978

Johann Jakob Bachofen (1815–1887), Swiss antiquarian and jurist

Karl Barth (1886–1968), Swiss Protestant theologian

Caspar Bauhin (1560–1624), Swiss botanist

Johann Bauhin (1541–1613), Swiss botanist

Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), Swiss mathematician and physicist

Jacob Bernoulli (1655–1705), prominent Swiss mathematician, after whom Bernoulli numbers are named

Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748), Swiss mathematician

Johann Georg Birnstiel (1858–1927), Swiss writer and clergyman

James Montgomery Boice (1938–2000), American theologian and pastor

Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897), Swiss historian

Student life

The university hosts several formal institutions that are intended to serve the needs of its students. The Student Advice Center provides advice on academic degree programs and career opportunities. The Student Services provides information on applications, grants, mobility, exchanges, and disability services.

Student organisations

There are also a variety of organisations that cater to international students, such as local chapters of Toastmasters and AIESEC, and associations that perform community services (Beraber, for instance, provides remedial lessons to immigrant youth). There is a foreign affairs association (Foraus), a Model United Nations team, and various choirs and orchestras. There are also various religious groups.

A number of other student groups exist out of formal venues. The most recognisable are the "Studentenverbindungen," traditional student associations dating from the 19th century that organise social events, share common uniforms, and often focus on particular hobbies, such as sword fighting. Such associations include the Akademische Turnerschaft Alemannia zu Basel, AKW Raurica, Helvetia Basel, Jurassia Basiliensis, Schwizerhüsli, A.V. Froburger, and Zofingia. Membership in many is restricted to men, though A.V. Froburger also accepts women.

University sports

University Sports provides a gym, fitness classes, and sport and dance camps to students and employees of the university.

Student union

The Studentische Körperschaft der Universität Basel (skuba) speaks on behalf of the students and represents their needs and interests. It acts as an official student representative and has no political or religious affiliations.

Alumni association

The university has a general alumni association, AlumniBasel, as well as specific alumni associations for the Europainstitut, Medicine, Law, Business and Economics, Dentistry, and Nursing.