Eastern University Turns 67 Years Old
The Excelencias Group wants you to delve deeper into the history and culture of a sexagenarian Santiago-based educational and research institution: the Eastern University. The Eastern college reaches its 67th anniversary by making “Science and Conscience”.
Click on Santiago de Cuba: A City of 500 Years
The second higher education center of the country and the first one at the eastern region –that’s why it was named Eastern University (UO is the Spanish acronym)– was founded on October 10, 1947, during a formal act carried out at the Provincial Government of Santiago de Cuba, with the presence of authorities of the province and La Demajagua’s bell.
Since the very beginning, this public, democratic and autonomous institution fostered the way of knowledge and the youngest generations have always played the leading role in the main historic developments.
Both students and professors condemned the coup d'état headed by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952. In November 1956 Batista’s dictatorship closed the university’s classrooms, since the University Student Federation (FEU is the Spanish acronym) was a key instrument to revolutionary actions of 26 de Julio Movement.
Once the classrooms became the space par excellence for higher teaching and scientific research, thousands of students were given lessons on Pedagogy, Philosophy, Law, Market Sciences and Chemical Industrial Engineering, and the Commerce School was the first seat.
The university presently features over thirty degree courses, such as English Language, Art History, Journalism, Mechanical Engineering and Sociology.
The General Library was built in 1951 and was also used as Main Lecture Theater, Conference Hall, etc. A year later it was named Francisco Martínez Anaya. On January 3, 1959 it was the stage of a historic act: the setting-up of the Revolutionary Provisional Government.
Both professors and students can find up-to-date bibliography at this library, as well as collections of the institution’s publications, the “Economy Yearbook”, magazines “Santiago”, “UO”, “Chemistry” and “Chemical Technology”.
It also includes other spaces that contribute to the cultural promotion among its members, such as the Museum of Archaeology and “Charles Ramsdem” Natural History.
Nowadays, Science Dr. Martha Mesa Valenciano continues the work started by the first rector and founder of the higher studies center Felipe Salines Morlote (1947-1959).
Research is an utmost pillar of the Eastern University and that’s why there are several Study Centers that enhance its national and international prestige, including the Applied Renewable Energy Group (GERA), National Center of Applied Electromagnetism (CENEA), (CORPUS), Energy Efficiency (CEEFE), Multidisciplinary Studies on Coastlines (CEMZOC), Pattern Recognition and Data Mining (CERPAMID), Industrial Biotechnology (CEBI) and Studies for Integral Development of Culture (CEDIC), master’s from these last centers have been given the Iberian-American University Association Postgraduate Course International Award (AUIP).
The UO has signed International Cooperation Agreements with universities from Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy among other countries.
Among the international events to take place at the easternmost Higher Studies Center we can mention the Local Development Congress, November 4 – 7; the Art, Genre, Society and Power Lecture, on November 19 – 21; Chemistry Lecture on December 3 - 5.
