The story
Founded by Andrés Bello on Sep 17, 1842.1
In 1841 the minister of public education, Manuel Montt, conceived the idea of funding a corporation for the "advancement and development of sciences and humanities". Andrés Bello a Venezuelan poet and humanist, formulated the project which with small modifications became a law on November 19, 1842, creating the Universidad de Chile.
The foundation answered the need to modernize the country which a little more than two decades before had become independent from Spain. It replaced the Real Universidad de San Felipe, which was established in 1738.
The university was formally opened on September 17, 1843. During this period, the university consisted of five faculties (facultades): Humanities & Philosophy, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Law & Political Sciences, Medicine, and Theology. During its first years the university gave considerable support to education, institutional organization (such as the "Civil Code", a model for America), the building of the road network to join the territory, and the energy and production infrastructure.
By 1931, the number of colleges had increased to six: Philosophy & Education Sciences, Legal & Social Sciences, Biology & Medical Sciences, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Agronomy & Veterinary, and Fine Arts.
The institution has also contributed to the formation of the intellectual elites and leaders of the country. Most of the Chilean presidents have studied in its lecture halls, as well as people with prominent roles in politics, business and culture.
Major reforms during the military regime of 1973–1989
During Augusto Pinochet's military regime from 1973 to 1989, the university experienced many profound changes. On October 2, 1973, Decree number 50 of 1973 stated that the university's presidents would be designated by the military regime.
The second major change came on January 3, 1981, when another decree completely restructured the university. All of its provincial campuses were separated, cojoined with provincial campuses of the Universidad Técnica del Estado (now Universidad de Santiago de Chile and Universidad de Atacama) and designated as separate universities, such as the Universidad de Talca, Universidad de Valparaiso, the Instituto Pedagógico (Pedagogical Institute, now the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación), the Universidad de Antofagasta, the Universidad de Tarapacá, Instituto Professional de Osorno (now Universidad de los Lagos), Instituto Professional de Chillán (now Universidad del Bío-Bío), Universidad de la Frontera, and Universidad de la Serena. Some faculties, such as the one located in avenida Portugal and which now belongs to the Universidad Mayor, were privatized and sold at bargain prices to Pinochet cronies.
These changes were orchestrated by influential advisors to the dictatorship as a way to moderate the university's influence on the nation's politics, economics, public policies and intellectual movements, considered leftist by Augusto Pinochet and other right-wing government officials.
Read the full text
In spite of the complete restructuring of the University of Chile, it still remains Chile's most prestigious university in terms of research, applicant preferences and social impact.
From Wikipedia’s article on University of Chile, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3