Complutense University of Madrid

The current Complutense University of Madrid is the one founded by Cardinal Cisneros as a consequence of the Bullated Letter “Inter cetera”, granted by Alexander VI, on April 13, 1499, to grant the Cardinal the privilege of founding and building a College of Schoolchildren. which should be located in Alcalá de Henares. Cisneros ordered the construction of the Colegio Mayor San Ildefonso a month before the Charter was granted, with the first stone being laid in March 1499. The idea was to create the Complutense College in which the teachings of Theology, Canon Law and Arts would be taught. Liberals. The papal bullada letter grants, precisely, authorization for that, “a College of students where teachings from the Faculties of Theology, Canon Law and Arts are read.” From the beginning, that College was based in the place where Complutum had been located, the Roman city of the 1st century BC. The works finished in 1508 and that year the first students began to study. On October 17, the first Rector of the University – Pedro del Campo – was elected, and the Course was inaugurated on the 18th with a lesson on the moral philosophy of Aristotle. Cisneros's initial idea reproduced the content of the studies of the medieval European Universities - those that followed the General Studies - in which Theology, Medicine and Jurisprudence were studied, with the Liberal Arts teachings being preparatory. The Cardinal intended with the collegiate structure to allow people without resources who were welcomed and granted scholarships to study. After multiple vicissitudes suffered by the University located in Alcalá, which went from the initial moments of glory to a considerable decline, in 1821, in the General Regulations of Public Instruction, the creation of the Central University of Madrid was ordered, being suppressed for one year. later the one settled in Alcalá.

The location, in a second attempt, of the University in Madrid - with the name of Central - occurred from 1836. It was not until 1837 that the transfer of the Faculties or Studies was completed; At that time they were those of Theology, Philosophy, Canons and Jurisprudence (the Faculty was that of Canons and coexisted with Jurisprudence Studies), Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacy (which was considered a Study and not a Faculty). In 1843 there was no longer any vestige of the institution founded by Cisneros in Alcalá. The University, already based in Madrid, was called “Literaria de Madrid” until 1850, recovering the name “Central” from this last year. With the Pidal Plan of 1845, the Faculties were established, which, with some variation on those existing in 1837, were: Theology, Sciences, Law, Medicine and Pharmacy (which was no longer considered a Study to be a Faculty, when the Faculty of Medical Sciences was split from 1843 in two Faculties –Medicine and Pharmacy-) and Philosophy and Letters, then considered a “Minor Faculty”, in contrast to the previous ones which were “Major Faculties”. In 1847, Philosophy became the “Major Faculty.” In 1852 the Faculties of Theology were suppressed, although they were reinstated in 1854 in four Universities -Central, Seville, Zaragoza and Santiago de Compostela-, consolidating this situation with the Moyano Law of 1857. With ups and downs and successive regulations that modified the university studies of Theology, they continued for a few more years. The definitive disappearance occurred in 1868. Also in 1852, the San Bernardo Auditorium was inaugurated. In 1858, in addition to the six Faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Letters, Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, Law, Medicine and Pharmacy), the following Schools were integrated into the Central University: Royal Conservatory of Music and Declamation, Normal of First Education , Agriculture, Architecture, Diplomacy, Mechanical and Chemical Engineers, Veterinary Medicine and Commerce.

Starting in 1868, after the fall of Isabel II, during the years of the Revolutionary Sexennium, a period of radical and exciting reforms began. The inaugural speech of the 1868-1869 academic year was given by the newly appointed Rector, Fernando de Castro, and explained the guidelines of the academic policy of the new authorities: independence of science and teaching with respect to the Government and Church, autonomy of the professor in the expression of their thoughts and professional ethics in the development of their academic activity. These same postulates, of clear Krausist inspiration, were defended by Francisco Giner de los Ríos, who inspired a university policy where freedom of teaching was accentuated and substantial reforms were proposed in the academic organization, including greater university autonomy, the suppression - in 1870 - of the university nature of the bachelor's degree and the elimination of Theology studies. Many of the utopian initiatives failed in the political turmoil of the Sexennium. The monarchical Restoration, in 1875, brought with it a more conservative attitude in the political managers of university education; The few innovations approved in the previous stage were curtailed. These limitations gave rise, once again, to a confrontation in which part of the university community intervened, in what has come to be called 'the second university question'. Despite the idealistic measures designed during the Sexennium and the swings between the conservative and liberal governments of the Restoration, the university structure designed by Moyano remained, basically, unchanged. After almost half a century of life, university legislation had become obsolete: society demanded new professional profiles and research, which began to be developed at the University, supported by figures such as José Rodríguez Carracido, Ignacio Bolívar, Ramón Menéndez Pidal or Santiago Ramón and Cajal had a bad fit, in academic and infrastructure terms, in that obsolete university model. A thorough reform was necessary.

The crisis of '98 highlighted the ills of the country and emphasized the need for an in-depth reform of education in all its grades. The creation of the Ministry of Public Instruction, in 1900, marked a new stage in the history of Spanish universities; who held this position for the first time, Antonio García Alix, launched a reform in the university study plans, in a process of adaptation to those established in European universities. In the line of university reforms that inspired the work of successive ministers of public education in the first years of the 20th century, the creation of the Board for Expansion of Studies is framed, from which a policy of scholarships abroad and of establishing research laboratories, professors from the University of Madrid had an active presence there. The reformist impulse of the first decade was tempered by political and social circumstances, both Spanish and international. Only at the end of the 1910s, a line of innovation was glimpsed in university policy, with the promulgation, in May 1919, of a Royal Decree on university autonomy, which - despite governmental inconsistencies - allowed the elaboration of a 'Statute' , where limited academic independence was recognized for the University of Madrid. This legislative framework was left in suspense during the Primo de Rivera Dictatorship, which developed its own concept of university autonomy, within the legislative measures that characterized this dictatorial period. The second great engine in the modernization of the Central University during the first third of the 20th century was the construction of the University City. The project started in the spring of 1929, when the Construction Board of the University City was established, under the protection of Alfonso XIII. The dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera pursued a double objective: to relocate the troubled mass of students outside the city center and to present an extensive project linked to the creation of infrastructure. The Construction Board was in charge of managing the acquisition or transfer of the land in La Moncloa and the architect Modesto López Otero directed the works. The proclamation of the Second Republic determined the suppression of the fragile university framework outlined by the Primoriverist Dictatorship, at the same time strengthened the University City project. The republican ideology introduced novelties in the design of new study plans and in the academic organization: in September 1931 the government launched, on an experimental basis, a new study plan for the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of Madrid, which granted a pre-autonomy regime. The spirit of these plans was expressed and expanded in the draft Law on the Bases of University Education, presented by the Minister of Public Instruction Fernando de los Ríos in March 1933. A modern university was defined there, training man, professional and of the researcher. Throughout the 1930s, the works on the University City progressed at a good pace; In January 1933, the first building on the campus was officially inaugurated: the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. In 1936 the central core of the project was completed: some buildings had been inaugurated, allowing teaching activity in them, and others were close to completion. During the civil war, the grounds of the University City became a permanent war front, which made the daily development of academic activity impossible. A large part of the Madrid university teaching staff, following the instructions of the Ministry of Public Instruction, moved to Valencia.

Shortly before the war ended, Franco's government had already appointed the first Rector of the Dictatorship, Professor Pío Zabala y Lera, who was responsible for implementing the new plans that the Franco authorities designed for the University. The exile and purge of the university teaching staff significantly reduced the faculty of the University of Madrid, nearly 40 percent of its teaching staff was affected. In 1943, the Law of Organization of the Spanish University would come into force, valid until 1970 and which marked the coordinates of the Francoist university. With it, the centralist structure of the Spanish university was certified (only in Madrid would the title of doctor be achieved until 1954); The Rector – appointed directly by the Government – was recognized as the highest authority of the University (a broader authority and with greater presence than ever); The Church (which incorporated the teaching of religion in the study plans), the Army (which would be in charge of the, then also mandatory, physical education) and the Falange (in charge of organizing students and teachers) were involved in university work. , by mandatory affiliation, in the SEU and in the Spanish Service of University Professors). The new law also recognized in Madrid the existence of two new faculties, that of Veterinary Medicine (heir to the School of Veterinary Medicine, which dates back to the end of the 18th century) and that of Political and Economic Sciences. Between 1951 and 1956, Pedro Laín Entralgo took the reins of the Madrid rectorate, inaugurating a time in which the university government relaxed, even minimally, the rigid tutelage over academic life. In 1956, the celebration of a University Congress of Young Writers authorized by the rector Laín, supported the dissemination of a manifesto written by students such as Javier Pradera, Enrique Múgica and Ramón Tamames, where a break with the SEU was proposed. Tensions increased and students (for the first time since the civil war) demonstrated. In the University City but, above all, in the streets of San Bernardo and Alberto Aguilera, the events reached their most violent point. The clashes ended with the closure of the University; Laín Entralgo resigned as Rector and Franco dismissed the Minister of Education, Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez. During the years of Pedro Laín's rectorship, the first Schools were founded, as a way to teach teachings not contemplated in the faculties and that, years later, would themselves transform into new faculties. This is the case of the School of Statistics (1952) and the School of Psychology and Psychotechnics (1953). The rector and ministerial change determined a new stage in which many of the educational budgets of the first Franco regime definitively entered into crisis. The university students opted for new avenues of social and political participation, which determined the loss of prominence of the SEU, which would end up disappearing in 1965, when Minister Manuel Lora Tamayo certified its ineffectiveness to control the protest movement. The student problem was treated as a matter of public order, with the clear support of the academic authorities. The same harshness was maintained to control the dissidence of professors, as shown by the expulsion, in February 1965, of the Madrid professors López Aranguren and García Calvo and the professor in Salamanca, Enrique Tierno Galván. In 1962, in a social and economic framework different from that arising from the civil war, a thorough renovation of the University was necessary: new categories of teaching staff, a more effective academic organization and better adaptation to the needs of the students were required. . Already in 1962 the University acquired the status of an “autonomous body” attached to the Ministry of Education. In 1965 the University Education Law came to light. In this legislative framework, some higher education, such as artistic education, were incorporated into the space of the University City. The principles that inspired this norm were incorporated into the General Education Law of 1970, once the most reformist approaches reached the Ministry through Villar Palasí; Under this Law, the University of Madrid was renamed the Complutense University of Madrid and adopted its first effective statutes.

Upon Franco's death, the University experienced the same uncertainty and interim nature as the rest of Spanish society. The approval of the Constitution and democratic consolidation allowed the promulgation of new university legislation. The University Reform Law of 1983 laid the foundations for a modern university model: the government of the University fell on the academic community itself; Decision-making is democratized and university departments assume the organization of teaching and research. All this is reflected in the new Statutes, approved in 1985 and reformed in 1991. The University has had to adapt to the administrative organization of the State, established in the 1978 Constitution, in which powers in educational matters are attributed to the autonomous communities. . In our case, the assumption of university powers by the Community of Madrid took place in 1995. The opening to society led to the creation of a wide range of new degrees with which the University responded to the intellectual, economic and scientific demands of the students. new Times. As a consequence, the centers designed to teach these degrees are multiplying. During the period of validity of the 1983 Law, the University School of Social Work (1983), the Faculty of Dentistry (1986), the University School of Nursing and Physiotherapy (1987), the University School of Library and Documentation (1990) were created. ), the Higher School of Informatics (1991) and the Faculty of Education (1991). The technological advance experienced in the last decades of the 20th century has forced the consolidation of research teams, of a multidisciplinary nature and requiring specialized technical personnel; Thus, the Research Assistance Centers [CAI] and the Pluridisciplinary Institute were born. The collaboration between institutions, with the richness of approaches and synergy of efforts that it allows, has stimulated - at the beginning of the 21st century - the constitution of the Madrid Science Park, in which the Complutense University of Madrid participates together with the Autonomous University, the CIEMAT and other public and private entities, to form a non-profit foundation, dedicated to research, development and innovation, from which the transfer of knowledge in processes and services is promoted. Once Spain joined the European Union, a new frame of reference has been established for our higher education. The knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during higher education are, in each of the European university systems, common and comparable. Thus, the European Higher Education Area was born. This new academic organization is reflected in the Organic Law of Universities, of 2001, modified in 2007, and in the subsequent Statutes of the Complutense University, of 2003. Complutense university education, in line with other European university systems, is structured in three cycles: bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate, which have been accredited by the National Evaluation Agency and are periodically validated to maintain high levels of quality and academic effectiveness. Consequently, new centers emerge or existing ones are substantially modified: in 2006 the University School of Library and Documentation was transformed into the Faculty of Documentation Sciences; In 2012 the rest of the university schools will also become the Faculties of Commerce and Tourism; Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry; Statistical Studies; Optics and Optometry and Social Work.

The Complutense University of Madrid assumes as its own a triple ideal: to train professionals useful to society, promote scientific research and disseminate, among those near and far, the knowledge and values that are inherent to the University.