University of Caxias do Sul – Medicine Learners

University of Caxias do Sul. It is a higher education institution in the northeast region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is the largest in number of students in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Historical review

The implementation of the first higher education courses in Caxias do Sul occurred during the 1950s, a period marked in the history of Brazil by transformations in the economic, social and political fields, resulting from the modernization process that the country was going through.. Overcoming social problems and economic and cultural backwardness were some of the issues that mobilized the organized sectors of society. In the field of education, the universalization of compulsory primary education, the expansion of secondary education and the official policy of incentives for the installation of private higher schools were some of the proposals launched by the State as a way of inserting education in the “developmentalist” effort.

Caxias del Sur was, already in the 1950s, the second metropolis of the state and, like the large urban centers of the country, it was also experiencing a period of economic growth and modernization. The city was transformed, the population modernized thoughts and habits, new priorities were placed. Among the new social demands was the creation of new teaching options with the implementation of higher education courses to serve the young people of the city and the region. Still at the end of the decade, various entities and personalities of the community were mobilized to obtain from the federal government the authorization for the installation of the first higher education courses in the city.

In 1956, Don Benedito Zorzi, Bishop of Caxias del Sur, already defended the union of society around a common ideal: “the creation of faculties that, for their part, would make possible the creation of the Universidad de la Sierra”.

Thus, the installation of the first faculties in the city resulted from the mobilization and effort of society to impose new levels for its development. At the beginning of the 1960s, Caxias del Sur already had five higher education institutions installed, offering courses such as: Economic Sciences, Philosophy, Painting and Music, Nursing and Law, among others.

The first Faculties:

Faculty of Economic Sciences and Faculty of Philosophy, under the guidance of the Diocesan Miter.
Mother Justina Inês School of Nursing, of the Son José Charitable-Literary Society.
Faculty of Law, under the direction of the Hospital Society of Our Lady of Fatima.
School of Fine Arts, connected to the Municipal Council.

Frequented by students from Caxias and neighboring municipalities, these faculties were the pillars on which the future University of Caxias del Sur would stand, the result of the union of the maintainers of the faculties around a common ideal: the creation of a University that, in the understanding of its idealizers, should symbolize the cultural expression of the region and its time and maintain strong links with its community.

Founded on February 10, 1967, the University of Caxias do Sul brought together the supporting institutions of the first faculties, gathered under the name of Association of the University of Caxias do Sul, its supporting institution. It was installed in the building of the former Sacré Coeur de Marie boarding school, in the Petrópolis neighborhood, where the Rectory currently operates. The main campus occupies a large area of this neighborhood and was built in modernist molds, in the form of isolated blocks implanted in an immense garden, which made possible the continuous physical expansion of the Institution.

In 1974, after a period of financial and institutional crisis, the maintaining Association was transformed into a Foundation – legal entity of Private Law, non-profit – in an institutional configuration that best represented the community character and the regionalization proposals advocated by the founders. of the University. Participating in the management of the Foundation were the members of the old Association and representatives of the Ministry of Education, the provincial government, the municipalities and community entities.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, the University remained faithful to the ideals of its founders. Practicing a regional action policy, it took its action to the various municipalities of the region, while promoting integrated actions with other isolated institutions of higher education installed in municipalities of the region. At the end of the 1970s, students fought for the federalization of the Institution, which would never happen.

Starting in 1990, based on the prerogative of university autonomy, the process of regionalization of the university took a strong boost with the implementation of action strategies that strengthened its community and regional character. New university units were created in regional subpoles and the Educational Foundation of the Vinhedos Region, with headquarters in Bento Gonçalves, and the Association for Higher Education of the Campos de Cima de la Sierra, with headquarters in Vacaria, became part of the UCS.

In 1993, the regionalization project of the UCS, submitted to the MEC, had a favorable opinion from the Federal Council of Education. In the official document, the words of the rapporteur summarized the feeling of all those who, over the years, had embraced the cause of the regionalization of the UCS and endorsed a commitment assumed by the leaders who advocated a University for the Region. He said: “Time taught that the sum of forces is the best option, now in the form of a Regional University. It is verified, then, that the Regionalization, so dreamed of and persecuted, arrives at the right time; in the full maturity of the Participating institutions; in the perennial joviality of those who launch themselves and persevere in the art and science of promoting human persons through education”.

In 2010, the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research considered it the second best private university in Brazil, surpassed only by the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. For several years the institution has stood out as one of the main private universities in Brazil.

Today, the University of Caxias do Sul is already an essential part of the regional development and search project, through continuous qualification and incentives for university students, to grow and consolidate their presence in the national and international university scene.