Addis Ababa University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Addis Ababa University |
 |
| Established |
1950 |
| Type |
State university |
| President |
Dr Admasu Tsegaye |
| Students |
42,497 (2009/10) |
| Location |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Campus |
Addis Ababa (6 campus, including Main)
Debre Zeit campus |
| Former names |
University College of Addis Ababa (1950-1962)
Haile Selassie I University (1962-1975) |
| Website |
aau.edu.et |
Gateway to Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University (formerly
Haile Selassie I University) is a
university in
Ethiopia. It was originally named "University College of Addis Ababa" at its founding, then renamed after the Ethiopian emperor
Haile Selassie I in 1962, before receiving its current name in 1975.
It has thirteen campuses; twelve of which are in
Addis Ababa and one in
Bishoftu,
about 45 kilometers away. It also maintains branches in many cities
throughout Ethiopia, leading to the claim of being "the largest
university in Africa." The government assigns qualified students to
these universities upon completion of secondary school.
Associated institutions include the
Institute of Ethiopian Studies, founded by
Richard Pankhurst. It is the only non-U.S. member institution associated with the
United Negro College Fund.
History
Addis Ababa University was founded in 1950 at the request of Haile Selassie by a
Canadian Jesuit,
Dr Lucien Matte, S.J. as a two-year college, and began operations the next year. Over the following two years an affiliation with the
University of London was developed. The writer and theorist
Richard Cummings served as a member of the Faculty of Law in the 1960s.
As part of their sweeping changes, the
Derg
ordered Addis Ababa University temporarily closed March 4, 1975 and
dispatched its 50,000 students to the countryside to help build support
for the new regime. The university offered its first
master's programs in 1979 and its first
PhD programs in 1987.
Three top university administrators resigned their posts in December
2002 in protest against increasing government interference in internal
university matters. Government officials wanted the University to change
its system of student evaluations to conform to a "gemgema" (
self-criticism) system favored by the ruling party.
In 2009/10 there were 20,701 enrolled undergraduate students, 7,127
graduate students, and 14,669 continuing education students, making a
total student body of 42,497.