On September 26, 1722, the first faculty of law was born in Dijon. Three centuries later, until today, the University of Burgundy (uB) has solemnly celebrated its anniversary. An opportunity to reflect on the past to get closer to the future, as indicated by the tercentennial slogan: ” Let’s prepare together for the next century “.
On Monday, September 26, 2022, the usual solemn start of the University of Burgundy had a very special flavor. Full to the blast, the Roupnel amphitheater in the Droit-Lettres building prepares for an exceptional ceremony to mark the university’s 300th anniversary in Burgundy. In the stands, a gathering of officials, many of whom have worn out their student trousers on the Dijon campus, joined the usual promos from last academic year: prefect, mayor, rector, vice presidents of the Region and the Department, former presidents of the uB, the parliamentarians … It is true that three centuries of existence are not celebrated every day, not even for an institutional body.
The University of Dijon was born on September 26, 1722, when Duke Philip le Bon had created a university in Dole in 1422, and Louis XIV decided to move it to Besançon in 1691 to celebrate Franche-Comté’s attachment to the kingdom. In the end it was Louis XV who consented to the request of the states of Burgundy by installing a simple faculty of law in the city of Dijon. Initially it occupied the premises of the Jacobin convent, which has since given way to the central halls.
See you in 300 years
300 years later, after having known disparate addresses in the city center, it is in the Droit-Lettres building on the Montmuzard campus, inaugurated in 1962, that the three hundredth anniversary is celebrated, when the first faculty had only 117 students. On the stage, adorned with an orange tie perfectly matching the words “# 300 years of uB” placed on the back of the stage, Vincent Thomas, president of uB, recalls in the preamble some figures that allow us to better evaluate the path taken since then: 35,000 students , 2,800 employees, 6 campuses (Dijon, but also Le Creusot, Chalon, Mâcon, Auxerre and Nevers), 150 student associations … And to greet the memory of the rector Marcel Bouchard at the origin of the creation of the Dijon campus in the end from the 1950s, ” a visionary architect, who knew how to see far and wide without which the UB would not be what it is today.
Without forgetting to thank the presidents of the European universities of the Forthem alliance of which uB has been a member since 2019 for their presence: Mainz (Germany), Jyväskylä (Finland), Riga (Latvia), Opole (Poland), Palermo (Italy ), Valencia (Spain), Agder (Norway) and Sibiu (Romania). ” This alliance is a promise of international openness and influence. It is a strong symbol of what we want to accomplish over the next 300 years.. “With strong centers of excellence such as health, ecology or nutrition, the university intends to continue to follow its maxim for a long time:” Teach what you know and find what you don’t know “. And to count among its ranks ex-extraordinary students such as Buffon, Gaston Bachelard, Alain Colas or Claudie Haigneré.
Bourgogne Magazine looks to the university
On the occasion of the third centenary of the university, Bourgogne Magazine offers a special issue of 116 pages to embark on a space-time journeyfrom the first faculty of Dijon to the sometimes surprising life on today’s campuses: a walk among the old university buildings, the story of the birth of the Montmuzard campus, the discovery of the territorial campuses outside Dijon, the encounter with the little hands that guard the ‘uB running daily, portraits of students and teacher-researchers …
On sale at newsstands and on bourgognemagazine.com
–
