Masaryk University

Masaryk University (MU) (Czech: Masarykova univerzita; Latin: Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the second Czech university (after Charles University established in 1348 and Palacký University existent in 1573–1860), it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students.^[1] It is named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of an independent Czechoslovakia as well as the leader of the movement for a second Czech university.^[2]

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (January 2009)

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Masaryk University

Masarykova univerzita
Latin: Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis
Type	Public
Established	1919 (1919)
Rector	Prof. Martin Bareš [cs]
Academic staff	2,200[1]
Administrative staff	3,000
Students	35,115[1]
Location	Brno , Czech Republic 49°11′55″N 16°36′18″E
Campus	Urban
Colors	Blue
Affiliations	EUA Compostela Group Utrecht Network
Website	muni.cz

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In 1960 the university was renamed Jan Evangelista Purkyně University after Jan Evangelista Purkyně, a Czech biologist. In 1990, following the Velvet Revolution it regained its original name.^[3] Since 1922, over 171,000 students have graduated from the university.

Masaryk University was founded on 28 January 1919 with four faculties: Law, Medicine, Science, and Arts. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, professor of Charles University and later the first president of Czechoslovakia, contributed greatly to the establishment of Masaryk University. (Masaryk in his scientific and political activities paid attention to the development of Czechoslovak universities and since the 1880s he emphasized the need for broad competition in scientific work. In this context, he pointed out that the only Czech university at that time needed a competitive institution for its development.) The founding of the second Czech university was possible only after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy because of the resistance of the German-controlled city council, which feared giving power to the Czech residents of Brno.^[2] Brno was at that time a bilingual city. A notable demonstration in favour of establishing a university in Brno happened in 1905.^[3]

From the beginning, the university suffered from a lack of money for development. The fragile state of public finances in 1923–1925 and 1933–1934 led to proposals to abolish both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. Both faculties eventually survived until 17 November 1939 when the whole university was closed following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. A number of professors of Masaryk University were executed or tortured; for example, the Faculty of Science lost one quarter of its teaching staff.^[2] Many of the executions took place in the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1942.^[3]

The renewal of university life after the end of World War II was interrupted by the Communist takeover. The percentage of students expelled in various faculties ranged from 5 percent at the Faculty of Education to 46 percent at the Faculty of Law, which was completely closed in 1950. In 1953, the Faculty of Education (founded in 1946) was separated from the university. In August 1960, a government decree abolished the Pharmaceutical Faculty and the university was renamed Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Brno.^[2]

Relaxation occurred in 1964 with the reintegration of the Faculty of Education into the university and with the reestablishment of the Faculty of Law in 1969. But conditions changed again rapidly with the Normalization of the 1970s after the 1968 invasion of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia.^[2]

The university was renamed Masaryk University in Brno in 1990, then regaining its original name by dropping the "in Brno" from the title in 2006. A new era of development began after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the establishment of the Faculty of Economics and Administration in 1991, the Faculty of Informatics in 1994, the Faculty of Social Studies in 1998, and the Faculty of Sports Studies in 2002.^[3]

A new university campus has been under construction in Brno-Bohunice since 2002. The last stage of development should be completed in 2015.^[4] Campus houses most Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Sports Studies, part of Faculty of Sciences as well as several research facilities such as Central European Institute of Technology and Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment Cetocoen.

In 2013, university signed a long-term lease with the city of Brno, creating University Cinema Scala in place of movie theatre with over 80 years tradition which was closed down in 2011. The place has various academic functions, hosting official university ceremonies as well as lectures and conferences. Cinema's programming is managed by Aeropolis, which shares the costs with the university.^[5]

Masaryk University has over 170,000 alumni, some of the notable ones are listed here. The most accomplished scientists include astronomer Jiří Grygar and Luboš Kohoutek, mathematician Otakar Borůvka and František Wolf, psychiatrist Leo Eitinger, sociologist Miloslav Petrusek, paediatric geneticist Renata Laxova and anthropologist Jaroslav Malina. Paleontologist Josef Augusta, who together with illustrator Zdeněk Burian created accurate reconstructions representing all forms of prehistoric life. Neurologist Michal Vytopil also attended the university.

Alumni politicians include former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Nečas, former Governor of South Moravian Region Michal Hašek, former Minister of Health Tomáš Julínek or as of 2014, the leader of Czech Green Party Ondřej Liška. Politician, dissident, human rights activist Jaroslav Šabata also studied there. Martin Palouš is Permanent Representative to the United Nations of the Czech republic (2006– ), before he was Ambassador to the United States for the Czech Republic between 2001 and 2005.

Alumni also include director František Vláčil, playwright Milan Uhde, composer Antonín Tučapský and poets Jan Skácel and Ivan Blatný.

Athlete Šárka Kašpárková and ice hockey players Jiří Holík and Josef Augusta also attended the university.

• Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) – linguist and literary theorist
• Jaroslav Krejčí (1892–1956) – lawyer and Prime Minister of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
• Matyáš Lerch (1860–1922) – mathematician
• Eduard Čech (1893–1960) – mathematician
• Ladislav Skula (1937) – mathematician
• Arne Novák (1880–1939) – literary historian
• Antonín Bartoněk (1926–2016) – linguist (ancient Greek)
• Albert Kutal (1904–1976) – Art historian
• Emanuela Nohejlová-Prátová (1900–1995) – numismatist and museum curator
• Felix Maria Davídek (1921–1988) – Secret bishop (underground catholic church)
• František Vláčil 1924–1999) – Film director
• Bohuslav Sobotka (1971) – Lawyer, Prime Minister
• Petr Horálek (1986) – Astronomer, Astrophotographer, Artist
• Tomáš Špidlík (1919–2010) – cardinal, theologian-important thinker in 20th Catholicism, personal spiritual exorcist of Pope John Paul II.
• Zdeněk Měřínský (1948–2015) – archeologist

• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
• List of Czech universities