St. Thomas Aquinas University ( es, Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino; today the

Autonomous University of Santo Domingo In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's o ...

, , UASD), is arguably the first institution of higher education in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. It was founded by papal bull in 1538 in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, in the Caribbean island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, present-day

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, although it didn't have the official certification by the

king of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

until 1558. The headquarters of the university was the Church and Convent of los Dominicos. It was closed in 1801 and in 1823, being reopened as a new iteration in 1914.

History

Founded during the reign of Charles I of Spain, it was originally a seminary operated by Catholic monks of the Dominican Order. Later, the institution received a university charter by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

's papal bull ''In Apostulatus Culmine'', dated October 28, 1538. However, it did not obtain the official

Privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...

by Charles V to be officially recognized as a university until 1558. Thus, there is a debate on whether it is officially the first university in the Americas. Many of the first universities argue that they were the first because UASD was not yet recognized. The counter argument being that whether the university was recognized by a foreign body or not is irrelevant, as the university granted higher education degrees since it was founded in 1538. Prior to its conversion into a full university, the institution had been a ''Studium Generate'' (seminary), founded in 1518 and operated by the Dominican Order. In its structure and purpose the new university was modeled after the University of Alcalá in the city of Henares, Spain. In this capacity it became a standard-bearer for the medieval ideology of the Spanish Conquest, and gained its royal charter in 1558. In this royal decree, the university was given the name University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino). The university was closed in 1801 under the French, but reopened in 1815 as a secular institution. It closed again in 1823, during the Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo, when all students were ordered into military services. In 1866, the government decreed the creation of the Professional Institute (''Instituto Profesional''), which operated as substitution of the defunct university. And on November 16, 1914, President Ramón Báez, decreed its transformation into the University of St. Thomas (''Universidad de Santo Domingo''), successor of the first one.

References

External links

UASD
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Tomas de Aquino, Universidad Educational institutions established in the 1530s 1538 establishments in the Spanish Empire Universities in the Dominican Republic Education in Santo Domingo Educational institutions disestablished in 1823 1823 disestablishments in the Spanish West Indies

History

See also

References

External links