Zeferino Vaz (May 27, 1908 – February 19, 1981) led the construction, establishment and development of the

Unicamp The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and Latin ...

university, in the interior of the

State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. The main campus is named after Zeferino, who strived to bring together some of Brazil's best scientists to form a recognised research institution. Zeferino was born and lived his childhood in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. He attended the Medicine school of the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...

and got his M.D. degree in 1932, with specializations in Parasitology, Parasitic Diseases,

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

and

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

. Shortly after his graduation, Zeferino became professor of Zoology and Parasitology in the Veterinary Medicine School of the

. He was the director of the Veterinary Medicine School from 1936 to 1947. From 1951 to 1964 he was the director-founder of the Medical School of

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a municipality and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-largest municipality in the State wit ...

, and during this period, in 1963, he was state secretary of public health. From 1964 to 1965 he was the first president of the São Paulo State Council of Education and rector of the

University of Brasília The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...

. In 1965 Zeferino was designated president of the organizing commission for the

Universidade Estadual de Campinas The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and Latin ...

. Zeferino became rector in 1966 and stayed in the office until 1978. Zeferino led the construction of the university campus, now named after him, which had its first building inaugurated in 1968. Zeferino was responsible for bringing scientists from other universities, and this helped

become one of the most productive and respected research institutions of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. By the end of Zeferino's administration, the university had evolved from the Medicine College to a university with 7 institutes, 6 colleges, 2 technical schools and 10 service units. Zeferino retired in 1978, but remained president of the Unicamp development foundation (Funcamp) until 1981, when he died of coronary problems.

References

Memórias da Unicamp (in Portuguese)
1908 births 1981 deaths Brazilian parasitologists University of São Paulo faculty University of São Paulo alumni Brazilian educators People from Campinas People associated with the State University of Campinas {{Brazil-scientist-stub

See also

References