Тегеранский университет: История и современность

Iranian university

The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, دانشگاه تهران) is the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching profile, UT has been nicknamed "The Mother University [of Iran]" (دانشگاه مادر). In international rankings, UT has been ranked as one of the best universities in the Middle East and is among the top universities of the world. It is also the premier knowledge producing institute among all OIC countries. Tehran University of Medical Sciences is in the 7th ranking of the Islamic World University Ranking in 2021. The university offers more than 111 bachelor's degree programs, 177 master's degree programs, and 156 PhD. programs. Many of the departments were absorbed into the University of Tehran from the Dar al Funun established in 1851 and the Tehran School of Political Sciences established in 1899. The main campus of the university is located in the central part of the city. However, other campuses are spread across the city as well as in the suburbs such as the Baghe Negarestan Campus at the central eastern part of the city, the Northern Amirabad Campuses at the central western part of the city and the Abureyhan Campus in the suburb of the capital. The main gate of the university with its specific design and modern architecture (at Enghelab Street at the main campus) is the logo of the university and in a more general sense, a logo of education in Iran. The university is one of the city's attractions, hosting many international and cultural events attracting academia, foreign tourists as well as local residents. The major festive of Friday Prayers of the capital is held at the university's main campus every Friday. Admission to the university's renowned undergraduate and graduate programs is very competitive and is limited to the top one percent of students who pass the national entrance examination administered yearly by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

The first official step for the establishment of the present form of University of Tehran in Iran occurred on 31 March 1931 when Minister of Court Abdolhossein Teymourtash wrote Isa Sedigh who was completing his doctoral dissertation at Columbia University in New York to inquire as to requirements for the establishment of a university in Tehran. Isa Sedigh regarded the letter as an invitation to outline a comprehensive scheme for the establishment of a new university. In January 1933, during the cabinet meeting, the subject was brought up. Ali Asghar Hekmat, the acting minister of the Ministry of Education stated the following words there:
"Of course, there is no doubt on the thriving state and the glory of the capital, but the only obvious deficiency is that this city has no 'university'. It is a pity that this city lags far behind other great countries of the world." His words had a profound impact on everyone in the meeting, resulting in the acceptance of the proposal. Thus allocating an initial budget of 250,000 Tomans, the Ministry of Education was authorized to find a suitable land for the establishment of the university and take necessary measures to construct the building as soon as possible. Ali Asghar Hekmat in collaboration and consultation with André Godard, a French skillful architect – who was serving the Ministry of Education as an engineer, promptly began looking for a suitable location for the university grounds. By the orders of Rezā Shāh, the compound of Jalaliyeh garden was selected. Jalaliyeh garden was located in the north of the then Tehran between Amirabad village and the northern trench of Tehran. This beautiful garden, full of orchards was founded in the early 1900s during the final years of Nasir ad Din Shah, by the order of Prince Jalal ad dawlah. The master plan of the campus buildings was drawn up by French architects Roland Dubrulle and Maxime Siroux, Swiss architect Alexandre Moser, as well as Andre Godard, Nicolai Markov and Mohsen Foroughi. The influences of early 20th century modernist architecture are today readily visible on the main campus grounds of the university. The University of Tehran officially inaugurated in 1934. The Amir abad (North Karegar) campus was added in 1945 after American troops left the property as World War II was coming to an end. The university admitted women as students for the first time in 1937. In 1935, the formerly males only university opened its doors to women as part of the country's sweeping universal education policy. In 1986, the Iranian parliament, known as the Majlis of Iran, stipulated that the university's overcrowded College of Medicine be separated into the independent Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), and that TUMS be placed under the leadership of the new ministry of health and Medical Education. With over 13,000 current students, TUMS remains the best medical school in Iran.

The University of Tehran hosts many cultural and academic activities on the national and international levels. UT enjoys the cooperation of foreign countries in holding international conferences, seminars and workshops. In 2008, close to 1,000 UT professors and graduate students have taken part in international conferences with university funding. Furthermore, UT regularly hosts many delegations and professors from abroad. University of Tehran is appointed as the Center of Excellence (قطب علمی) by Iran's Ministry of Science and Technology in the fields of "Evaluation and improvement of irrigation networks", "Breeding and Biotechnology of trees", "Farming, Grading and Biotechnology", "Applied Electromagnetic Systems", "Land Logistics", "Sustainable Urban Planning and Development", "Architectural Technology", "Biological Control of Pests and Plant Diseases", "Rural Studies and Planning", "High Performance Materials", "Control and Intelligent Processing", "Sustainable Management of Watershed", "Applied Management of Fast Growing Wood Species", "Surveying and Disaster Management", "Engineering and Infrastructure Management", "Oil and Gas". This appointment is based on national standing based on research achievements and invested funding in the mentioned topics. Fifteen percent of the country's Centers of Excellence, as recognized by the government, are located at the University of Tehran, which along with more than 40 research centers ensure UT's commitment to research. Together, over 3,500 laboratories are active in these centers and in the faculties. In addition, the University of Tehran publishes more than 50 scientific journals, some of which have the ISI index. The Central Library and Documentation Center of the University of Tehran has been a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and institutions (IFLA) since 1967. The Central Library is the largest academic library in Iran. The library complements the 35 specialized libraries based at different faculties, all with the aim of advancing the research goals of the university. Currently the Central Library and Documentation Center is offering its services to more than 65 thousand members. It hosts more than 5,000 users daily. The library offers its resources under 13 main collections (most of which have been donated by distinguished professors of the university). The manuscript collection of the University of Tehran includes over 17,000 volumes of manuscripts in Persian, Arabic and Turkish. The library also hosts a state of the art center for the preservation of manuscripts. The University of Tehran Press (UTP), which focuses on publishing academic books, has published over 5,000 books up until today, and currently publishes on average more than one book per day. UTP has over 96 distribution agents throughout the country as well as one in Afghanistan.

University of Tehran is a public university and its funding is provided by the government of Iran. For the top ranks of the national university entrance exam, education is free in all public universities. The people with ranks below the normal capacity of the universities will be required to pay part or all of the tuition. In 2011 University of Tehran with an amount equivalent to 70 million dollars got the highest budget among all universities in Iran.

The emblem of the University of Tehran, which was designed by Mohsen Moghadam, a late faculty member of the Faculty of Fine Arts, is based on an image, which can be found in the stucco relief and seals of the Sasanid period. In this case, it is a copy from a stucco relief discovered in the city of Ctesiphon. The seal symbolized ownership. In the Sassanid period, these seals were used in stucco reliefs, coins, and silver utensils as a family symbol. Since the alphabet of Sasanid Pahlavi's script was used in these badges, they have the nature of a monogram as well. The motif is placed between two eagle wings. One can also find these motifs in other images of this period, such as in royal crowns, particularly at the end of the Sasanid period. Crowns with these seals have been called "two feather crowns" in The Shahnameh. The motif between the wings was made by combining Pahlavi scripts. Some scholars have tried to read these images. The script is in the form of "Afzoot" (Amrood), which means plentiful and increasing.

University of Tehran's official color is University of Tehran Blue (RGB: 29,160,196).

The University of Tehran main entrance was designed in 1965 by Korosh Farzami, one of the students of the faculty of Fine Arts of the University and built by Arme Construction Company. The gates are depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 50,000 rials banknote.

As the largest academic library in Iran, the Central Library and Documentation Center of the University of Tehran includes a rich and broad selection of resources in different fields of science, technology, and literature. The library holdings include over one million books, periodicals, manuscripts, microfilms, pictorial copies, historical documents and photos, lithography books, academic dissertations, scientific documents and maps, over 120,000 books in English, French, German, Russian, Italian, and other languages. Since 1967, the Central Library and Documentation Center has become a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The library holds a valuable set of manuscripts, including historical documents, microfilms, pictorial manuscripts, rare books, lithography books, historical photos, and handwriting of scholars and politicians. This collection includes about 17,000 volumes of manuscripts in Persian as well as other languages. The Conservation and Restoration Department of the Library houses the Specialized Lab, the Renovation Workshop, and the Special Bindery office.

University of Tehran's central place in Iranian elite circles has made it the setting for many political events and cultural works. Perhaps, to historians, the University of Tehran is most notably remembered for its key roles in the political events of recent history. It was in front of the same gates of this school that The Shah's army opened fire on dissident students, killing many and further triggering the 1979 revolution of Iran. It was there and 20 years later in July 1999 that, albeit, a much smaller number of dissident students confronted the police. University of Tehran (UT) has always been a bastion of political movement and ideology. At UT the leaders of the country deliver some of their most potent speeches often on Friday during prayers. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the main campus of the university and its surrounding streets have been the site for Tehran's Friday prayers. The political and social role of the University of Tehran in the Iranian domestic arena has continued to be so pronounced that in November 2005 (to February 2008) a senior Islamic scholar became chancellor(president) of the university, replacing Faraji dana (professor of electrical engineering faculty). Ayatollah Abbasali Amid Zanjani (عباسعلی عميد زنجانی) is a professor in law, is known for his strong ties to Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1979 revolution, and had spent time in the Shah's prisons before the Islamic Revolution. In February 2008, an Iranian economist, Farhad Rahbar, a former vice president of Iran and head of Management and Planning Organization of Iran, became the new (31st) chancellor of the university. One hundred and nineteen faculty members of the University of Tehran are said to have resigned on 15 June 2009 to protest the attack on university dorms in the wake of contested 2009 presidential elections: although clear follow up data is hard to establish, it seems that most or all resignations were not accepted.