University of Aarhus 2003
75th anniversary
From 70 to 22,000 students
The University of Aarhus was officially opened on 11 September 1928 and could therefore celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2003 – as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Denmark. In 1928, 70 students began their studies in Aarhus, and the university has grown since then to become a work centre for about 22,000 students and 5,000 staff. Today, the university makes its mark on both Danish society and the international world of research.
A group of very active students who had helped organise the 25th anniversary fifty years ago took the initiative to organise an “anniversary meeting” to which they had invited all former students who graduated from the University of Aarhus before 1965. Their evening included a special lecture by Rector Niels Christian Sidenius, a musical memory lane, dinner and a retrospective student revue, and finished with a ball at the Stakladen Canteen that lasted until 2 am. In the afternoon, the graduates elected bookseller Henning Clausen as their honorary citizen.
The official celebration of the university’s jubilee took place on 12 September, in the attendance of both HM Queen Margrethe and HRH Crown Prince Frederik. The anniversary celebration was attended by 650 guests, and Rector Niels Christian Sidenius officially opened the afternoon’s programme with an anniversary speech. The Aarhus University Choir and the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus performed Knud Jeppesen’s Aarhus University Cantata (1946) with text by Tom Kristensen, and finished with We seek it fearlessly in the depths , composed for the occasion by Associate Professor Jens Johansen, with text by Professor Morten Kyndrup.
| Both Crown Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe took part in the anniversary celebrations. |
| The gift from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus was a performance of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, performed by the academy's own orchestra in the Main Hall, which was full to capacity. Between 7,000 and 8,000 guests braved the rain to attend the concert. |
| On the actual "birthday" itself, Thursday 11 September, twelve canteens served free tea, coffee and Danish pastry for the university students and staff. In the afternoon, Aarhus University Sports held their annual sports day with competitions in basketball, hockey, handball, football, volleyball, campus relay and cake throwing.. |
| About 80 different events made up the university's "Open House" day from 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday 7 September, which featured themes such as samba, stories, sense of smell and much, much more. Everyone was welcome to join in conducted tours, listen to stories, learn to fold paper, watch the dancing, have their sense of smell tested, indulge in sweets, ask questions about God, visit three museums, listen to songs, attend a "translation concert" and much more. |
| "The heart celebrates the brain". Louise Gade, Mayor of Aarhus, took this picture on 11 September - the day of the anniversary - when the heart (the town hall) had invited the brain (the university) to attend an evening reception. The mayor presented Rector Niels Christian Sidenius with a present from Aarhus City Council: a grant of DKK 100,000 for the new Aarhus Centre for Business History. |
On Saturday 13 September, the Student Council converted the University Park into the venue for a celebration that lasted from 2 pm to 8 pm. The popular local “Friday pubs” had teamed up to create a number of bars, each featuring a different decade as its theme. About ten different groups provided live music on three separate stages throughout the day. The Aarhus pop group TV-2 finished off the evening with a concert for students and staff – with more than 18,000 partying guests singing along. They paid tribute to the popular TV-2 group in a colourful display made by lighting cigarette lighters and switching on bicycle lamps and mobile phones.
The convivial atmosphere can be confirmed by the fact that there was only one alert during the entire evening. The professional security guards use three types of alert codes – green, yellow and red. The only alert to be investigated was caused by two people discussing loudly whether or not they really were a couple. Apparently, the outcome was that they were not.
The staff also held their own parties in the different departments and faculties. Approximately 3,500 staff members and their partners joined in, finishing with a combined staff party in the Stakladen Canteen and the Students’ House.
| One of the Friday pubs responsible for drinks on Saturday 13 September. |
| Steffen Brandt and an enthusiastic audience of 18,000 sang "I only dream of you" at the large concert held in the University Park for students and staff. |
| In conjunction with the jubilee celebration, the university appointed five honorary doctors, one from each of the five faculties. From left to right these are Professor Fredrik Barth, Oslo (the Faculty of Humanities), Professor Clive W. J. Granger, San Diego (the Faculty of Social Sciences), Professor Peter Courtland Agre, Baltimore (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Professor Gerd Theissen, Heidelberg (the Faculty of Theology) and Professor Gerhard Ertl, Berlin (the Faculty of Science). A few weeks later, Professor Peter Courtland Agre was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Professor Clive W. J. Granger received the Nobel Prize in Economics. Both have worked closely with researchers from the University of Aarhus for several years. |
