Visiting Four Universities in Austria and Italy

When I visited Vienna, Graz in Austria and Padua, Bologna in Italy last October, I was deeply impressed by the beauty of the campuses and the long history of those highly-esteemed institutions.

Universität Wien (University Vienna) was conveniently located in the center of the city, near the City Hall and the iconic theater, Burgtheater, and had a similar classical façade, giving it a sense of seriousness and loftiness.  However, if the maze-like structure was lofty, the students roaming around the staircases, courtyard and lawn made it clear that this institution was also a vibrant living organism and continued to generate academic debates and social and scientific advancements in despite its museum or temple quality look:

  







  

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After the glittering Vienna, it was hard to imaging that Graz would even top that.  Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz had the similar look to Universität Wien, classical and ornate.  What make it most remarkable was a small museum/storage/workshop in its Institut für Klassische Archäologie.  Behind the usual office space, there were two or three (I cannot remember clearly) connected large halls, in which many classical Roman and Greek marble sculptures and reliefs were collected and displayed.  According to the university, "the Institute is home to significant archaeological collections of ancient vases of Greece, objects from local sites as well as casts of ancient sculptures. These collections are open to the public."

Indeed they were open to public.  It took me quite a while to locate the Institute and two kind middle-aged women rather casually pointed out the halls to me and let me wander amongst those amazing sculptures by myself.  It was an absolute treat.





  

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The most remarkable things about Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua) are its long history and its remarkably preserved ancient dissection theater.  The University of Padua was conventionally believed to be founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second oldest in Italy. Since 1595, Padua's famous anatomical theatre drew artists and scientists studying the human body during public dissections. It is the oldest surviving permanent anatomical theatre in Europe.  Again, the city and the university were teemed with vivacious young people, learning to be themselves.

  

  







The anatomical theatre was quit delicate and the tours could only accommodate small groups.  We were only allowed to view the surprisingly small wooden structure from below, at the dissection table level, up to the tier audience levels.  It was quite remarkable and unforgettable.

Anatomical Theatre

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My last stop in Bologna granted me a glimpse of the oldest university, Università di Bologna, which is widely recognized as the oldest university, considering that it was the first to use the term universitas for the corporations of students and masters which came to define the institution.

Bologna was much bigger than Padua, and more gritty, more living-in.  In this ancient arched city, one would not miss the university quarter, when endless sprawling crowds of young people filled out the street and plazas day and night.  It was messy yet lively.  There were some people there quite reminded me of University of California, Berkeley, with just the same dress "code" and odor:











University of Bologna also boasted an ancient anatomical theater but we didn't have time for that.  We did see its ancient Law School and I even got a peep of a lecture in one of the ground level classrooms:

  


Law School

And for a look of student life, we saw a crowded Caffè Zamboni, between Torre degli Asinelli and Basilica Giacomo Maggiore, near Università, with super-sized offering trays for the hungry youths:


Caffè Zamboni, between Torre degli Asinelli and Basilica Giacomo Maggiore, near Università


Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst: 
- Magnificent Churches in Vienna
- My Favorite "Sculptures" at the Imperial Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), Vienna
- Theater Experiences in Wien (Vienna) 
- Kaiser Maximilian I und die Kunst der Duerer-Zeit in Albertina Museum, Vienna

Label: Austria, Italy, Austria and Italy Trip 2012

Taking Full Responsibility at UC Davis - Chancellor Katehi Must Go!

Following up the police brutality against peaceful protesting students at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) (see video below), Chancellor Linda Katehi did some PR dance, took full responsibility and tried to apologize.  The police chief at UC Davis had been put on paid administrative leave.  But demand for the resignation of Chancellor Katehi continued.


Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis

People are devided at how much blame Katehi should shoulder.  However, if she fails to resign or if the Regents fail to fire her, it is not convince to say that she has taken full responsibility.  Hiding behind her subordinates would not do.

Remember, Chancellor Katehi was hired in 2009 with great controversy.  Her $400,000 annual salary, approved by the UC Board of Regents, equated to a 27 percent hike from her predecessor and a 12.4 percent increase from her previous position at the University of Illinois.  That happened during the time when the funding to the University from the state had been cut year after year, after staff and faculty were forced to take unpaid furloughs, and endless tuition hikes threatened the quality of the university system.  It was an obscene amount of money thrown at a civil servant, a public university administrator.

I sincerely don't believe that she had ordered the spraying or green-lighted it. But, that fact hardly matters.  If she had the aduacity to demand such exorbitant amount of salary, she must be held responsible for every action on campus during her watch.  Otherwise, she should not have taken in such salary from the public university.  It cannot be that achivements were hers but blames were others.

In a way, Katehi is the embodiment of what is wrong with our country and what people are protesting against.  For too long, it has been profits for the rich and the finacial misery for the poor.  That must change.

People have been frustrated by the lack of clear and tangible goals and demands from the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Now, in UC Davis, there is a clear and tangible goal.  It is holding Chancellor Linda Katehi responsible and have her replaced.

Chancellor Katehi must go!