Academic Senate Celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the University Statutes ****************************************************************************************** * Academic Senate Celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the University Statutes ****************************************************************************************** We, the members of the Academic Senate, expressing the will of the academic community of Charles University, following the tradition of the oldest institution of higher education in Central E aware of the importance of the university for the development of human knowledge, edu culture, and its mission in serving the purpose of truth and in developing the ideals striving to further the idea of the university as a community in which relationsh among members are determined by spiritual authority, not political power; in whi the principles of academic freedoms are honoured as the necessary foundation of t existence of the academic community and its activities in both research and teach bearing in mind the need for furthering of the sovereign and autonomous characte of the university, as well its independence from the structures of political powe being determined to provide access to education to anyone who desires it, endorsing the idea of international cooperation among universities not only as the basis for international research, but also as a prerequisite for education of the following generation towards understanding and tolerance, fulfilling the legacy of those who sacrificed their freedoms or lives for these id and guided by the aspiration that Charles University regains the position among free universities that had rightfully belonged to it since its foundation, have adopted these statutes.  On January 21, the Academic Senate convened in the Great Hall of Karolinum to commemorate anniversary of the adoption of the key document that governs the university and to honour of those who took a great part in drafting of the document and governing of the university subsequent years. As the current chairman of the Senate, Professor Jan Hála, noted, severa academics have since taken part in the work of the Senate. “We would like to honour the co the 120 most active past and current members with commemorative certificates and copies of charter of Charles University.” The statutes of  Charles University in Prague were passed by the Academic Senate on Decemb came into action on January 1, 1991. It was registered at the Ministry of Education, Youth April 23, 1991. Professor Ivan Wilhelm, chairman emeritus of the Academic Senate and Rector emeritus of Ch reminisced about the painstaking and extremely challenging process of designing of the sta “The early days of Charles University’s Academic Senate were dominated by the work on the Excluding the long hours dedicated to them in numerous other bodies of the Senate and the as such, the records state that the content and wording of the Statutes of Charles Univers plenary sessions of the Senate to work out, and that the final version was passed on Decem a Christmas present to the university. The important thing to remember is that it is the p statutes that states the basic principles of our academic lives and the reasons for the un existence. We should not only remind ourselves of these principles from time to time, but fulfil them in our everyday work. It is a permanent obligation of any member of the academ care for and follow these principles as the necessary attributes of academic life.” In the following speech, Dr. Michal Svatoš, the chairman of the 1990 statutes committee of Senate, highlighted the broader historical context of the importance of the statutes both European contexts. “Recounting the principles of university autonomy today, after 20 years of life in a free like stating the obvious – but let us keep in mind that in 1990, these were ideas whose pr not obvious at all. Trying to sum up my thoughts about the first post-1989 Charles Univers I cannot find anything more fitting than the then-pervasive cliché about the “return to Eu statutes were not a mere return to the past, they were not an exploration of something new at finding a “third way”. It was a humble attempt at a return to where this university had centuries. It was a return to something that had been common here and that the luckier nat simply said, it was a return to a normal life.” Rector of Charles University, Professor Václav Hampl, then gave a talk about the current s future of the university, whose free development was launched by the statutes. On the day of the ceremonial session, the new Long-term Development Plan of Charles Univer 2011-2015 period was passed, reacting to many important changes in the society, in higher research. The new development plan stressed the focus of the university on science and res To coincide with the anniversary, the secretary of the Senate, Mr. Daniel Feranc, set up a dedicated to the story of the statutes and the work of the Academic Senate, which can be s reception halls of Karolinum. Six panels show for example the delegation cards, a diagram of the Senate with the names of the current members, or tables showing attendance of Senat the sessions in the 1990-2010 period, sorted by faculty. Among the most valuable exhibits Statutes of the University of Prague adopted by the chancellor of the university and the a Prague, Arnošt of Pardubice on April, 10, 1360” from the Charles University archive and th provisional statutes passed by the Academic Committee of the university on January 12, 199 The ceremonial session of the Academic Senate was followed by a performance by the musical kvintet.  (Marie Kohoutová) Translation: Jaroslav Švelch