Hundred Fresh PhDs Crown the Anniversary of Estonia’s National University

The opening address will be delivered by Professor Alar Karis, Rector of UT, who will be followed at the rostrum by Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia. Riho Altnurme, Professor of Church History and Dean of Faculty of Theology will then give a public lecture entitled “On National Identity, Religion and the National University: the case of Estonia”.

The public lecture will be followed by ceremonial conferment of honorary doctorates. This year, the recipients of UT honorary doctorates include Andres Taul, Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church in exile, Kai Krohn, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tampere, Professor Cornelius Theodor Hasselblatt from the University of Groningen, Professor Frank G. Grosveld from Erasmus University and Professor George Nicholas von Tunzelmann from the University of Sussex. UT Honorary Fellowships will be awarded to Ago Peters, Erich Rannu and Nadia Walter-Tschishewsky.

After the award of the fellowships, a greeting address will be pronounced by Cornelius Theodor Hasselblatt, Honorary Doctor of the University of Tartu. This will be followed by ceremonial conferment of PhD degrees. In the course of the year, a full hundred doctoral dissertations have been successfully defended at the University of Tartu. According to the university’s rector, Professor Alar Karis, it is the foremost duty of Estonia’s national university to provide the best education to the country’s talented youth. “Regardless of the difficult times, the university has been successful in that task, as evidenced by a record number of fresh PhDs defended in the last years and by the university’s ranking among the top five per cent of the world’s leading universities.”

For the sixth time, the anniversary meeting will include presentation of the UT award for significant contribution to Estonian national identity. The award may be granted to an individual who by his or her written or oral contributions has shown outstanding achievements in promoting the national identity of Estonia. The recipient of the 2009 award will be presented with a unique piece of glass artwork and 50 volumes of the book series ‘Eesti mõttelugu’ (‘History of Estonian Thought’) published by the Ilmamaa publishing company. The name of the recipient will be announced at the meeting. Last year’s recipient of the award was the Estonian writer Ain Kaalep.

Greeting addresses will also be delivered at the meeting by Urmas Kruuse, Mayor of Tartu, and Juhan Hellerma, second year Master’s student of philosophy.

At 5 p.m. the anniversary day will continue with a torchlit procession departing from in front of the Vanemuine 46 academic building. A traditional anniversary ball will take place at 7 p.m. at the Vanemuine concert hall. It will give UT students, alumni and staff alike an opportunity to mix freely in the easy and elegant atmosphere of the ball. A video installation of the national university's 90 years’ history will be projected on the wall of the von Bock House throughout the day.

More information: Kady Sõstar, public relations specialist, tel +372 737 5685, e-mail: kady [dot] sostar [ät] ut [dot] ee

Mehis Tuisk
University of Tartu
Press Representative
Tel. +372 737 5683
Mob. +372 58 104 946
e-mail: avalik [ät] ut [dot] ee
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