The establishment of the University of Antwerp (1954-2003)

From the 1960s onwards, the number of universities increased significantly in Western Europe, which was also the case in Belgium. For my Ph.D. project, I analyze the political debate leading up to the establishment of three different university institutions (UFSIA, RUCA, UIA) in the city of Antwerp between 1965 and 1971. Next, I study the dynamic between these institutions, focusing on their gradual unification process (1971-2003). Antwerp can be considered a micro-version of the pillarized Belgian academic landscape. The case shows how universities were founded because of and affected by major shifts in university policy and governance during the second half of the twentieth century.