Universidad Adventista del Plata
Encyclopedia
River Plate Adventist University (Spanish Universidad Adventista del Plata) (UAP) is a private Christian
coeducational university in Libertador
San Martin, Entre Ríos
, Argentina
, founded in 1898.
The University began as a small rural training school. It later became Colegio Adventista del Plata. After receiving the CONEAU accreditation in the 1990s and the signing of the decree of President Eduardo Duhalde
in 2002, it became the Universidad Adventista del Plata. In 1994, its medical school was founded.
River Plate Adventist University is part of the educational system of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of thousands of academic institutions around the world. Academic activities take place on a campus covering 18 hectares. It operates from March to December.
The building structure ensures the quality of a personalised education, with laboratories, classrooms, multimedia service and conference rooms that are used both during class and in the summer and postgraduate courses. The University has a large library that includes more than 60,000 volumes, plus direct access to the Internet, periodicals and an exchange system with significant national and foreign universities. In the same building is the Centre for Educational Technology for Self-learning, equipped for research work and information, plus an auditorium that can seat 200 guests and the Ellen White
Research Center.
The educational task is reinforced with an infrastructure designed to assist in the educational process, which also provides for the physical development of students. The sports complex includes a tennis court, beach volleyball, a swimming pool and an indoor gymnasium in which organised recreational activities are carried out. The institution also has an FM transmitter, a television centre and recording studios, which enrich the activities of the Communication Department.
Enrolment for the year 2009 totalled 2530 students. Since the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002) the number of foreign students has increased dramatically due to the devaluation of the Argentine peso, making UAP one of the most culturally diverse universities in South America.
("between the rivers"), thirteen miles from the city of Diamante
, on the Paraná River
.
In 1898 a group of Adventists were living in the area of Crespo Campo with the missionary Francisco Westphal. They were having a meeting to discuss the scope of the Adventist work in Argentina. The harvest had been reduced in the last few years due to the locust and they were not considering founding a school. This changed on September 26, just before the meetings were to end a young Uruguayan, Luis Ernst, arrived to study at the "Adventist School", an institution that did not yet exist. By the time the meetings were to end the group had decided to found a school. Ernst helped Westphal with his missionary work until the first building had been erected. Classes in grammar and theology were the first ones to be offered.
The school started out in Las Tunas (Santa Fe) where there was an established Adventist community, until buildings could be constructed in Entre Ríos. In Las Tunas the first teacher was Nelson Town and over time the school was moved to land donated by the Lust family.
In response to Westphal's letter, the General Conference included the River Plate school in the fledgling Thirteenth Sabbath Offering plan. This Offering plan began in 1912. In the first quarter of 1912, the first Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped establish the mission work of G. W. Pettit and J. M. Comer in India. In the second quarter the offering helped build a school in eastern Africa; now the Adventist University of Eastern Africa
in Kenya." The fourth quarter of 1912 focused on Colegio Adventists del Plata in Argentina and the Pua Training-school in Chile.
The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering has helped the River Plate school on at least one other occasion. In the third quarter of 1961, the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering focused on a new Boys' Dormitory for River Plate College.
Early Adventists referred to their health activities as Medical Missionary Work. This work began in South America when Ole Oppegard, a nurse trained in Battle Creek Sanatorium, arrived in Argentina as a self-supporting missionary and began preaching the health message with the gospel in 1895.
Dr. Robert Habenicht, the first Adventist doctor to serve in South America, arrived in 1901. He began seeing patients in the vicinity of the River Plate school. A great share of his time was spent travelling in the horse-drawn carts of the Russian immigrant farmers whose homes were far out in the country in the province of Entre Rios
.
Soon the patients began arriving at his house in search of competent medical help. Many times Dr. Habenicht had to perform operations on his kitchen table in order to save the life of a patient. After the surgery, he would put them in the beds of his own children, who then had to sleep on the floor.
Dr. Habenicht founded the River Plate Hospital in 1908, with accommodations for six inpatients. This was the beginning of the first Adventist medical institution in South America.
Over the years, the hospital's fame increased greatly, in part as a result of the efficiency and dedication of missionary doctors Habenicht, Westphal, and Hammerly. Patients then came from far and near, giving foot to the enlarging of the facilities and the addition of young doctors, graduated from universities in South America, and nurses, graduated from River Plate's school of nursing.
The university has the largest and most modern library in the province.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
coeducational university in Libertador
Libertador
Libertador may refer to:*one of several people known as "Libertadores", particularly José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar*El Libertador, Buenos Aires, Argentina*Puerto Libertador, Colombia...
San Martin, Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, founded in 1898.
The University began as a small rural training school. It later became Colegio Adventista del Plata. After receiving the CONEAU accreditation in the 1990s and the signing of the decree of President Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
in 2002, it became the Universidad Adventista del Plata. In 1994, its medical school was founded.
River Plate Adventist University is part of the educational system of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of thousands of academic institutions around the world. Academic activities take place on a campus covering 18 hectares. It operates from March to December.
The building structure ensures the quality of a personalised education, with laboratories, classrooms, multimedia service and conference rooms that are used both during class and in the summer and postgraduate courses. The University has a large library that includes more than 60,000 volumes, plus direct access to the Internet, periodicals and an exchange system with significant national and foreign universities. In the same building is the Centre for Educational Technology for Self-learning, equipped for research work and information, plus an auditorium that can seat 200 guests and the Ellen White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
Research Center.
The educational task is reinforced with an infrastructure designed to assist in the educational process, which also provides for the physical development of students. The sports complex includes a tennis court, beach volleyball, a swimming pool and an indoor gymnasium in which organised recreational activities are carried out. The institution also has an FM transmitter, a television centre and recording studios, which enrich the activities of the Communication Department.
Enrolment for the year 2009 totalled 2530 students. Since the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002) the number of foreign students has increased dramatically due to the devaluation of the Argentine peso, making UAP one of the most culturally diverse universities in South America.
History
The first Seventh-day Adventist institution in South America was the Rio de La Plata Academy, in the province of Entre RiosEntre Rios
Entre Rios may refer to:*Entre Rios, Santa Catarina, a city of the Santa Catarina State, Brazil...
("between the rivers"), thirteen miles from the city of Diamante
Diamante
- Argentina :* Diamante, Entre Ríos, a municipio in Diamante Department* Diamante Caldera, a volcanic caldera partly in the Province of Mendoza* Diamante River, a river in the Province of Mendoza* Laguna del Diamante, a lake in the Province of Mendoza...
, on the Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
.
In 1898 a group of Adventists were living in the area of Crespo Campo with the missionary Francisco Westphal. They were having a meeting to discuss the scope of the Adventist work in Argentina. The harvest had been reduced in the last few years due to the locust and they were not considering founding a school. This changed on September 26, just before the meetings were to end a young Uruguayan, Luis Ernst, arrived to study at the "Adventist School", an institution that did not yet exist. By the time the meetings were to end the group had decided to found a school. Ernst helped Westphal with his missionary work until the first building had been erected. Classes in grammar and theology were the first ones to be offered.
The school started out in Las Tunas (Santa Fe) where there was an established Adventist community, until buildings could be constructed in Entre Ríos. In Las Tunas the first teacher was Nelson Town and over time the school was moved to land donated by the Lust family.
The Fourth Quarter Thirteenth Sabbath Offering of 1912
J. W. Westphal, brother to Francisco Westphal and president of the South American Union Conference, wrote to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: " ... Brother Spicer, you have just visited us, and are acquainted with the situation in our Argentine school. You know what buildings we have, their condition, and the great needs. We are limping along as best we can; yet we cannot offer to our students and to the teachers in the matter of room what they ought to have. In the large schoolroom [the chapel] three classes have to recite at the same time, because the class-rooms above are used as living-rooms for the students. One teacher has his class-room in the vestibule [by the stairway] and the others have to help themselves as best they can; and the whole equipment is far from desirable." (p. 5)In response to Westphal's letter, the General Conference included the River Plate school in the fledgling Thirteenth Sabbath Offering plan. This Offering plan began in 1912. In the first quarter of 1912, the first Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped establish the mission work of G. W. Pettit and J. M. Comer in India. In the second quarter the offering helped build a school in eastern Africa; now the Adventist University of Eastern Africa
University of Eastern Africa, Baraton
The University of Eastern Africa, Baraton is a private coeducational Seventh-Day Adventist university located about 50 km from Eldoret Kenya. It offers various degrees in a number of graduate and undergraduate programs in the fields of Business, the Humanities, Agriculture, Technology, Health...
in Kenya." The fourth quarter of 1912 focused on Colegio Adventists del Plata in Argentina and the Pua Training-school in Chile.
The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering has helped the River Plate school on at least one other occasion. In the third quarter of 1961, the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering focused on a new Boys' Dormitory for River Plate College.
River Plate Hospital
The close proximity of River Plate Hospital to the College has benefited the development of the Adventist church in South America. Graduates from the Hospital's nursing program have served all of South America.Early Adventists referred to their health activities as Medical Missionary Work. This work began in South America when Ole Oppegard, a nurse trained in Battle Creek Sanatorium, arrived in Argentina as a self-supporting missionary and began preaching the health message with the gospel in 1895.
Dr. Robert Habenicht, the first Adventist doctor to serve in South America, arrived in 1901. He began seeing patients in the vicinity of the River Plate school. A great share of his time was spent travelling in the horse-drawn carts of the Russian immigrant farmers whose homes were far out in the country in the province of Entre Rios
Entre Rios
Entre Rios may refer to:*Entre Rios, Santa Catarina, a city of the Santa Catarina State, Brazil...
.
Soon the patients began arriving at his house in search of competent medical help. Many times Dr. Habenicht had to perform operations on his kitchen table in order to save the life of a patient. After the surgery, he would put them in the beds of his own children, who then had to sleep on the floor.
Dr. Habenicht founded the River Plate Hospital in 1908, with accommodations for six inpatients. This was the beginning of the first Adventist medical institution in South America.
Over the years, the hospital's fame increased greatly, in part as a result of the efficiency and dedication of missionary doctors Habenicht, Westphal, and Hammerly. Patients then came from far and near, giving foot to the enlarging of the facilities and the addition of young doctors, graduated from universities in South America, and nurses, graduated from River Plate's school of nursing.
The Presidents
- N. Z. Town,
- Arthur Fulton,
- Dr. R. H. Habenicht,
- Walton C. John, 1909
- Dr. H. U. Stevens,
- Jess S. Marshall,
- J. M. Howell,
- J. T. Thompson,
- Ellis R. Maas,
- Dr. Thomas W. Steen,
- Fernando Chaij.
From college to university
On December 7, 1990, the Colegio Adventista del Plata transformed into the Universidad Adventista del Plata (UAP), being officially recognised by the National Ministry of Culture and Education (Ministerio de Cultura y Educación de la Nación) via Resolution Nº 2241/90. The UAP is the oldest Adventist educational institution in South America. It has more than 2500 students and offers more than 30 degree programs including theology, social work, psychology, and medicine. The UAP is also a member of Adventist Colleges Abroad and offers a one-year intensive Spanish-speaking program with a diploma of "Spanish as a Second Language" while also providing a variety of cultural tours throughout South America for its program participants.Academic divisions
The university is composed of the following schools:- School of Health Sciences (Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud) http://www.uap.edu.ar/es/fcs/
- School of Business Administration (Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de la Administración) http://www.uap.edu.ar/es/facea/
- School of Education (Facultad de Humanidades, Educación y Ciencias Sociales)http://www.uap.edu.ar/es/fhecis/
- School of Theology (Facultad de Teología) http://www.uap.edu.ar/es/facultad_teologia/
- Theology Graduate Studies
Library
Publications
- La Agenda
- Davar Logos http://www.uap.edu.ar/davarlogos/
- Signos http://www.uap.edu.ar/signos/
- La Voz http://www.uapar.edu/lavoz/2003/
- Enfoques http://www.uap.edu.ar/enfoques/
- Sumando