“Vasile Goldiș” Western University of Arad was founded on May 2, 1990 through the efforts of a brave and enterprising group of citizens of Arad, who saw the need and opportunity to create a private higher education institution in Arad.
The credibility of these people and the sustained effort made by the founder, Professor Aurel Ardelean, at local, regional and national level have positively marked the evolution of the young university. The active involvement, dedication and sacrifices of the founding members, first of all of the founding Rector, Prof. Aurel Ardelean, as well as of the entire UVVG management, led to the establishment and development of quality higher education in Arad over the years.
The University is defined by the Charter as a community university, which is unique in Romania. The “Vasile Goldiș” University Foundation of Arad, in which the University was included, was founded with the participation of public personalities from all the structures of the local public administration: the Prefecture, the County Council, the Town Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, the Orthodox Bishopric, who became founding members and the University a community type University.
Thus, through its academic and scientific activity, the University is at the service of the community, contributing to the development and growth of intellectual and scientific capacity at the level of the
individual, the community to which he or she belongs and society, an impact that goes far beyond the borders of Arad County.
Thus, through the constant efforts of the founding President, the University has found its way to the fulfilment of its mission, by its own forces, without any financial support from the State.
Generating and transferring knowledge to society is achieved through study programmes, scientific research and innovation, while generating added value both financially and through the cumulative social and economic impact of generations of students and graduates, the visibility and impact of its projects being noticed both in Arad and in the branches.
Throughout this period, the academic community has developed by continuing to provide the framework and the prerequisites to generate a real added value to the degree issued by UVVG, both on the labour market and at the academic level. This vision is based on the promotion of a genuine culture of quality, on the creation, dissemination and exploitation of cuttingedge knowledge, on the proactive involvement of all members of the university community and on the promotion of functional, high-performance and beneficial partnerships at national and international level.
One of UVVG’s priorities is internationalisation, an essential condition for the university’s prestige at national and international level. UVVG considers that the international dimension must be present in every basic process: internationalization of education, internationalization of research-innovation, expansion of international relations by placing the university in networks of national and especially international universities for joint study programmes or research programmes, adaptation of the content of study programmes to international standards and requirements, development of courses and programmes in languages of international circulation, ensuring the training of its staff, both teaching and auxiliary and administrative staff, for interaction in a language of international circulation with foreign students.
We are living at the beginning of a century of profound transformations, transformations that represent major challenges, including for university education. Today, we can say that the establishment and operation of UVVG so far have been exceptional, responding to the imperative social needs of the time: the radical change in the professions demanded on the labour market, the
creation of conditions of access to higher education for Romanians amidst the decline in living standards and the exponential increase in costs related to the logistics of higher education.
These conditions that influenced the emergence and development of UVVG, as well as other higher education institutions in Romania, are gradually changing or disappearing, and the process is not a crisis, but a return to normality. The confidence of the almost 5000 students currently studying at the University, the results of the more than 100,000 graduates, the fact that 30 years after its foundation, UVVG has a scientific record of international relevance, and the international accreditation of the institution reaffirm our conviction that we are on the right track and that we are capable of achieving our goals for the benefit of the community.
