The National University held its official opening ceremony on September 22, 1910 as part of the Centennial Celebration of Mexican Independence. . It convened in the amphitheatre of the National Preparatory School which was designed by architect Samuel Chavez expressly for the event. A throng of professors, students, guests from other universities and the country’s social elites attended the inaugural festivities, which commenced at 10:30 with the arrival of President Porfirio Diaz and the University’s first Rector, Joaquín Eguía Lis.

The inaugural address was delivered by Justo Sierra, the Minister of Public Instruction, who is widely recognized as a prime mover of the University’s founding and for providing the institution’s educational vision that focused on the construction of a unified nation through scientific and cultural actions. The solemn ceremony culminated at 1:00 pm with a procession of the university community from the amphitheatre to the central offices of the newly invested institution.

We, the members of the university community, celebrate and sing the praises of the UNAM on the one-hundredth anniversary of its founding.

Sources

• Centro de Estudios Sobre la Universidad, La Universidad Nacional de México 1910, México, UNAM, Segunda edición facsimilar, 1990, pp. 110-134.