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The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD)) is a public university in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Founded during the reign of Charles I of Spain, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the western hemisphere.
Originally a seminary operated by Catholic monks of the Dominican Order, the institution was reorganized as a university by a papal bull (In Apostulatus Culmine dated 28 October, 1538 by Pope Paul III), though it was then called Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino (University of Saint Thomas Aquinas).
In structure, the school followed the model of the University of Alcalá de Henares. The university organized its offerings into four departments: Medicine, Law, Theology, and the Arts. Today, the University has expanded to eight departments: Humanities, the Arts, Laws and Political Sciences, Health Sciences, Economics and Social Sciences, Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, and Agricultural Sciences.
On December 31, 1961 Law No. 5778 was enacted, giving autonomy to the university. Since then, there has been a debate on institutional balance. On February 17 of the following year, the school chose its first administration under the new system.
The following bodies are charged with governing the University:
University bodies' resolutions are to be executed by:
The students are represented in all ruling bodies, comprising 33% of the members on each body.
The Cloister is the highest level of authority of the University and is divided into Superior and Minor branches. The Superior Cloister includes by all professors in active duty, researchers, emeritus professors (active and retired), students' delegates (5% of the total members of Cloister), and Administrative Personnel (2% of the total members of Cloister).*