FROM THE HISTORY OF THE GEOLOGICAL FACULTY OF THE IVAN FRANKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LVIV (TO THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDATION)

Abstract

The publication provides a brief 80-year history of the Faculty of Geology against the background of the progress of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. It is recalled that initially there were four faculties at Lviv University, including the Faculty of Philosophy, where the Department of Mineralogy (1864), Geology (1905), Geophysics and Meteorology (1921), and Crystallography (1922) were founded. Since 1924, as a result of the reorganization of the Faculty of Philosophy, the departments of the geological direction became part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, which in 1939 was divided into the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics and the Faculty of Natural Sciences. In 1945, by order of the rector, the geological and geographical faculties were organized on the background of the natural sciences faculty. Ye. Lazarenko became the dean of the geological faculty. The outstanding professional, pedagogical, and organizational abilities of the professor, dean, and rector of Lviv University Ye. Lazarenko, who comprehensively contributed to the flourishing of the geological faculty, are emphasized. The important role of the association of geologists of the western region of Ukraine, initiated by Ye. Lazarenko, into the Lviv Geological Society (1947) is emphasized. The scientific and research achievements of the faculty staff, their organizational work and participation in scientific conferences, the publishing activities of the faculty, the contribution to the cognitive and educational process of the three museums that worked at the faculty are outlined. The process of training Ukrainian and foreign specialists at the faculty is characterized. It is noted that over 80 years the faculty has graduated almost 6,000 specialists. It is emphasized that as an educational and scientific institution, the faculty highly values the achievements of its predecessors, develops modern innovative approaches and makes an important contribution to the future of fundamental natural sciences about the Earth.