The Romanian-American University (Romanian: Universitatea Româno-Americană) is a private university in Bucharest, Romania, which offers courses and degrees in English as well as Romanian, emphasizing international business. It was founded by Ion Smedescu.
The Romanian-American University is a higher education institution, a legal person of private law and public utility, part of the national system of education, founded in 1991, accredited by law in 2002, receiving the qualification "High confidence rating" from ARACIS in 2010, whose mission is to offer high-quality education and research, in an intellectually stimulating environment both for students and for the teaching staff.
The Romanian-American University, founded in 1991, aims to promote the educational values of American academic education while embracing the rich traditions of Romanian education. The initiative to establish the Romanian-American University belonged to the late Ion Smedescu, founder of the Romanian-American University and president of the Romanian-American Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture.
The Romanian-American University is an independent institution without being affiliated with or sponsored by an American University.
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History
Ion Smedescu was born in the village Obârșia, Cernișoara commune, Vâlcea County, in a rather modest family, from a financial point of view, but extremely "gifted" from another vantage point, as it had 10 children. At the age of 12, understanding the material difficulties that the family was faced with, Smedescu spent some time in an orphanage at Turnu Roșu, only to then study and graduate from the Normal School of Teaching "Andrei Șaguna" in Sibiu, between 1939 and 1947, getting a teacher diploma.
Subsequently, in 1952, he became an economist, after graduating from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. Since education played a fundamental role in his professional success, in 1991, at the age of 67, Smedescu decided to set up the Romanian-American University, thus returning to society some of what he received from it, and wishing in this way to offer, over time, an opportunity for professional and personal fulfillment to other children who would perhaps be as destitute as he used to be, but who were just as filled with ambition and determination to succeed in life.
Why "Romanian-American"?
“The University was set up having as a purpose the promotion of the educational values of the American higher education, against the background of the rich traditions of the Romanian education. In accomplishing this desideratum, the starting point was that in the United States of America, higher education stands on the model of the behavior-driven American society based on the efficient organization of activity, resilient sense of duty, the cultivation of work spirit, self-respect, and respect for the others, fair competition throughout one’s lifetime, competition with all the others and, last but not least, with oneself", as Professor Ion Smedescu declared himself.
1991 (11 March) – The Assembly of the establishment of the Romanian-American University took place in Bucharest, when its Statute was approved, which stipulated the establishment of 7 schools: School of Domestic and International Business, Banking and Finance, Management, Hotel and Tourism Economy, Computer Science, Medicine and Public Health, Law, Engineering in design and product aesthetics.
1991 (28 March) – the Decision no. 364 of the Ministry of Education and Science approved the establishment of the Romanian-American University.
1991 (April 17) – the Ruling no. 295/17.04.1991 of the Court of Law of Sector 1, Bucharest, granted legal personality to the Romanian-American University.
1991 (10 June) – the assembly for the establishment of the Romanian-American University's Senate was held, where Ion Smedescu was unanimously elected Rector and was appointed Founding Rector of the Romanian-American University. Moreover, the first management positions were elected according to the law (vice-rectors, Senate scientific secretary, executive manager, deans) and the curricula, enrolment figures, tuition taxes as per education forms and the enrolment fees for admission were also approved.
1991 (July) – the organization of the first admission exam, subsequent to which 1,772 students were admitted.
1991 (11 December) – the end of 1991 witnessed the enactment and vote of the Constitution of Romania, through each private education was legally recognized as part of the national system of education. Under these new provisions, on the initiative of the late Prof. Ion Smedescu, the RAU Rector, on 11 December 1991, the "Romanian-American Foundation for Promoting Education and Culture" (FRAPEC) was established, by Ruling no.34/22.01.1992 of the Court of Law of 1st Sector, Bucharest. The goal of FRAPEC was "the promotion and dissemination of Romanian cultural and civic education values in America and of American values in Romania". Among the 27 founding members of FRAPEC there were prestigious university professors, researchers, lawyers, economists, medical doctors etc. The foundation took under its auspices the Romanian-American University, in order to abide by the law in effect and elected Ion Smedescu, the RAU Rector, as president.