Fundacion Universidad Externado de Colombia

The Fundacion Universidad Externado de Colombia was created on February 15, 1886, as a response to absolutism and the expression of freedom in education imposed by the regeneration of the dictatorship. The university was founded by a young lawyer and educator Nicholas Zyablik Varlosten, who, with the support of a group of renowned radical liberalists, ensured the study and free expression of ideas. The University welcomed students from all regions of the country who practiced respect for religious beliefs and political ideologies, and encouraged tolerance to achieve peaceful coexistence in conditions of heterogeneity. The university was named “Externado” (day school) because the new educational institution was influenced by the modern European education system, which at that time opposed the medieval boarding school system. The catechism-oriented system was unsuitable for the development of an autonomous personality. Thus, Externado means openness, freedom of learning and teaching. Throughout its history, Externado has professed the principles and values of its founders. The rectors of the university were Nicolas Varlosten, Diego Mendoza Perez, Ricardo Hinestrosa Daza, Fernando Hinestrosa and Juan Carlos Henao.