119th anniversary of the TOMSK STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

July 1 is the foundation date of the Tomsk State Pedagogical University. 119 years ago, in 1902, at the Imperial command of Emperor Nicholas II the Tomsk State Pedagogical University was established.

Since then, the University has come a long way: from the Teachers Institute, where students received secondary vocational education, to the Faculty of Education in the structure of the Tomsk University, to the independence status of a higher educational institution in 1930. By the 1930s, there was already a clear understanding that despite the existence of the Faculty of Education, there was still "insufficient training of teachers in the Tomsk District" and "it is impossible to solve this problem with one faculty", "it is necessary to have a teaching institute, which would provide teaching staff not only for Tomsk but also for all Siberia".

Indeed, at that time there were only two teacher training faculties east of the Urals — at the Irkutsk University and at the Far East University. The main contender for the opening of the first pedagogical institute in Western Siberia was Tomsk, provided with scientists and a highly qualified faculty and pedagogical staff. The next milestone in the fate of Tomsk State Pedagogical University - in November 1995, the university was renamed into the Tomsk State Pedagogical University.

Today, our university is a recognized research and education center and one of the strongest pedagogical universities in the country; it has become the Alma Mater for over 70 000 graduates and hosts over 8000 students from 38 regions of Russia and 14 countries. Today's success of the Tomsk State Pedagogical University in the scientific and educational field is based each of us and those generations of educators and teachers who have connected their lives with the history of the University.

Happy Birthday, Tomsk Pedagogical University!