Universities are pillars 
They foster national sovereignty 

Author: Stefan Jonasson

“A good university is one of the pillars needed to support a strong, sovereign society,” maintains Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, former president of Iceland. “This we can see here in the Faroe Islands. This you know better than I do, and this is certainly the case in the recent history of this small nation in the North Atlantic.” Guðni was speaking in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the University of the Faroe Islands (Fróðskaparsetur Føroya) in September. Guðni and pediatrician Ulrike Steuerwald, who conducted research into hereditary diseases affecting Faroese children, were awarded honorary doctorates by the university during the celebration.

In making his case, Guðni describes the Icelandic experience and points to the ways in which the University of Iceland proved to be a critical pillar in the development of the country’s independence.

The first pillar in Iceland’s “history from relative poverty and foreign rule to independence and riches” is found in the four political milestones from the granting of its constitution in 1874, through home rule and sovereignty in union with Denmark, to the foundation of the republic in 1944. (Some might push this list of milestones back even further in time to the reestablishment of Alþingi in 1844.) The second pillar entails economic advances like the founding of Icelandic banks, the mechanization of fishing and agriculture, and even one idiosyncratic advance that Guðni learned about from one old women’s memory of the most revolutionary change during her life – the importation of rubber boots, which allowed Icelanders to “walk outside and not get wet feet.” Cultural and societal changes are the third pillar: cooperative societies, trade unions, guilds and other associations. Guðni pointed specifically to the formation of the Reykjavík Theatre Company, the Icelandic Youth Association, and the Icelandic Sports Federation. And while Guðni includes the establishment of the University of Iceland as part of this third pillar, its influence was such that it might reasonably be considered a fourth pillar in its own right.

Founded on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jón Sigurðsson, who led Iceland’s national awakening in the 19th century, the linkage between the university and the ongoing struggle for independence was clear from the beginning. Guðni quoted the first rector, Björn M. Ólsen, as having said, “Good universities are the nurseries of culture for all nations, the true sources of growth and development in the best sense of those words.”

In its early years, the University of Iceland was very small, and it struggled to overcome the perception that it was “an elitist institution,” the preserve of officials, scholars, priests, and lawyers. “Yes, a university can and should be a pillar of society, but not an ivory tower,” insists Guðni. “In countries big and small, experts and academics need to find the right balance between, on the one hand, specialization, the defence of rigorous scientific methods and knowledge through intensive study, and on the other hand, the willingness to engage with the wider world, the general public, be eager to explain and share our expertise without the appearance of arrogance or what is known in Icelandic as menntahroki – scholarly haughtiness.”

Guðni stresses the important role of universities in small societies in preserving the language and local culture. “If we in Iceland or the Faroe Islands do not use our institutes of higher education to maintain and strengthen our language and culture, our history and heritage, then who else will do it? … Yes, we must study that which is peculiar and unique to our societies, not only for ourselves but humanity as a whole.” Finding the right balance between the local and the global can be complex.

In preparing for his address in Tórshavn, Guðni consulted ChatGPT to see what it had to say about universities in small societies – an interesting experiment in determining the value of this emerging technology. The result was surprisingly good, leading Guðni to what he called a “somewhat scary conclusion,” but it lacked qualities that he considers essential to universities. “It does not have passion. It does not have pride. And it does not have the mark of an individual. Universities, big or small, are nothing without individuals, their unique thoughts and aspirations, their unique determination and drive.”

“Let our universities serve as pillars of our sovereign societies,” Guðni concludes. “In doing so, they must be outward-looking, advanced and progressive. But in all our academic aspirations to be global academic citizens, working with others near and far, let us not forget our duties and welcome devotion to our local communities.”

The University of the Faroe Islands was founded by the Faroese Scientific Society in 1965 with a single professor and a registrar. From this small beginning, when the curriculum was limited to one-year courses in Faroese and natural history, the university has grown to include five faculties offering 24 degree programs, a faculty and staff of 144, and about 1,000 students. The Faroese School of Education (founded 1870) and the Faroese School of Nursing (founded 1920) were incorporated into the university in 2008. The university participates in the University of the Arctic and collaborates with the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland.