About

History

The history of our university dates back to 1954 when the Higher Teacher Training College was established.
28th September 1991, right on the foundations of the said institution, was the day of the ceremonial opening of the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně in Ústí nad Labem – at that time consisting of only three faculties. One of the original faculties was also our faculty, formerly known as the Faculty of Social and Economic and Environmental Studies. 

As early as the 1990s, our faculty became a significant authority in the fight against unemployment in the whole of the Ústí region – at that time amidst a momentous transformation of the industry. Even today, the faculty is the sole public faculty focused on social and economic studies in the Ústí region. We are proud to facilitate education and research in the area of economics and management, economic policy, and public administration, as well as in the area of social work. Apart from our undergraduate and postgraduate study programmes, we also provide a doctoral study programme of Applied Economics and Public Administration (as of 2016) and we have just recently (in 2020) introduced yet another doctoral study programme of  Regulation and Behavioural Studies. 

Where to find us

In 1991, the original seat of the faculty was to be found on the Lipová Street in the Všebořice district of Ústí nad Labem. Five years later, the seat was transferred to Moskevská Street. The ceremonial opening of the newly reconstructed building of this faculty took place in the presence of the then former Czech Minister of Education, Ivan Pilip. Prior to the establishment of the faculty, this building used to serve as the seat of the Institute of Social and Economic Sciences of the Czech Academy of Sciences – the personnel core whereof served as the basis of our faculty. 

In 2001, we reconstructed the attic premises in the Moskevská building in order to give rise to a modern facility for the Department of Social Work and the Department of Foreign Languages. 

In 2010, after Masaryk Hospital had been moved to the areal in the Bukov district – and after the original hospital area had been transferred to the ownership of the university – the faculty obtained new premises in the building of a former porter’s lodge of Masaryk Hospital. The reconstruction of these premises gave rise to accommodation premises for visiting professors and to a large conference room

In 2014, our faculty acquired the premises in the VIKS building that became vacant after the transfer of the university library into a newly constructed building. The same year saw a reconstruction that altered these premises for educational purposes and as background premises for the teaching staff – it is now the seat of the Department of Social Work. Moreover, as of 2020, it offers a new behavioural laboratory.

You can also find us, apart from Ústí nad Labem, in the detached places of work, in our faculty schools in Most and Kadaň

A distinguished visitor

In 2018, our faculty was visited by Prof. Vernon Smith, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He accepted an honorary doctorate, honoris causa, from the faculty and to mark the occasion, he tapped the cornerstone of the newly constructed behavioural laboratory and held a ceremonial lecture.

Current faculty dean

Since 1st May 2021 the Dean of our Faculty has been Mgr. Ondřej Moc, Ph.D., who, following the footsteps of his predecessors, takes heed the educational programmes at our faculty reflect the current needs of the labour market and bring the students answers to the current questions. 

Deans of the faculty:

1991 – 1993: doc. Ing. Miroslav Farský, CSc.

1993 – 1996: doc. Ing. Antonín Pešek, CSc.

1996 – 1998: PhDr. René Hladík, CSc. 

1998 – 2004: doc Ing. Zdeněk Štěpánek, CSc.

2004 – 2007: prof. Ing. Zdeněk Pavlík, DrSc.

2007 – 2013: doc. Ing. Zdeněk Štěpánek, CSc.

2013 – 5/2021: doc. RNDr. Jaroslav Koutský, Ph.D.

5/2021 – until the present day: Mgr. Ondřej Moc, Ph.D.