The building in the middle of the field which has become a significant factor of the city

When Odense University was founded 60 years ago, its location was somewhat unfamiliar for a university compared with the ones in Aarhus and Copenhagen.

The existing universities both had a very central location that made them a natural part of the major cities of the country, whereas Odense University was built on a rather remote field south of the city. And the match between the city of Odense and the new University got off to a rocky start for two reasons:

After a political tussle, it was decided that the University was to be established as a centre with several education programmes. The agricultural college and a degree in veterinary medicine constituted core parts of the education portfolio – hence the rural location.

After a few years, it became clear that an education programme in veterinary medicine in Odense was not of interest for the University management; however, the Campusvej project had progressed too far to be changed, and the location was therefore maintained.

This turned out to be a stroke of luck: because of its location, the University has been able to expand and at the same time remain unified with significant additions such as the Maersk buildings and the future university hospital, Nyt OUH. This has also created a campus atmosphere at SDU in Odense, which houses a variety of study and research activities under the same roof.

Ready to go back home

The first employees at the University had not envisioned their workplace to be located in a field near Hollufgård. In the book En verden af viden (A world of knowledge), former professor of economics Jørn Henrik Petersen describes his first encounter with the University’s buildings in 1970:

‘I ended up among some barracks and I asked some random man if he knew where the university was.

‘Well, you're in the middle of it’, he said. At that point, I was ready to go right back to Aarhus.’

Bus and sauna for the academics caused even more outrage

In addition to the geographical distance between the University and the centre of the city, there was also an ideological opposition between the new university employees and a large part of the working-class citizens in Odense – who did not regard the new professors and academics as a valuable addition to the city.

The dissatisfaction became particularly evident when buses were invested in to provide transportation for students and employees between the temporary barrack buildings at Niels Bohrs Allé and the new buildings on Campusvej that were under construction.

The bus service was intended as a means of avoiding too much transportation time and to optimise university operations. Nevertheless, this was not the story run by the local newspaper, in which great outrage was expressed that students and lecturers could not cycle the two kilometres to and from Campusvej.

The outrage increased further when it became known that the new buildings on Campusvej would contain two saunas for the employees and students.

Read more about that story from the University’s 50th anniversary (only in Danish)

A vital role for the city

Since then, the University and the city have grown closer and closer – and today, the situation in Odense is completely different. The University of Southern Denmark plays an important role for Odense and acts as a major attraction for students and employees. The construction of the robot cluster and the Semester Start Party are good examples of this.

The University and the Municipality work closely together. The area around the campus is buzzing with life and offers housing, as well as shopping, businesses and green spaces.

The tram line connects the city centre with the University and soon also with the new University Hospital, which is being constructed as a continuation of SDU. And when that happens, the once tiny building in the field will be among the 50 largest buildings in the world.