A whole 100 pages for 50 years, that's how many pages make up the special anniversary issue of Gazeta Uniwersytecka. In it, the most important facts from the life of the University of Gdańsk over the last half-century can be traced in a nutshell through the prism of the local press.

The jubilee edition of Gazeta Uniwersytecka entitled 50 years have passed... The University of Gdańsk in newspaper articles was composed to include information on the establishment of the university, jubilees, the authorities and students. Illustrations of somewhat faded articles from the local press are a sign of the times, recalling important days of the university and bringing us closer to the half-century of its establishment, activity and development. As the editors of the periodical announced, many more pages could be filled with articles from the press of the time. However, a selection was made, touching on the most important topics over the years.

It is worth taking a look at the information on the origins of the University of Gdańsk. Since the post-war period, there have been thoughts and plans concerning the future of higher education in Gdańsk. Today the idea of moving the Nicolaus Copernicus University from Toruń to Gdańsk or establishing a Faculty of Humanities at the Gdańsk University of Technology sounds somewhat improbable.

- The establishment of an academic institution of the humanities and natural sciences in Gdańsk would allow for the creation of powerful research and maritime centre here and in this field of science - wrote prof. Marian Pelczar, organiser and director of the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in the Western Review as early as 1946.

Roads to the university - these are the subsequent articles and press discussions mentioning the Higher School of Economics, the Higher School of Pedagogy, the establishment of the Company Fund of the University of Gdańsk, and finally to the foundations of the new Pomeranian University, under the slogan of the press of the time: science as a lever of progress.

We can confront today's position of UG with the words of 1970 by prof. Janusz Sokołowski, the first Rector of UG: This is the inauguration of the academic year at the University of Gdańsk - the first university on the Baltic Sea in the history of Poland. This is a reason for joy, but more so for a sober calculation to make this university in Gdańsk a Baltic-Pomeranian University in the full sense of the word. Let's be patient; time will decide the fate of the University - its profile, its rank among Polish universities and more - of the Baltic region.

In the following jubilee articles about the announcements and summaries of the rectors' terms of office of UG, we can look at the development and transformation of our University against the background of historical events in the country and on the Coast. Finally, we can delve into the scientific and cultural life of our very active students. We invite you to read and reflect on our jubilee!