Petre Melikishvili – 170

An exhibition dedicated to Petre Melikishvili, one of the founders of the first national university in the Caucasus and the first Rector, was opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU). Rector of TSU, George Sharvashidze,the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia, Msgr. Jose Bettencourt, as well as academics and students visited the exhibition to view the memorabilia, photos and documentary materials belonging to the first Rector of TSU. 

Rector George Sharvashidze said that all events dedicated to Petre Melikishvili will be postponed to October amid the coronavirus pandemic – an album presentation and an academic conference will be held by that time. “Petre Melikishvili is one of the most important figures for Georgia, Georgian science and especially the Georgian university. He established the first-ever European-style school of chemistry in Georgia. It was the foundation that still brings huge outcomes. Quite recently, the Representation of American Chemistry Society was opened at TSU. It means that we will have international certified programs in chemistry and biochemistry. It is the foundation laid by Petre Melikishvili,” George Sharvashidze noted. 

“It is a great honor for me to visit the University where Petre Melikishvili was the first Rector and where a lot of Georgians received education,” Msgr. Jose Bettencourt said, adding that human thinking is the result of faith and science. 

Rector Sharvashidze, the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio, students and academics laid wreaths at the grave of Petre Melikishvili at the TSU Pantheon.