The University of Asmara (UoA) was a public university in Asmara, Eritrea. The nation's first university, it was founded in 1958 by the Piae Madres Nigritiae (Comboni Sisters). The school was meant to provide for the local population, though its initial enrollment in the 1950s was entirely Italian. History Wikisource has original text related to this article: Asmara University Commencement Speech The university was founded in 1958, albeit by a different name, the Catholic College of Santa Famiglia. By 1964, the university had been renamed and began offering Associate Diploma programs in the Arts, Commerce, and the Sciences. In 1979 the new president pushed through a major reorganization of the curriculum and structure. The next years saw an increase in students from 300 to 2,700. New courses, staff, day and evening extension programs and campus buildings revived the university, together with a bilateral agreement to exchange students and faculty with the University of Addi