The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University is the oldest university of Romania; it was founded on October 26th, 1860, by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, at the suggestion of Mihail Kogălniceanu. On May 23rd, 1893, in the presence of numerous celebrities, including Titu Maiorescu, Vasile Pogor (at that time, the mayor of Iaşi), C. Climescu (the dean of the Faculty of Sciences) the foundation act, printed on parchment, was signed and buried in the fundamental stone, at the basement of the new building of the University, exactly under the "Mihai Eminescu" Lecture Hall.

The edifice of the University was built under the direction of the architect Louis Blanc, in eclectic style. Between 1950-1965 it was extended with one more building, according to the plans of I. Pompilian.

Questions like: "How many students have walked through the halls of the University?", "How many of their dreams and hopes have come true?", "Where did the teachers found the force and abnegation required by their profession?", well, all these questions one will not be answered unless one passes through the Hall of the Lost Steps - the walls of which are covered by frescoes of Sabin Bălaşa, the significance of which may be explained - on request - by an expert in the domain. Here are some of the events usually developing in this Hall: the Book Fair, the presentation of the offers for admission at all faculties, job offers for students, parties (masquerades), etc.
The "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University includes faculties which cover an extensive curricular area and are both nationally and internationally renowned. An honoring place among them is occupied by the Faculty of Mathematics.

Certainly, what impresses most in our faculty is the interest and the support granted to the students by all those involved in the teaching process (teaching assistants, laboratory assistants, professors). Therefore, the staff of the faculty is open to all students, offering them consultations. However, the moral and physical support given to the students comes not only from the teaching staff. If the students need informations, certificates, they may address to the secretariate of the faculty, lead by Mrs. Irina Mihaela Decuş (e-mail: idecus@uaic.ro). To the staff of the secretariate there also belong: Mrs. Zenovia Nester (e-mail: nesterz@uaic.ro), Mrs. Gabriela Negruş (e-mail: gnegrus@uaic.ro).

The interest for students is also manifested in assuring an environment favorable to study. Thus, what would be theory without applications? For example, in our faculty astronomy courses are teached; to this end, for understanding the great misteries of the Universe and the newly teached notions, the students may visit the Planetarium, under the guidance of a professor to whom they can ask additional information to enrich their knowledge on the great natural cycles.
The students may visit as well the Astronomic Observatory. Situated near the Agronomic Institute, it draws the attention by its big cupola, sheltering an equatorial field glass used in solar observations. The whole covered surface of the cupola may turn around mechanically, permitting visualization of a certain region of the Universe in the lens of the field glass.

The lecture halls of the Faculty of Mathematics are always full of students, willing that another piece of the work of thousands of mathematicians would be revealed to them. In order to complete and resume the notions introduced at courses (in an applicative way), the faculty provides more seminary rooms and four computer science laboratories equipped with performant computers connected to the Internet network.

The Mathematics Library holds over 100 000 books which may be either borrowed or may be consulted in the library's reading room. The students have access to the Central University Library which bears the name of our greatest national poet, Mihai Eminescu, and which is a true book palace. One cannot leave aside the "Alexandru Myller" Mathematical Seminar Library, founded in 1910 by Professor Alexandru Myller (full professor at the analytical geometry department of our University), following the model of the reading room of Gottingen Mathematics Seminar, where he studied.

The number of publications grew up in time; so did the administration staff, as well as the library space. In 1949, the Mathematical Seminar Library became a branch of the Central University Library, receiving the name of its founder in 1951. Now, the Seminar Library holds approximatively 80 000 volumes and it is in full process of informatisation. The library also hosts a collection of complete works of the great mathematicians (Galilei, Kepler, Fermat, Euler, Lagrange, Gauss, Jacobi, Cauchy, Laplace, Weierstrass, etc.) and an old book collection. This collection includes over 2000 titles in 300 volumes, namely: foreign books (XVIIth-XVIIIth centuries), foreign books (XIXth century- before and after 1830), Romanian books (XIXth century, after 1830), Romanian manuscripts ( XIXth century, after 1830).

The students are accommodated in the hostels of the Faculty of Mathematics. These have been rehabilitated such that each floor holds a fully equipped kitchen (electrical kitchen ranges, cupboards, sinks, refrigerators). Also, the hostels are connected to the Internet network.
At the ground floor of the C8 Hostel, one finds No.7 Medical Center for Students, where the students may get referrals to specialist doctors and free of charge or compensated recipes. Those interested may address to the Medical Center or to the phone number 0232 201324.

To make all in the advantage of students, the Gaudeamus Restaurant-Canteen, located close to the faculty, offers the possibility of serving all three meals in a pleasant atmosphere, selecting from a varied menu, at students' prices.
For relaxation purposes, the students may take refuge in the Copou Garden, in the center of which lies the monument known as Lions' Obelisk, made of a stone column standing on the backs of four massive lions, settled on a marble pedestal. Hereunder, one may admire Eminescu's limetree, a genuine vegetal monument.
A place frequented by the students is the "whale" (the fountain in the "Titu Maiorescu" campus), where the students gather in the summer evenings, even without knowing each other, and play the guitar, celebrating in this less ordinary way the graduated exams or else. Climbing up the Copou hill, the lime flowers' scent enchants your senses.

One can equally choose a walk in the Botanical Gardens, which reveal to the visitor a rare flora of all bio-geographical regions on Earth. This is one of the richest botanical gardens in the country and one of the largest in Europe, covering a surface of 65 hectares, with extension possibilities of up to 150 hectares.