Arthur Bodson, Former ULiège Rector, Dies at 94
Arthur Bodson, the former rector of the University of Liège who led one of Belgium’s oldest and most prestigious universities through a period of significant financial restructuring, has died at the age of 94. The announcement was made on Wednesday evening by the Centre Jean Gol, the Belgian liberal think tank where Bodson served as administrateur délégué from 2008 to 2013.
A Life Dedicated to Academia
Born on 27 June 1932 in Beausaint (La Roche-en-Ardenne) to a schoolteacher father, Bodson pursued classical studies at the University of Liège, earning a doctorate in classical philology in 1964. He became a full professor of Latin language in 1971, a position he held until his retirement in 1997.
According to his biography on the ULiège website, Bodson was deeply involved in the pioneering LASLA (Laboratoire statistique des langues anciennes) project, one of the first intersections of computing and the humanities. This work led to the creation of the International Organization for Ancient Languages Analysis by Computer, establishing Bodson as an early innovator in digital humanities.
Rector of the University of Liège (1985-1997)
Bodson was elected rector of the University of Liège in 1985, serving three consecutive terms until 1997. His tenure coincided with a period of economic crisis that forced him to focus a considerable portion of his governance on budgetary management to restore the institution’s financial health, as RTBF reported.
During his rectorate, the CHU (University Hospital of Liège) became legally autonomous in 1987, and in 1989 the State University transitioned to become the University of the French Community of Belgium. In 1991, the Community allocated a subsidy of 2.8 billion Belgian francs to consolidate the Sart Tilman campus. Bodson also served three years as president of the National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) and presided over the Council of Rectors of Francophone Universities (CREF).
Political and Liberal Engagement
Beyond academia, Bodson was deeply involved in Belgian liberal politics. He served as chief of staff to two Education Ministers—Michel Tromont (1981-1983) and André Bertouille (1983-1985)—and was a close friend of Jean Gol, the influential liberal politician. In 2008, he succeeded Hervé Hasquin as administrateur délégué of the Centre Jean Gol, the liberal think tank named after his friend.
In a tribute published by the Centre Jean Gol, Corentin de Salle, the Centre’s scientific director, wrote: “Very refined and very witty, Arthur Bodson liked to define himself, with humour, as a ‘soldier of the party.’” De Salle also noted that “modest and of great simplicity, Arthur Bodson was nonetheless demanding. A great defender of the teaching of Latin in French-speaking Belgium, he saw in ancient languages not a frozen heritage, but a school of rigour, nuance, and intellectual freedom.”
The Centre Jean Gol noted that Bodson’s death comes less than a month after the passing of Hervé Hasquin, the Centre’s founder, marking a difficult period for the institution.
International and Cultural Contributions
Bodson was active in francophone international cooperation, presiding over the board of the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) from 1998 to 2001 in collaboration with Boutros Boutros-Ghali. He also helped found the University of the Aosta Valley in Italy and served on the board of the Academia Belgica in Rome.
His cultural contributions were equally notable. He served as president of the CHU Liège board from 2002 to 2005, chaired the Concours de piano de Liège since 2009, and founded the NGO Partenaire in 1998 for development cooperation with the Third World.
Honors and Legacy
Bodson received numerous distinctions throughout his life. He was made an Officer of the French Légion d’honneur, was conferred the title of Baron by King Albert II in 2009, and was named an honorary citizen of Liège in 2018. A sculpture titled “élodidole Arthur Bodson” by artist Élodie Antoine, created in 2004, is part of the collection at the Musée en plein air du Sart Tilman.
His pedagogical methodology for teaching ancient languages to beginners, developed during his years at ULiège, remains in use today. As the French Wikipedia entry documents, his career spanned academia, politics, and culture in a way that left a lasting imprint on Belgian intellectual life.
“The memory of Arthur Bodson will continue to guide our action and nourish our reflection,” the Centre Jean Gol concluded in its tribute. His death marks the end of an era for Belgian academia and the liberal movement, but his legacy—in the halls of ULiège, in the classrooms where his Latin method is still taught, and in the institutions he helped shape—will endure.