Páll Skúlason was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Iceland for several years and the Rector of that university from 1997-2005. He was also recruited to take an active part in shaping the University of Luxembourg, which was fouded in 2003. Here, he explores the university historically, discusses how the contemporary university has evolved out of Medieval institutions, and presents the influential models of the universitiy that were set out during the nineteenth century. Furthermore, he analyzes the status and direction of the university in the new and radically changed social, political and technological environment of today.