Odense University of Southern Denmark in 1998, it had four faculties covering arts, medicine, and natural and social sciences. The university building which opened in 1971 was designed by KHR Arkitekter. The University of Southern Denmark ("Syddansk Universitet") was established in 1998 as a merger of Odense University, the Southern Denmark Business School ("Handelshøjskole Syd"), the Southern Engineering School ("Ingeniørhøjskole Syd") and the South Jutland University Centre ("Sydjysk Universitetscenter"). The main campus is in Odense but there are also departments in Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Kolding, Slagelse and Sønderborg. With some 26,000 students (2012), the establishment is Denmark's third largest university. The Faculty
Odense boundaries were redefined in 1970. As a result, the population declined slightly in the 1970s and 1980s, falling to 136,646 in 1981. It began climbing again in the late 1980s, and steadily grew to 144,518 in 1996 and 145,554 in 2004. In 2010 Odense had a population of 166,305 people. As of 2017 it had a population of 176,683. Odense Municipality is the administrative unit which covers not only the city of Odense but surrounding suburbs and villages. Odense City Council consists of 29 members, including a mayor. The former mayor of Odense, Anker Boye, is a member of the