Vrije Universiteit Brussel is not to be confused with the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Rather it is an offshoot of the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles founded in 1834 by a Brussels lawyer, Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen. Verhagen wanted to set up a university that would be independent from the state and the church and where academic freedom would be the driving force behind the curriculum. The Dutch-speaking university (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) was split off from its French-speaking counterpart on 1 October 1969. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel has two campuses – Etterbeek and Jette.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel is sometimes abbreviated to VUB which translates to Free University of Brussels. Because of the confusion with the "other" university, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel tries to use its full name for everything and avoids abbreviations. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel also follows the same philosophy as the French university and its slogan reflects this approach to academic freedom - Redelijk eigenzinnig – that translates to "Reasonably opinionated." All members, from students to faculty participate in making decisions.