I recently finished reading The Upright Thinkers by Leonard Mlodinow, and in the book, he talks about how essential the university system was in transforming European thought, and that these earlier academics influenced future scientists. The author, in my opinion, did not adequately explain how universities were founded and sustained, though he did an excellent job of explaining the effects of these institutions. The main reason for the university system he used was that Europe had a dearth of professionals after several population crises, and that the universities formed to replace these professionals. I do not think that the stated reason accounts for all the causes of the coming about of universities. I would also like some more practical details about early universities, if possible. With this said, I have a few clarifying questions:

What was geography's role in the formation of universities?

How were the first buildings constructed or bought?

How were the original professors found and convinced to join a university? Were any of them from the Church?

From what backgrounds did the first students come, and how did their backgrounds change in the first few centuries of the earliest European universities?

What did early graduates do for careers after leaving? What portion of graduates went into the Church?

There are more questions that I would like to ask concerning this topic, but I feel as though this post is getting a bit full.

Disclaimer: I am still fairly new to this community. Please take into account that I am trying my best to follow the rules and the suggested format, but that I may not know all the conventions of the subreddit yet.