About "of"
why is it "a student of the university", while "a friend of mine"or "a friend of my father's"? why the "university" is not "university's"?
And what does "of" mean in the sentence "I don't know of anything that would be suitable."?

Question

About "of"
why is it "a student of the university", while "a friend of mine"or "a friend of my father's"?  why the "university" is not "university's"? 
And what does "of" mean in the sentence "I don't know of anything that would be suitable."?

Answer

"of" in these examples indicates possession.

friend of mine > My friend
a friend of my father > my father's friend (in the original sentence  father's is incorrect)

it doesn't work with university because that would be an adjective
a student of the university > a university (or specific school) student  i.e. a student of Northwestern or   a Northwestern student.

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