Pontifical Xavierian University

Xavierian University

Motto	Sapientia Aedificavit  sibi Domum Wisdom Built its own House
Type	Private
Established	1623 (1623)
Affiliation	Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Principal	Jorge Humberto Peláez Pierahita, S.J.
Administrative staff	3,040
Undergraduates	18,059
Postgraduates	3,470
Location	Bogotá, Cundinamarca (Principal) and, Cali, Valle (Sectional), Colombia
Campus	Urban, 3,937 acres (15.93 km2)
Colors	Blue, White, Yellow
Website	javeriana.edu.co(Bogotá) javerianacali.edu.co(Cali)

The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish La Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its main facilities in Bogotá and a second campus in Cali. "La Javeriana", as it is known by its students, has traditionally educated the Colombian elite, and it is one of the 28 universities entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America and one of 114 around the world.

The Javeriana University in Bogotá has 18 schools comprising 61 departments and 181 academic programs catering to areas of knowledge, giving the university its multidisciplinary nature. It has 45 buildings in 445 acres (1.80 km²). The Javeriana University in Cali offers 18 schools in four faculties. It is located in Pance, Cali. Its Law School recently received a high quality accreditation by Resolution 6808 August 6, 2010, of the Ministry of National Education. The campus in Cali has sectional divisions of the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC), Temple University's Fox School of Business, and others.

The University is one of the twelve universities in Colombia having a high quality institutional accreditation, granted to it for eight years by Resolution 1320 June 12, 2003, of the Ministry of National Education. The university has 21 undergraduate programs with high quality accreditation, and eight programs in advanced stages of the accreditation process. In graduate programs, quality is acknowledged through the Qualified Registries. The university has 87 graduate programs with Qualified Registries and has presented another 29 to these processes.

History

Old University gate, today Museum of Colonial Art

The College of the Society of Jesus was established in Santafé de Bogotá in 1604 as part of the San Bartolome School and Cloister. In 1623, the Audience and the Archbishop recognized the academic degrees conferred by the college. The students at that time received their degree, including Pedro Claver. That is the origin of what was known as the University and Academy of Saint Francis Xavier. In 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish colonies, which closed the first stage of Universidad Javeriana's history.

163 years after the university closed, an act of restoration was signed. A communication of the Sacred Congregation of Seminars and Universities congratulated the priesthood for the initiative. In 1937 the School of Economics and Legal Sciences was founded, with the others following. In 1970, after multiple petitions from the community of Cali, the university started a programme in that city. The Universidad Javeriana in Cali took the name of "Seccional Cali," offering degrees in business, engineering, and psychology.

Academics

The university offers 40 undergraduate programs, 69 professional specializations, 45 medical and surgical specializations, 8 dentistry specializations, 22 masters, and 8 PhDs.

Based on its prestige and the quality of its academic offerings, Pontifical Xavierian University selects those students with the highest academic credentials. Its graduates are known for their professional quality, teamwork skills, and value-centered human leadership.

Schools and departments

• School of Theology
• School of Philosophy
• School of Medicine
• School of Dentistry[1].
• School of Nursing
• School of Psychology
• School of Law
• School of Political Science and International Relations
• School of Arts: drama, Department of Visual Arts, music
• School of Social Sciences: anthropology, history, literature, sociology
• School of Sciences: biology, mathematics and physics, microbiology, nutrition, biochemistry
• School of Engineering: civil engineering, industrial engineering, electronic engineering, systems engineering
• School of Economics and Management Sciences: management, accounting, economy.
• School of Education: child pedagogy, basic education emphasizing Spanish and human sciences
• School of Communication and Language: communication studies, information science, languages
• School of Design and Architecture: architecture, industrial design, design of visual communication
• School of Environmental and Rural Studies: ecology, rural and regional development

Research

The University has 61 departments and 14 institutes. Departments are academic units aimed at developing an area of knowledge through research, teaching, and the implementation of services such as continuing education, counseling and advisory activities. Institutes are academic units responsible for research and consulting in areas requiring a special interdisciplinary approach.

To provide technological support to research, education, service and administrative processes, the University has last generation services.

Mention can be made of the technological components available in the following units: The SIU (University Information System, acronym in Spanish) with its "People Soft" platform for Academic Management; the New Technologies-Aided Education Center (CEANTIC) that offers virtual courses support through its Blackboard platform; the Centro Audiovisual Javeriano, with front edge technology in this field in Latin America, internationally accredited like Autodesk Training Center-ATC; the Computer-Aided Architecture and Design Project, CAAD; the Technological Industrial Automation Center; the Geo-referenced Information Center, GIC; the Javeriana Center of Oncology; the San Ignacio University Hospital; and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center. It also has 130 laboratories and workshops.

Libraries

A hall in the second floor of the library.

The Xavierian University has two libraries: the General Library and the Mario Valenzuela, S.J. Library. The latter library specializes in philosophy and theology, and is rated as the best in these disciplines in Latin America. It has seven document and resource centers in the following fields of knowledge: bio-ethics, political sciences, architecture, law, insurance, social communication, and clinical epidemiology.

The library stock numbers 313,540 titles among books, magazines, journals, thesis and dissertation papers, music scores, maps, VHS and DVD film recordings, slides, sound videos and sound recordings. The system has about 90 subscriptions to databases and has access to complete text contents for online consultation of journals, books, thesis and dissertation papers, and digital format slides.

It offers services such as the drafting of bibliographic references on specialized subjects and bibliographic exchange allowing data gathering that includes journal articles and other documents from libraries in Colombia and around the world. It serves the Javeriana community throughout a 24-hour schedule, Monday through Friday.

Headmasters and authorities

Headmasters

1. Baltasar Mas Burgués, S.J. - 1623
2. Sebastían Murillo, S.J. - 1628
3. Francisco de Fuentes, S.J. - 1636
4. Francisco Sarmiento, S.J. - 1639
5. Baltasar Mas Burgués, S.J. - 1641
6. Juan Manuel, S.J. - 1642 - 1645
7. Pedro Fernández, S.J. - 1646
8. Juan Gregorio, S.J. - 1651
9. Francisco Varaiz, S.J. - 1653
10. Juan Gregorio, S.J. - 1657
11. Gaspar Cujía, S.J. - 1659
12. Bartolomé Pérez, S.J.
13. Juan de Santiago, S.J. - 1673
14. Juan Martínez R., S.J. -1677 - 1681
15. Francisco Alvarez, S.J. - 1682
16. Pedro de Mercado, S.J. - 1686
17. Pedro Calderón, S.J. - 1706
18. Diego de Tapia, S.J. - 1733 - 1734
19. Mateo Mimbela, S.J. - 1735
20. Francisco Cataño, S.J. - 1737
21. Jaime López, S.J. - 1738 -1741
22. Tomás Casabona, S.J. - 1743 - 1749
23. Ignacio Ferrer, S.J. - 1756
24. Manuel Román, S.J. - 1761
25. Manuel Zapata, S.J. - 1764 - 1765
26. Nicolás Candela, S.J. - 1767

Modern headmasters

1. José Salvador Restrepo, S.J. 1930 - 1932
2. Jesús María Fernández, S.J. 1932 - 1935
3. Alberto Moreno, S.J. (E) 1935
4. Carlos Ortiz, S.J. 1935 - 1941
5. Francisco Javier Mejía, S.J.(E) 1941
6. Félix Restrepo, S.J. 1941 - 1950
7. Emilio Arango, S.J. 1950 -1955
8. Carlos Ortiz, S.J. (E) 1955 - 1956; (rector) 1956 - 1960
9. Jesús Emilio Ramírez, S.J. 1960 - 1966
10. Fernando Barón, S.J. 1966 - 1970
11. Alfonso Borrero, S.J. 1970 - 1977
12. Roberto Caro, S.J. 1977 - 1983
13. Jorge Hoyos Vásquez, S.J. 1983 - 1989
14. Gerardo Arango Puerta, S.J. 1989 - 1998
15. Gerardo Remolina Vargas, S.J. 1999 - 2007
16. Joaquín Emilio Sánchez, S.J. 2007 -

Authorities

• Great Chancellor: Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.
• Vice-Great Chancellor: Francisco de Roux, S. J.
• University President: Joaquín Emilio Sánchez, S.J.
• Academic Vice-president: Vicente Durán Casas, S.J.
• University Welfare Vice-president: Antonio José Sarmiento- Nova S.J.
• Administrative Vice-president: Roberto Enrique Montoya- Villa
• General Secretary: Jaime Cataño Cataño

Alumni

Javeriana's alumni include a vast range of prominent individuals in the history of the country and the region, including former national presidents, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, journalists, sportsmen and thinkers. An exhaustive and comprehensive list would be nearly impossible; an illustrative list would include:

• Ernesto Samper, president of Colombia (1994–1998)
• Misael Pastrana, president of Colombia (1970–1974)
• Rodolfo Llinás, neuroscientist, dean of Neuroscience, New York University
• Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento, politician
• Catalina Sandino Moreno, Academy Award-nominated actress
• Catalina Robayo, Miss Colombia 2010, placed Top 16 at Miss Universe 2011.
• Alejandro R. Jadad Bechara, physician, innovator, networker and humanist
• Henry Krieger, Broadway producer
• Fernando Araújo Perdomo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (2007–2008)
• Noemí Sanín, former minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, former ambassador to the United Kingdom and Spain
• Peter Claver, saint
• Jorge Franco, writer
• Santiago Gamboa, writer
• Riyad al-Maliki, minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestinian Authority
• Ignacio Martín-Baró, Spanish philosopher and psychologist
• Claudia Palacios, weekend anchor for CNN en Español
• Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, politician, commander of M-19 (dropped out)
• Fernando Vallejo, writer
• Jackeline Rentería,Olympic medallist
• Kristina Lilley, American born-Colombian actress (She studied Biology before she become an actress).
• Paulina Vega, Miss Colombia 2013 and Miss Universe 2014

See also

• List of colonial universities in Latin America

External links

• Link to Pontificia Universidad Javeriana at Bogotá
• Link to Pontificia Universidad Javeriana at Cali
• Postgraduate information