NAVARRE, UNIVERSITY OF

Established in Pamplona, Spain, by opus dei—now the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei—as a center for higher studies, the university was officially inaugurated with the opening of the Law School in 1952. Other schools soon followed: Medicine and Nursing (1954), Humanities (1955), Sciences (1957), Journalism (1958), and Engineering (1960), the last located in the neighboring city of San Sebastian. The Canon Law department opened in 1959. The IESE Business School, located in Barcelona, was incorporated in 1958.

In August 1960, in accordance with the 1953 Spanish Concordat, the university was erected as a Catholic university by the Holy See under the title it bears today, The University of Navarre. The Spanish government, due partly to the establishment of this new university, signed an agreement with the Holy See on April 5, 1962, stating the conditions for the accreditation of degrees by ecclesiastical universities. On Sept. 8, 1962 recognition was granted to all the existing departments. Thus the University of Navarre inaugurated a new era of freedom in education in Spain, bringing an end to the state monopoly in effect since the nineteenth century.

After its recognition as a university, the schools of pharmacy and architecture and the institutes of liberal arts and modern languages were begun. Although the curriculum closely followed other Spanish universities, the board of directors tried to incorporate the best university traditions of other countries.

The grand chancellor of the University of Navarre, who is the prelate of Opus Dei, works closely with the board of governors in supervising the direction of the university. The governing board comprises the president, several vice-presidents, a secretary general, an administrator and the various deans. Each faculty is governed by a board made up of the dean, assistant dean, secretary, and professors; student representatives are also present on the board. The university is financed by student tuition, research contracts, and the contributions from the Association of Friends of the University. It does not receive any funding from the Spanish government.

The university publishes journals on archaeology, architecture, family studies, public relations, law, Canon Law, philosophy, history of the Church, literature, theology and current events. The university press publishes numerous books each year. Departmental libraries have been set up for the humanities, geography, social sciences, medicine, and biology. The schools of medicine, sciences, and pharmacy share departmental offices and work in conjunction the Clínica Universitaria, a highly specialized teaching hospital that has become world-renowned in medical science.

[j. a. paniagua/

r. pellitero]