The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional 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 upper class. It is one of the 33 universities entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America and one of 167 around the world.
The Bogotá campus has 18 schools comprising 61 departments and 242 academic programs catering to areas of knowledge, giving the university its multidisciplinary nature. It has 45 buildings in 445 acres (1.80 km2). The Pance, Cali campus offers 18 schools in four faculties. Its Law School recently received a high-quality accreditation by Resolution 6808 on 6 August 2010, from 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, 12 June 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 over 87 graduate programs. According to the QS World University Rankings in 2023, the university was ranked #382 globally, #18 in Latin America, and #3 in Colombia.
History
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.
Then 163 years after the university closed, an act of restoration was signed. In 1937, the School of Economics and Legal Sciences was founded, with the others following. In 1970, after multiple petitions from the community of Pance, Cali, the university started a program in that city. The Universidad Javeriana in Cali took the name of "Cali Branch", offering degrees in business, engineering, and psychology.
Campus
Main Campus in Bogotá
The university's main campus has a total area of 445 acres (180ha) and approximately 202,988 spared meters of construction. Inside, there are a total of 45 buildings, 18 cafeterias, 1 university bookstore, a hospital, 1 parking block building with 1200 parking spaces, and 1 travel agency. The main campus is located inside the locality of Chapinero in eastern Bogotá since 1940. This campus borders city landmarks such as the Parque Nacional Enrique Olaya Herrera to the south, Carrera Séptima (seventh street) on the west end, the Eastern Hills (Bogotá) and the Chapinero Block to the north. Today this university maintains its open campus environment that allows pedestrians to walk on the interior.
A brief history of some of the university's buildings:
Most Buildings are named after previous presidents or deceased Jesuit Faculty members.
- 1951: The university begins its modern development with the construction of the Edificio Emilio Arango, S.J., today this building is home to the university's central government and administration.
- 1955: Hospital Universitario San Ignacio is built, home to the school of Medicine.
- 1954: The inauguration of the Edificio Félix Restrepo, S.J. alongside the programs of Bacteriology, Art and Decorations, Law, Nursing, Commerce, and Philosophy.
- 1958: The Architecture workshops are opened.
- 1959: Female in-campus Housing facilities, which today is known as Edificio Carlos Ortiz, S.J.
- 1976: The Jesús María Fernandez, S.J. Building is open to the public. Today it houses the Main library named after Alfonso Borrero Cabal S.J.
- 1980 -1990: The new phase of development begins, with buildings such as José Gabriel Maldonado, S.J. Building, home to the school of Engineering and all its departments.
- 1991: The Gabriel Giraldo, S.J., custom made for The School of Law and The School of Political Science and International Relationships. In 1993, the Lecture room Building Fernando Barón, S.J. is built, and in 1996 the parking lot building with room for 1,200 vehicles.
- 2000: The university expands its physical development to the southeast with the Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Building where the School of Theology is located. Alongside this building there is also the Javeriana Centre for Sport Education (Gym, Sports and Training Facilities) and the Manuel Briceño, S.J. Building for The School of Psychology, The School of Social Sciences, and The School of Philosophy.
- 2008: The university begins construction for "The Master Plan for The Development of The University's Infrastructure" alongside the very strict policy for ecological and environmental preservation. This plan includes the construction of the new Comparative Biology Building (2009), the Faculty of Arts Building (2014), the Jorge Hoyos, S.J. Building (now nicknamed "The Arc" for its peculiar architectural design) which opened in 2016, The ATICO Center (2009), one of the most technologically advanced buildings in Latin America for the Arts and Communication Studies (Atico is an acronym in Spanish for "High Technology, information, and computing").
Development continues with The School of Engineering Laboratory Building (the tallest building on campus with a total of 15 floors) that opened its doors in 2020, the new Science Labs Building, and the Continuing Studies off-campus Building, in the northern part of the city, which is still under construction. The master plan also includes the construction of a new and more modern Hospital, an auditorium capable of holding ceremonies with up to 1,800 people, the new School of Architecture and Design Building, and an expansion to the gym facilities to include an on-campus pool.
Cali Branch
The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Cali is located to the south of the city, in Pance, near the Farallones de Cali, which are part of the Andes Mountain Range. It has a more rural ambiance where vegetation is abundant and is not rare to see local fauna. This campus has eight Buildings: Las Palmas, Guayacanes Building, Lecture Hall of The Lake, Administrative Offices, Samán Building, Almendros Building, Continuing Studies Building, Acacias Building, The Pink Cedar Building, and the Library. Currently, there are 2 more buildings under construction. It also has 5 cafeterias, a bookstore, parking lots, a center for the Colombian Stock Market, and a Subsidiary of the Fox School of Business from Temple University.
Academics
The university offers 46 undergraduate programs and 179 graduate programs including, 94 professional specializations, 45 medical and surgical specializations, 8 dentistry specializations, 72 masters, and 13 PhDs.
Schools and departments
- School of Theology
- School of Philosophy
- School of Medicine
- School of Dentistry
- School of Nursing
- School of Psychology
- School of Law
- School of Political Science and International Relations
- School of Arts: visual arts, performing arts, music
- School of Social Sciences: anthropology, history, literature, sociology, cultural studies
- School of Sciences: biology, mathematics and physics, microbiology, nutrition & biochemistry, chemistry
- School of Engineering: civil engineering, industrial engineering, electronic engineering, systems engineering, telecommunications engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, bioengineering, data science
- School of Economics and Management Sciences: management, accounting, economy, finances.
- School of Education: child pedagogy, basic education emphasizing Spanish and human sciences
- School of Communication and Language: communication studies, information science, languages and linguistics
- 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 next-generation network 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 has 130 laboratories and workshops.
La Javeriana is among the leading universities researching the Muisca people and culture.
Libraries
The Xavierian University has four libraries: The General Library, the Mario Valenzuela, S.J., Library, which specializes in philosophy and theology, the Alfonso Llano Escobar, S.J. Bio-ethics Library, and the CIRE (Centre for Ignatius Reflection and Exercises) Library. It has seven document and resource centers in the following fields of knowledge: bio-ethics, political science, architecture, psychology, law, insurance, social communication, and clinical epidemiology.
The library stock numbers 418,008 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.
University Presidents and Executive Officers
Colonial Era University Presidents
- Baltasar Mas Burgués, S.J. – 1623
- Sebastián Murillo, S.J. – 1628
- Francisco de Fuentes, S.J. – 1636
- Francisco Sarmiento, S.J. – 1639
- Baltasar Mas Burgués, S.J. – 1641
- Juan Manuel, S.J. – 1642 – 1645
- Pedro Fernández, S.J. – 1646
- Juan Gregorio, S.J. – 1651
- Francisco Varaiz, S.J. – 1653
- Juan Gregorio, S.J. – 1657
- Gaspar Cujía, S.J. – 1659
- Bartolomé Pérez, S.J.
- Juan de Santiago, S.J. – 1673
- Juan Martínez R., S.J. – 1677 – 1681
- Francisco Alvarez, S.J. – 1682
- Pedro de Mercado, S.J. – 1686
- Pedro Calderón, S.J. – 1706
- Diego de Tapia, S.J. – 1733 – 1734
- Mateo Mimbela, S.J. – 1735
- Francisco Cataño, S.J. – 1737
- Jaime López, S.J. – 1738 – 1741
- Tomás Casabona, S.J. – 1743 – 1749
- Ignacio Ferrer, S.J. – 1756
- Manuel Román, S.J. – 1761
- Manuel Zapata, S.J. – 1764 – 1765
- Nicolás Candela, S.J. – 1767
Modern University Presidents
- José Salvador Restrepo, S.J. 1930 – 1932
- Jesús María Fernández, S.J. 1932 – 1935
- Alberto Moreno, S.J. (E) 1935
- Carlos Ortiz, S.J. 1935 – 1941
- Francisco Javier Mejía, S.J.(E) 1941
- Félix Restrepo, S.J. 1941 – 1950
- Emilio Arango, S.J. 1950 – 1955
- Carlos Ortiz, S.J. (E) 1955 – 1956; (rector) 1956 – 1960
- Jesús Emilio Ramírez, S.J. 1960 – 1966
- Fernando Barón, S.J. 1966 – 1970
- Alfonso Borrero, S.J. 1970 – 1977
- Roberto Caro, S.J. 1977 – 1983
- Jorge Hoyos Vásquez, S.J. 1983 – 1989
- Gerardo Arango Puerta, S.J. 1989 – 1998
- Gerardo Remolina Vargas, S.J. 1999 – 2007
- Joaquín Emilio Sánchez, S.J. 2007 – 2014
- Jorge Humberto Pelaez Piedrahita, S.J. 2014 – 2023
- Luis Fernando Múnera Congote, SJ 2023—
Current Executive Officers
- Great Chancellor: Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.
- Vice Great Chancellor: Carlos Eduardo Correa Jaramillo, S.J.
- President: Jorge Humberto Peláez Piedrahita, S.J.
- Provost: Luis David Prieto Martínez
- Vice President for University Welfare: Luis Alfonso Castellanos Ramírez, S.J.
- Vice President for Administration: Catalina Martinez de Rozo
- Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations: Luis Fernando Álvarez Londoño, S.J.
- Vice President for Research: Luis Miguel Renjifo
- General Secretary: Jairo Humberto Cifuentes Madrid
Cali Branch
On 6 October 1970, responding to requests from the local community and the efforts of a group of practicing accountants who aspired to obtain the university degree, a Program of Public Accounting began in Cali. This was the origin of the Cali branch of the Javeriana University. On 20 November 1978, the board proposed the name Cali Branch, with headquarters in the capital under the same organization and higher authorities. The board of regents, at the request of the board, adopted the name Cali Branch.