Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. It provides courses in the areas of education, business administration, arts and human studies and science, leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate Degrees. Its campus is also home to a Law School as well as a new (August 2010) School of Architecture
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. Together with the School of Law, it is one of two semi-autonomous professional colleges of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in the city...
. The university's original name (Catholic University of Santa Maria) was changed in 1968 to Catholic University of Puerto Rico with the opening of campuses in Mayagüez and Arecibo
Arecibo
Arecibo may refer to:*Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a municipality located by the Atlantic Ocean*Arecibo Observatory, a very sensitive radio telescope located approximately south-southwest from the city of Arecibo...
. In 1984 the name was again changed to its current name, to commemorate the visit to Puerto Rico of Pontiff
Pontiff
A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests . The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives...
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
History
The university was founded in spring of 1948 by James E. McManusJames Edward McManus
James Edward McManus, C.SS.R. was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Redemptorist, he served as Bishop of Ponce in Puerto Rico and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York ....
, C.S.S.R., Bishop of the Diocese of Ponce, and James Peter Davis
James Peter Davis
James Peter Davis was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Juan and Archbishop of Santa Fe .-Biography:...
, Bishop of the Diocese of San Juan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, comprising the northeast portion of the island of Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States...
. It was originally founded as the Catholic University of Santa Maria. Its first president was Monseñor Vicente Murga. The original campus consisted of a few classrooms provided by the Padres Capuchinos and the Hermanas Josefinas, catholic clergymen and nuns, respectively, in the Colegio San Conrado
Colegio San Conrado
Colegio San Conrado is a private Catholic school in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The school was founded in 1948 by the Capuchin Fathers of Ponce. It serves grades PK through 12, and it is composed of two major divisions, one serving students in the PK through 8 levels, and the other serving students in...
in Ponce, a catholic primary educational school. This continued until 1949, when the university obtained 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) from the Puerto Rico government
Government of Puerto Rico
The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...
. It has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
since 1953.
Schools
In 1961, the university started the School of Law (Escuela de Derecho) providing graduate law studies and student exchange programs with other law schools in the United States and in Spain. The school has been host to famous and respected Puerto Rican law professors, including former Puerto Rico governor Rafael Hernández ColónRafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fourth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for three non-consecutive terms, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1993. An experienced politician, Hernández holds the record for being the youngest Governor of Puerto Rico,...
.
In 1976, the university started the School of Medicine
Ponce School of Medicine
Ponce School of Medicine is a private medical school located in the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico, U.S. The school is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education , and classified as a United States Medical School...
(Escuela de Medicina) as a graduate medical education program, which, when reorganized in 1979-1980, became an independent private non-profit medical school now known as the Ponce School of Medicine
Ponce School of Medicine
Ponce School of Medicine is a private medical school located in the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico, U.S. The school is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education , and classified as a United States Medical School...
. In 2009 the university also opened a School of Architecture
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. Together with the School of Law, it is one of two semi-autonomous professional colleges of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in the city...
(Escuela de Arquitectura).
In 2011, the university announced it was engaging in a $20 million expansion plan that would result in the creation of three new schools over a ten-year period. The three new schools were reported to be a School of Graphical Design, a School of Fashion, and a School of Cinematic Arts.
Campuses
Aside from its main campus in barrio Canas UrbanoCanas Urbano
Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Canas Urbano is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of Ponce...
, on Avenida Las Americas (PR-163), the university has two additional campuses: the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo in Arecibo and the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez is a university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is part of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico....
in Mayagüez. It also has a satellite extension in Coamo
Coamo, Puerto Rico
Coamo is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the southern region, north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coamo is spread over 10 wards and Coamo Pueblo...
. The School of Architecture is also a separate campus from the main campus on Avenida Las Americas and is located across from Plaza Las Delicias
Plaza Las Delicias
Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within Plaza Las Delicias. Plaza Las Delicias is actually composed of...
in downtown Ponce
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
.
Social
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See also
- Pontifical Catholic University School of LawPontifical Catholic University School of LawThe Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law is settled in an area of in the City of Ponce, Puerto Rico on the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico main campus. It was established in 1961.-History:...
- Ponce School of MedicinePonce School of MedicinePonce School of Medicine is a private medical school located in the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico, U.S. The school is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education , and classified as a United States Medical School...
- Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at MayagüezPontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at MayagüezThe Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez is a university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is part of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico....
- Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of ArchitecturePontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of ArchitectureThe Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. Together with the School of Law, it is one of two semi-autonomous professional colleges of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in the city...