The University has celebrated the Academic Act of St. Thomas Aquinas, in which 25 new doctors have been invested. The feast of the patron saint of universities and university students was preceded by a Mass led by Father Isidro Molina.
The rector, Rosa Visiedo, congratulated the new doctors on “a day of true celebration of the University and its students”. This gathering, she pointed out, “is one of those that most helps us to express the vocation and spirit of the CEU San Pablo University, to be a genuine university community united by a shared identity and a common goal - the interest and passion to educate according to the educational project of the Catholic Association of Propagandists.”
Visiedo encouraged the new doctors to continue on their way, “working for the improvement of science, with the certainty that freedom is in truth”. She also reminded them that “a good teacher is a teacher by vocation, because they love their task, because they are not satisfied with simply being competent, because they give with joy and without limits”.
During this ceremony, the University's Medal of Merit was awarded to Pilar Algora, Director of Protocol, who has dedicated 40 years of service to the institution this academic year. "Pilar, you are an example of an unquestionable vocation of service, of what it means to serve with your heart. You will be part of the CEU family, of the history of the institution, of that group of dedicated people who have given everything for the growth of this house," said the Rector.
For his part, Alejandro Rodríguez de la Peña, Professor of Medieval History at the Faculty of Humanities and Communication Sciences, gave the Guest Lecture entitled "St. Thomas Aquinas and the University". In his speech, paraphrasing the philosopher's lectio, Rodríguez de la Peña pointed out that "good teachers must understand that they are not teaching their own truth, but that of God; they must not try to make disciples for themselves, because it is not their truth that they are sharing. Teachers, like the mountain, reflect the light from above. On their own, without the reflected light of the sun, they bring darkness and shadow. The professor, alluding to the words of Aquinas, also emphasized the admiration of students for their teachers, because "they must see in them an incarnation of their own vocation.
Similarly, Rodríguez de la Peña recalled the fundamental role of the collegiate system of higher education in providing adequate educational space for universities. “Even today, Oxford and Cambridge revolve around this model in which the faculties play an entirely subordinate role to the colleges,” he pointed out. In this sense, he noted that the first universities were not structured around lecture halls, but around study communities, that is, personal relationships between teachers and university students.
The Chancellor of the University, Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, also congratulated the new doctors and invited those present to reflect on the role of the University. Subsequently, he closed the Academic Act.