Universidad Francisco Marroquín

Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Latin: Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Motto La enseñanza y difusión de los principios éticos, jurídicos y económicos de una sociedad de personas libres y responsables
Motto in English
 The education and spreading of ethical, judicial, and economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons
Type Private
Endowment 1971
President Gabriel Calzada
Location Guatemala City, Guatemala
Campus 6a. Calle Final, Calle Manuel F. Ayau, Zona 10
Nickname UFM
Website ufm.edu

Universidad Francisco Marroquín (UFM), or Francisco Marroquín University, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The school's website, characterizes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal, and overall economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons".

According to Milton Friedman, UFM is "one of the leading universities in Latin America".[1]

History

Universidad Francisco Marroquín was founded in 1971 by Manuel F. Ayau, known as Muso.[2] Its namesake is Francisco Marroquín, an early bishop of Guatemala and translator of Central American languages; although the university does not follow any of his teachings or philosophies. Started by members of Centro de Estudios Economico-Sociales ("Center for Economic and Social Studies") with $40,000 and 125 students, UFM counts 2,700 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students as of 2009. UFM's philosophy statement says that universities need to place themselves beyond the conflicts of their time so that science and academic freedom – which humankind will need at all times – may be preserved.[3]

Degrees

In Guatemala, as in most of Latin America, the educational system concentrates students in their academic or professional discipline from the time of admission. Following secondary school, students are admitted to a particular school or department and, beginning the first year, follow a prescribed program leading to a degree.

Undergraduate

Licenciatura degree (Licentiate)In most of Latin America, the degree that is most commonly awarded to undergraduate students is called licenciatura. Traditionally, it includes several more academic credits than a B.A. or B.S.

Graduate

Master's degree Disciplines: Business administration (MBA); entrepreneurial economics; international political economy; international relations; finance and taxation; management of human resources; social sciences.[4] Master's degree in the following medical specialties: internal medicine; ophthalmology; pediatrics; radiology.[4]

Doctoral degree

Economics; law; social sciences[4]

Academic disciplines

Areas of instruction include:

Departments and projects

Ludwig von Mises Library – The library at UFM has 100,000 visitors annually and is the most extensive collection of works on liberty in Latin America. [16] There is a collection of the private libraries of prominent intellectuals and collectors:

At the beginning of the New Millennium the Library started offering access to digital resources. It is subscribed to other services in this area including EBSCOHost databases, Oxford Scholarship Online, xRefer Plus and UpToDate, MDConsult and others.

The library was chosen amongst all the libraries around the World within the 10 libraries to receive the Elsevier donation of 670 titles. The library site received the Arroba de Oro award in Guatemala for the best educational website.

Henry Hazlitt Center – The purpose of the Henry Hazlitt Center is to coordinate the courses of Economic Process (I,II and III) and Social Philosophy (Hayek, and the Austrian School) that are offered to all the students at UFM in Pregrad level, in all the schools. It also offers seminars and lectures for professors in order to improve their academic and pedagogic skills.

Center for the Study of Capitalism – Founded in 2009 with the support of Universidad Francisco Marroquín as a private, secular, coeducational, nonresidential, nonprofit center of study. The Center organizes socratic dialogue sessions with high school students and young entrepreneurs to study philosophical values as guides to excellence in thinking and action. Since its foundation, more than a thousand participants have joined philosophical discussions.[17]

Arboretum – Awakening and cultivating the love for nature and conservation of plants and animals in the Campus. The land where the University Francisco Marroquin stands, is a remnant of the Montano Forest, pine and Encino trees, that used to cover Guatemala’s surface. The beautiful gardens that the University has have been carefully designed to integrate native and exotic species that have been admired by students and visitors. Since the beginning preservation of this forest was a priority to the point where the Ludwig von Mises Library architectural design of the buildings was done so the trees were kept as intact as possible. We decided to take our effort much further and this is why the Arboretum was created so now we are preserving and studying many species. [18] New Media Department – Creation, Implementation & Effective Management of Digital Resources – The New Media Department specializes in streaming audio and video conferences in English and Spanish on topics related to classical liberal thought.[19] Sampler:

The New Media digital library includes 1,500 hours of digitized and indexed educational material, and receives over 1,000 visitors daily from around the world.

Museo Popol Vuh – The Popol Vuh Museum offers its visitors a unique journey through Guatemalan history, illustrated by one of the best collections of prehispanic and colonial art in the country. The museum is a scientific, private, non-lucrative organization part of Universidad Francisco Marroquín. The museum’s objectives include: conservation, investigation and the popularization of Guatemala’s cultural and archeological heritage.[24]

Lienzo de Quauhquechollan – This is a large Nahua painting on cotton cloth (lienzo) that belongs to the pre-Hispanic tradition of documenting stories of migrations and conquests within a geographic context. Considered the first map of Guatemala, it is one of the few sources from the 16th century that tell of the military campaigns of Jorge de Alvarado in 1527. A digitally restored copy and an animated recreation of the story, exhibited at the UFM campus, are based on the research done by Dutch archaeologist Florine Asselbergs.[25]

ITA Scholarship Program – ITA (in Spanish, an acronym for Impulso al Talento Academico) stands for "promotion of academic talent"; the program grants scholarships for undergraduate degrees at Universidad Francisco Marroquínfor to the poorest, most highly qualified and most motivated students. The scholarship covers full tuition and fees, room and board, medical insurance, and a stipend for public transportation, books and basic personal expenses.[26]

Traditions and landmarks

Following Manuel Ayau – In 1972 the first class of students that entered to Universidad Francisco Marroquín presented a pair of bronzed shoes to the founding rector, Manuel F. Ayau, as a joke. Since then the shoes are kept at the rector's office; as a way to remember, for the members of UFM, that they follow Manuel F. Ayau's steps, and those of the founders of the University, on the road to freedom.

Honoring the champions of freedom – Universidad Francisco Marroquín has awarded honoris causa doctorates to scientists, intellectuals, businessmen, artists and others who have contributed to the sciences, the arts, the world of business and the cause of freedom. Four Nobel Prize winners have accepted the honorary degree awarded by UFM: Friedrich A. Hayek; Milton Friedman, James M. Buchanan and Vernon L. Smith. [27]

At the House of Freedom, the library is named alter Ludwig von Mises; there are the Friedrich A. Hayek Auditorium and the Milton Friedman Auditorium. And the department in charge of the courses of Social Philosophy and Economic Process is named after Henry Hazlitt. There is a Freedom Plaza and a terrace named after Rose Friedman.

Mises’ birthday – Ludwig von Mises was born on September 29. 1881; and to remember his birthday, professor Joseph Keckeissen's students celebrate a Viennese party by the second semester of every year. It includes theatrical presentations, singing and dancing. Joseph Keckeissen attended Mises´ Seminar in New York City and he began the misian theatrical tradition, at UFM in the 1980s with the Guttenberg Society.

Commencement ceremony – On May and November, UFM celebrates commencement ceremonies. During these the graduating students receive their titles and diplomas. On that occasion the Board of Directors award the honoris causa doctorates.

Honor graduates ceremony – The night before the Commencement ceremony, at UFM, they celebrate a ceremony and a cocktail party in praise of those students which graduate with honors, and to celebrate excellence (in Spanish). The honors awarded are Cum Laude, for those who obtained grades between 85 and 90: Magna Cum Laude, for those who obtained grades between 91 and 94; and Summa Cum Laude, for those who accumulated an average between 95 and 100.

Inaugural Lesson – The Inaugural Lesson enjoys a long academic tradition. At Universidad Francisco Marroquín it is a Commencement ceremony and an opportunity to get together the faculty and the students around the philosophy of freedom presented by a local or visiting professor. The first Inaugural Lesson, at UFM, was presented by vicerector emeritus Rigoberto Juárez-Paz, and it was about Plato's Academy.

Landmarks on campus

Francisco Marroquín’s bust – Universidad Francisco Marroquín has no religious affiliation; but it was named after Bishop Marroquín because of being the first prelate ordained in America during the colonial times. During his tenure as bishop, Marroquín took care of the right of the indigenous people and helped fund the first university in Central America. Francisco Marroquín's bust was donated to the university by the trustee Félix Montes in January 1975. The sculptor is José Nicolás.

The bust of Friedrich A. Hayek – Friedrich A. Hayek was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974. He visited UFM in 1977 on being awarded an honoris causa doctorate in social sciences. The House of Freedom, the auditorium of the Academic Building, is named for Hayek. His bust is located at the Ludwig von Mises Library and was donated by Walter S. Morris, of Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1991.

The bust of Ludwig von Mises – Ludwig von Mises was a luminary of the Austrian School of economics. He visited Guatemala when invited by the Centro de Estudios Económico-Sociales and supported for the foundation of the Universidad Francisco Marroquín. His bust was donated by the class of 1975 from the School of Business.

Atlas Libertas – A bas relief placed on the main façade of the UFM Business School.[28] A high-relief sculpture of a human figure supporting the universe seen from the back from head to hip. The universe is represented by a series of semicircles (abstract planets and gear mechanisms). The sculpture is made of brass plate with a cyan-colored finish resembling oxidized copper.

The Central Garden (renamed Manuel Ayau's Garden) – The Central Garden, modelled after a Greek amphitheater, hosts the commencement ceremonies and the bust of Francisco Marroquin is the focus of the garden. In 2011, after the death of founder Manuel Ayau Cordón, it was renamed to honor him.

The Academic Building’s Garden – The garden, at the Academia Building is surrounded by classrooms and the administration's offices seven stories high. Nevertheless, with an air of a Japanese garden and pond, it is an oasis of tranquility, removed from the exuberance of the campus itself.

The fountain at the Ludwig von Mises Library – Between the Central Garden and the Ludwig von Mises Library.

Journals

Notable Recipients of honorary degrees from UFM

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Muso". UFM. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Philosophy Statement
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "UFM at a Glance". UFM. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. 1 2
  10. ↑
  11. 1 2 3
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ Library
  17. ↑ Webpage:
  18. ↑ Webpage (in Spanish):
  19. ↑ Webpage (in Spanish):
  20. ↑ "Libre para elegir – New Media" (in Spanish). Newmedia.ufm.edu.gt. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  21. ↑ "Peregrinaje Intelectual – New Media" (in Spanish). Newmedia.ufm.edu.gt. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  22. ↑ "Honorary Doctorate Ceremony – New Media" (in Spanish). Newmedia.ufm.edu.gt. 2007-11-29. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  23. ↑ "Interview with Rose and Milton Friedman – New Media" (in Spanish). Newmedia.ufm.edu.gt. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  24. ↑ "Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala". Popolvuh.ufm.edu. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  25. ↑ "The Lienzo". Archived from the original on 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  26. ↑ "ITA". Ita.ufm.edu. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  27. ↑ See the entire list, here <http://www.ufm.edu.gt/dochonorif.asp> (in Spanish).
  28. ↑ Description

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Universidad Francisco Marroquín.

Coordinates: 14°36′18″N 90°30′22″W / 14.6051°N 90.5062°W / 14.6051; -90.5062

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.