The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

with its main campus in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in education, business administration, the sciences, and arts and humanities. It also has campuses in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

and Mayagüez, as well as a satellite extension in

Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coam ...

. It is also home to a

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

and a

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...

. The university also founded a medical school, Escuela de Medicina de Ponce, in 1977, but in 1980 became an independent entity that eventually became the

Ponce Health Sciences University The Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), formerly Ponce School of Medicine & Health Sciences, is a private, for-profit university in Ponce, Puerto Rico and St. Louis, Missouri. It awards graduate degrees in Medicine (MD), Clinical Psycholog ...

. The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1948 as Universidad Católica de Santa Maria, but its name was changed to Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico with the graduation of its first class in 1950.Cristobal Colón. ''A mis amigos de la Universidad Católica.'' Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas, Inc. 1993. Page 8. On 25 January 1991, the name was changed again to its current name, after

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

bestowed the title of

pontifical A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy O ...

on the university.

History

The university was founded in spring of 1948 by James E. McManus, C.S.S.R., Bishop of the Diocese of Ponce, and

James Peter Davis James Peter Davis (June 9, 1904 – March 4, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop (later Archbishop) of San Juan (1943–1964) and Archbishop of Santa Fe (1964–1974). Biography James Davis was born in H ...

, Bishop of the Diocese of San Juan. It was founded as the Catholic University of Santa Maria. "The name Santa Maria was chosen to honor the Mother of God and to implore her protection and help." Its first president was Monseñor Vicente Murga. The original campus consisted of a few classrooms provided by the

Capuchin Friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

(OFM) and the

Sisters of Saint Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

, catholic clergymen and nuns, respectively, in the

Colegio San Conrado Colegio San Conrado is a private Catholic school in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1948 by the Capuchin Friars, under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York. Currently the School is owned by the Diocese of P ...

in Ponce, a catholic primary educational school. During 1949, the university acquired from the Government of Puerto Rico (administered by Autoridad de Tierras). This plot of land was located south of the city center proper and was, at the time, part of the ''Ingenio La Reparada'' sugar cane plantation, and being used to feed

Central Mercedita Hacienda Mercedita was a sugarcane plantation in Ponce, Puerto Rico, founded in 1861, by Juan Serrallés Colón. Today Hacienda Mercedita no longer grows sugarcane and its lands are instead used for growing mangoes, grasses, landscape plants a ...

sugar mill. The University has been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

since 1953.

Presidents

* Jorge Iván Vélez Arocho (2010–present) * Marcelina Velez de Santiago (2006 - 2010) * Jose Alberto MoralesFrancisco Lluch Mora. ''Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce y Otras Noticias Relativas a su Desarrollo Urbano, Demográfico y Cultural (Siglos XVI-XIX).'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Plaza Mayor. 2001. p. 7. (2001 - 2006) * Tossello Giangiacono (1984 - 2001) * Jaime B. Fuster (1981 - 1984)Cristóbal Colón. ''A mis amigos de la Universidad Católica.'' Ponce, Puerto Rico: Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas. 1993. p. 9. * Francisco Carreras (1969 - 1981) * Theodore McCarrick (1965 - 1969) * John F. Mueller (1961 - 1965) * Thomas Stanley (1956 - 1961) * William Ferree (1953 - 1956) * Vicente Murga (1948 - 1953)

Schools

In 1961, the university started the

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 Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

. In 1976, the university started the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

as a graduate medical education program, which, when reorganized, became an independent private institution now known as the

. In 2009, the university opened a

. 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 Ponce, specifically on barrio

Canas Urbano Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrio 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 ...

, on Avenida Las Americas ( PR-163), the university has two additional campuses: the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

in Arecibo and the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez is a private, Roman Catholic university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is part of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto R ...

in Mayagüez. It also has a satellite extension in

. The

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is an institution of higher learning granting degrees in the field of architecture. It is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. It was establ ...

is also a separate campus and is located across from

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 the plaza, ...

at the historic Forteza Building in downtown Ponce.

Student life

Notable alumni

Imna Arroyo Imna Arroyo is a Puerto Rican artist. Her work is centered on printmaking and painting, particularly around the theme of "energia de mujeres", or "women's energy". Early life and education Arroyo was born in 1951 in Guayama, Puerto Rico and at ...

Javier Culson Javier Culson Pérez (born 25 July 1984) is a Puerto Rican athlete and Olympiad bronze medalist who specialises in the 400-metre hurdles. After becoming involved with the discipline in his late teen years, he entered the podium in some regiona ...

''Men's 400m Hurdles.''
Olympic Games 27 July – 12 August: Official London 2012 website. Retrieved 25 September 2018. *

Juan H. Cintrón García Juan Herminio Cintrón García (11 March 1919 – 22 September 2012) was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1968 to 1972. Under his administration the city of Ponce saw the construction of the Coliseo Juan "Pachí ...

Juan Miguel Betancourt Juan Miguel Betancourt, S.E.M.V. (born June 1, 1970 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a prelate of the Catholic Church serving as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connecticut since 2018. Biography Early life Juan Miguel Beta ...

Julio Brady Julio A. Brady (August 23, 1942 – September 16, 2015) was an American Virgin Islander judge, politician and attorney. Brady served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1983 to 1987 during the second term of former ...

Lymari Nadal Lymari Nadal Torres (born 11 February 1978) is a Puerto Rican actress, film producer and scriptwriter. She has performed in several films including '' American Gangster'' and '' Battlestar Galactica: The Plan.'' In 2011, she also produced he ...

Rafael Cordero Santiago Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor ...

* Luisa R. Seijo Maldonado * Wichie Torres''Archived''
on 2010-January-11 at the WayBack Machine from the original a

Puerto Rico Fine Arts Galery. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Universities and colleges in Puerto Rico Pontifical universities Catholic universities and colleges in Puerto Rico Educational institutions established in 1948 Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico Universities and colleges in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1948 establishments in Puerto Rico Education in Ponce, Puerto Rico