The University of the Latin American Educational Center is a non-profit private

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 ...

based in Rosario,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Established in 1993, it was the first

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

-related university in Argentina, and the first independent degree-granting university in Rosario. The origin of this institution can be traced back to the arrival of two

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

teachers sent from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

to open an elementary school for girls, the North American School (''Colegio Norteamericano''), in 1875, under the sponsorship of President

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...

. Junior and senior high schools were added later, and in the 1950s the ''Colegio'' became coeducational. UCEL belongs to the International Association of Methodist-Related Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU). It is also connected with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, U.S.

References

University of the Latin American Educational Center

(IAMSCU) Latin American Educational Center Latin American Educational Center Latin American Educational Center Latin American Educational Center Educational institutions established in 1993 Universities in Santa Fe Province 1993 establishments in Argentina {{argentina-struct-stub