The Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa (UAC-Carmen Pampa) is a satellite campus of the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

of Bolivia founded in 1993 to serve the rural poor of Bolivia.Carmen Pampa Fund. n.d. History and Mission of the College. Available at http://carmenpampafund.org/uac_history.htm. Accessed 2010-08-17. It is located in

Carmen Pampa Carmen Pampa is a community in Bolivia situated 112 km from La Paz. Carmen Pampa is in the municipality of Coroico, the capital of the Nor Yungas Province of the La Paz Department, Bolivia. According to Holdridge life zones classification, ...

, a small farming community 12 km. from the town of

Coroico Coroico is a town in Nor Yungas Province, in the La Paz Department of western Bolivia. History Coroico Viejo (Old Coroico) was founded above the river Quri Wayq'u ( Quechua ''quri'' gold, ''wayq'u'' valley, hispanicized spellings ''Coriguayco'' ...

History

The UAC-Carmen Pampa was founded on October 3, 1993, by Sister Damon Nolan, a nun of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. Francis founded the Third Order, originally called t ...

. It started as part of a consortium of rural campuses of the Catholic University of Bolivia called UACs (Unidades Académicas Campesinas), created to educate the rural poor, and in 2010 became an independent satellite campus of the Catholic University of Bolivia. The university first offered technical degrees in agronomy, veterinary/animal science and nursing. In 1998 the UAC-Carmen Pampa augmented its offering to a ''licenciatura'' (BS-equivalent). In 2003 the UAC-Carmen Pampa began offering a ''licenciatura'' degree in primary education. In 2006 the UAC-Carmen Pampa started a technical degree in ecotourism, which became a ''licenciatura'' degree offering in 2013. The UAC-Carmen Pampa also offers a remedial one semester program of college preparatory classes called pre-university. In 1999, the Carmen Pampa Fund was established to provide support for the UAC-Carmen Pampa. It is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. The UAC-Carmen Pampa also received significant support from

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

since 2001 until USAID's expulsion from Bolivia in 2013. In 2003, the United Nations recognized the UAC-Carmen Pampa as an institution with "best practices in poverty eradication." The UAC-Carmen Pampa has also been recognized for its efforts toward ending poverty and increasing profitability and

food sovereignty Food sovereignty is a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and Food distribution, distribution. This stands in contrast to the present corporate Agr ...

for rural people, and its graduates accomplishing the same. In May 2011, the education and health committee of the Legislative Assembly of Bolivia recognized each of the UACs as an ''Institución Meritoria del Estado'' (Meritorious Institution of the State) for their work in higher education. The UAC-Carmen Pampa has also been recognized by the Center for Education Innovations.

Mission

The mission of the UAC-Carmen Pampa is make higher education available to young people of rural areas and those who are, for whatever reason, are unable to pursue such studies; prepare men and women who, inspired by principals of Christian vocation, are called to the service of others, with a high quality professional training and a commitment to Christian principals to guide their decisions; be in constant search for truth and goodness by way of learning/apprenticeship, research, and community extension; develop extension programs through specific projects that meet the needs felt in our communities; and integrate the successes of the university community into the countryside, strengthening and developing progress and socio-economic liberation, through academic, research and extension activities.UAC-Carmen Pampa. n.d. Visión, Misión, Valores. Available at http://www.uac-cp.edu.bo/universidad/vision.asp. Accessed 2010-08-17. (in Spanish)

References

External links

UAC-Carmen Pampa
(in Spanish)
Carmen Pampa Fund

Catholic University of Bolivia
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Unidad Academica Campesina-Carmen Pampa Buildings and structures in La Paz Department (Bolivia) Universities in Bolivia Educational institutions established in 1993 1993 establishments in Bolivia Education in La Paz Department (Bolivia)