Mission, vision and values

Our vision, our inspiration

“We believe that knowledge is what drives the growth of freedom. That’s why we want to create new knowledge and provide it to all those seeking greater freedom.”

Our mission: to make this vision a reality

We are part of the Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU (FUSP-CEU) whose mission is:

“To contribute to the improvement of society through teaching at its facilities, by offering an educational model consistent with Christian principles, the values conveyed by the Gospel, and playing a role in public life that defends justice and the human being.”

The institution’s goals include the search for academic and professional excellence, innovation in educational projects, and the education of its students in the values and virtues of Christian humanism.”

The University sees the following as the key to fulfilling its mission:

Knowledge, freedom and critical thinking

We will strive to ensure that, through knowledge, people can enjoy the freedom that comes from being able to think critically, to explore their chosen field in depth, and to interpret their social and cultural environment.

Knowledge, careers and financial independence

We will strive to ensure that, through knowledge, people can build a career which enables them to be financially independent and to have the freedom to take their own decisions in life.

Knowledge, the common good and society

We will strive to ensure that people choose to work for the common good, understood as the set of social conditions which enable a balance to be established between personal growth and community development.

We are an independent non-profit organization, which means that our financial resources originate exclusively from what the institution itself can generate.

Our values

Our values shape our decision-making and they form the foundations of our organizational culture. Our values are:

• 1. Freedom. The CEU Cardenal Herrera University presents itself to society as an educational initiative which is inspired by the tradition of Christian humanism. This inspiration leads us to see our task as educators as one of showing students the way in which they can find for themselves the truth behind existence and all realms of knowledge. We seek to cultivate within all our students spirit the critical outlook they need to make sound judgements over the course of their lives. This involves imbuing students with curiosity in the search for the truth – whether this is of a scientific, ontological or axiological nature – and to support them in the human task of building their subjective perspective, which as humans, should be free, deliberative and profound.
• 2. Commitment. The CEU Cardenal Herrera University seeks to encourage behaviour based on different kinds of commitment: the commitment to respecting other people; the commitment to the dignity of every living person; the commitment to follow the rules of the educational community, which enable us to live, work and study in harmony; the commitment to spread the principles which can turn people towards the common good; and commitment as a personal value, which requires us to take responsibility for our decisions and actions.
• 3. Standing out by taking a stand. The CEU Cardenal Herrera University encourages everyone to take a stand and challenge unfair situations and injustice. By doing this, we can be benefit society, knowledge and freedom. We encourage an attitude of continuous improvement throughout the institution, enabling the overall educational project to grow and develop, and also at a personal level, so that everyone can reach their life goals and career objectives. We like to show particular support to those who do not want to sit on their laurels, who think that there’s always room for more growth, both at a personal level and in terms of the positive contribution they can make to the community.
• 4. Head, heart and hand Father Ángel Ayala, the founder of the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas, which in turn founded the University, favoured an approach which has come to be called active learning. This holistic approach to learning, or the head, heart and hands model, involves a focus on knowing how to think, how to feel, and how to act. This approach forms the backbone of how we want to drive improvement across the university community.
  • Head: every encounter with another person is an opportunity to learn how to think, discover and reason.
  • Heart: every day is a good day to be the best we can be. This is about being willing to go the extra mile and to exceed other people’s expectations, to help them through hard work and imagination to reach their goals, by showing commitment to the other person and what they want to achieve. We believe that this attitude can only be learnt by seeing the example set by others. That’s why, in order for our students to learn to exceed other people’s expectations, the staff at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University strive to go that extra mile every day, trying to cultivate and focus our commitment as an example for our students to follow. We put heart into what we do every day, showing the way to others.
  • Hand: every encounter with another person is an opportunity to learn how to act, how to use what we know, and how to interpret our environment.
• 5. The word. The patron saint of our institution is St Paul. And that’s no accident, because it was his encounter with the truth that made him swap his sword for the word. That’s why we believe in the power of the word rather than the power of the sword. Of course, the sword can be intimidating and lead to quick conquests in the short term. But its successes never last. On the other hand, words can persuade and produce conviction, winning people over to the cause through a freely taken choice. We encourage conviction through the use of the word, rather than victories with the sword.
  So, we really do think that the word – not just the pen – is mightier than the sword. For it is through the use of words that our lecturers, our staff and our graduates can influence others and make the world a better place through knowledge.