![]() Seal of Universidad San Francisco de Quito | |
Motto | Studium, Progressus, Labor (in Latin) |
---|---|
Motto in English | Study, Progress, Work |
Type | Private university |
Established | August 16, 1988 |
Chancellor | Santiago Gangotena, Ph.D. |
Rector | Diego Quiroga, Ph.D. |
Academic staff | 300 full-time faculty |
Administrative staff | 160 |
Students | 9,044 |
Undergraduates | 8,700 |
Postgraduates | 300 |
Location | , 0°11′48″S78°26′09″W / 0.19667°S 78.43583°W |
Campus | Three throughout Ecuador, in Cumbayá-Quito, Galápagos Islands, and Tiputini Biodiversity Station, next to the Yasuni National Park |
Umbrella organization | Corporación de Promoción Universitaria |
Colours | Red |
Affiliations | Berklee International Network UNIGIS Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance Confucius Institute CLI |
Mascot | Dragon |
Website | usfq.edu.ec (in Spanish) |
Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ (informally Universidad San Francisco, or simply USFQ) is a liberal-arts, private university located in Quito, Ecuador. It was the first totally private self-financed university in Ecuador and the first liberal-arts institution in the Andean region. [1] [2]
Academically, USFQ ranks as one of the three-top universities (category A) in the ranking of Ecuadorian universities (being the only totally private university to qualify for the highest category), issued by the Ecuadorian Council of Evaluation and Accreditation of High Education (Consejo Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior CONEA). [3] [4] In 2009, it was ranked first in Ecuador in relation to the number of peer-reviewed scientific publications. [5]
The university now enrolls 5,500 students, 4,500 of whom are undergraduates. The university each year has about 100 indigenous students and 1,000 international students participate in USFQ academic programs. USFQ has developed a scholarship program for indigenous students, offering full scholarships to the best students of public high schools throughout Ecuador. [6] Although USFQ receives no funding from the government of Ecuador, its faculty comprises one-half of all the people in that nation who hold a Ph.D. [1]
The main campus of USFQ is located in Cumbayá, outside of Quito (capital city of Ecuador), where students use a library, education and research laboratories, classrooms, and seven restaurants. USFQ is the only university in the world that owns a campus in the Galapagos Islands, and a campus in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve (Tiputini Biodiversity Station), one of Earth's most biodiverse areas. [1] [2]
Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ was founded in 1988 [1] by Santiago Gangotena González through a non-profit institution he also founded, Corporación de Promoción Universitaria, its umbrella foundation. It was the first totally private self-financed university in Ecuador. It was named after the city of Quito. It was recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ecuador in October 1995 and accredited by CONESUP in May 2001. [7]
In 1980, Santiago Gangotena brought together a group of Ecuadorian and international intellectuals and businesspeople, to establish the non-profit Corporación de Promoción Universitaria, with the mission to create a private Ecuadorian university. The corporation was legalized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ecuador in June 1985.
After eight years of planning and promotion, the first class of students started on September 1, 1988, in a manor located on the 12 de Octubre Ave. 1983 and Salazar St., in the northern area of Quito, with 132 students. The university was recognized by the Ecuadorian government on October 18, 1995, under Executive Decree 3166, published in the Official Registry 809 on October 25, 1995. The statutes of the university were approved by the National Council of High Education CONESUP on May 18, 2001.
USFQ is divided among academic colleges (faculties). In 1988, students were distributed among three academic colleges: Colegio de Administración para el Desarrollo for business studies, Colegio de Ciencias Aplicadas for applied sciences, and Colegio de Comunicación y Cultura for communication, arts and cultural studies. In 1990, USFQ started the Colegio de Ciencias Ambientales for environmental sciences.
In 1992, six colleges were established: Colegio de Administración para el Desarrollo, Colegio de Comunicación y Artes, Colegio de Ciencias Ambientales, Colegio de Ciencias Aplicadas, Colegio de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, y Colegio de Lenguas. Subsequently, in 1993, the Colegio de Arquitectura started, followed in 1994 by the Colegio de Agricultura and the Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud. In 1997, the Colegio de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades changed its name to Colegio de Artes Liberales.
By 2017, USFQ is divided in 10 academic in three campuses across Ecuador (Cumbayá-Quito, Tiputini Biodiversity Station, and the Galápagos Islands [1] ):
The university has developed traditions, including:
The Fundación Colegio Americano de Quito or Colegio Americano de Quito is a private college preparatory school in Quito, Ecuador. In 1940 it was founded by the former president of Ecuador and the president of the Organization of American States (OAS) Galo Plaza Lasso, and Boaz Long.
Ambato is a city located in the central Andean valley of Ecuador. Lying on the banks of the Ambato River, the city also sits beneath several tall mountains. It is the capital city of the Tungurahua Province, situated at an elevation of 2,577 meters above sea level. It is variously nicknamed "City of Flowers and Fruits", "Land of the Three Juan's", and "Garden of Ecuador." Ambato's inhabitants are called Ambateños or Guaytambos. The current mayor of Ambato is Diana Caiza.
Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco — born Alfredo Pareja y Díez Canseco — was a prominent Ecuadorian novelist, essayist, journalist, historian and diplomat. An innovator of the 20th-century Latin American novel, he was a founding member of the literary Grupo de Guayaquil, which brought a new emphasis to realistic novels.
Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) is a scientific field research center in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It was established in 1995 by Universidad San Francisco de Quito in collaboration with Boston University, and is jointly managed by them as a center of education, research and conservation. A higher diversity of reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds and bats has been found there than anywhere else in South America, and possibly the world. It is located in the province of Orellana, about 280 km ESE from Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is located on the northern bank of the Tiputini River, and although separated from the Yasuní National Park by the river, the station forms part of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.
Iván Ulchur is a literature professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. He is a writer and columnist in Ecuador, where he has lived with his family since 1987.
Juan David García Bacca was a Spanish-Venezuelan philosopher and university professor. He was born in Pamplona on June 26, 1901, and died on August 5, 1992, in Quito, Ecuador. Bacca began his education under the Claretians and was ordained as a priest in 1925. He continued his studies at the University of Munich, the University of Zurich, and the University of Paris. However, during the 1930s, he left the Church and pursued philosophy at the University of Barcelona. In 1936 after criticizing Francisco Franco, Bacca was forced to live in exile. He first traveled to Ecuador where he taught at the Central University of Ecuador (1939-1942). While in Ecuador he became close friends with a writer named Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco. He then went to Mexico where he taught at UNAM from 1942 to 1946. He eventually established himself in Venezuela in 1946 and was granted citizenship in 1952. Bacca was a professor at the Central University of Venezuela until his retirement in 1971. He was recognized for his life's work and was awarded the National Prize for Literature in 1978.
The Politecnica Salesiana University in Ecuador is an institution of higher education and Christian inspiration with Catholic character and a Salesian. The university is characterized by its opportunities for youth, especially from the poor sectors.
The World Summit on Evolution is an evolutionary biology meeting hosted at the Galapagos Islands by Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), an Ecuadorian private liberal arts university. Its focus is on recent research and new advances in our understanding of evolution and the diversity of life.
Juan Manuel Rodríguez López is a Spanish-born, naturalized Ecuadorian author and professor. He holds a licenciate/BA degree in philosophy and a doctorate in literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE). He was a professor at Universidad Central del Ecuador and Universidad Católica, as well as a founding professor of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where he was Dean of the College of Communication and Contemporary Arts.
The Cooperative University of Colombia is a private institution of higher education founded in 1983, as a successor of the Instituto de Economía Social y Cooperativismo (Indesco).
María Isabel Salvador is an Ecuadorian politician, diplomat and professional in the tourism industry. Currently, she serves as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Haiti, appointed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in March 2023. She has served in two administrations as Minister of Tourism, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the Organization of American States, Parliamentarian at the Andean Parliament, and President of the Governing Council of the Galápagos. Before the public service chapter of her life she worked in the tourism industry as CEO of Air France in Ecuador and vicepresident of the national tourism chamber of commerce CAPTUR.
The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) is a Pontifical Catholic university founded in 1946 in Quito, Ecuador.
Yachay Tech University is a public university in San Miguel de Urcuquí, Imbabura Province, Ecuador. The university is part of Yachay City of Knowledge, a project under development by the government of Ecuador to establish a hub for technological innovation and knowledge intensive businesses. The university opened in the first quarter of 2014 as one of the emblematic institutions in Ecuador. The word Yachay is a Kichwa word that means "knowledge". Yachay Tech is a research oriented institution.
Luis Aguilar Monsalve is an Ecuadorian writer, critic, and professor emeritus at Hanover College in the United States.
Runa Foundation is a public, non-profit organization with offices in Brooklyn, NY; Quito, Ecuador; Archidona, Ecuador; and Tarapoto, Peru. Runa Foundation's stated mission is to "create new value for tropical forests that benefit local people and the forest ecosystem". Runa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation registered in the state of Rhode Island.
Ana Maria Duran Calisto is an Ecuadorean architect, urbanist, environmental planner, and cofounder of architectural firm Estudio A0.
Universidad del Azuay (UDA) is an Ecuadorian university located in the Province of Azuay, its campus are in the city of Cuenca and in the parish of Baños.
Mauricio Montalvo Samaniego Ecuadorean lawyer, diplomat and university professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, holds a LL.M. from Harvard Law School and was Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. Currently he is the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, in Washington DC.
Ana Belén Cordero Cuesta is an Ecuadorian politician serving in Ecuador's National Assembly from 2021. She is a member of the Creating Opportunities (CREO) party.
Anita Carolina Rivas Párraga is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician. She was the mayor of Puerto Francisco de Orellana from 2005 to 2019. In 2009 she visited the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Spain to propose that oil in her area could remain unexploited if compensation could be found and Yasuni National Park's habitat would be preserved. The eventual support delivered was less than 0.5 per cent of the money requested. The oil revenue that was delivered was spent on items including the supply of toilets and drinking water.