The University of Navarra has awarded the doctorate honoris causa to the Navarre architect Rafael Moneo, the English sociologist Margaret S. Archer, the Hebrew philologist Ruth Fine and the expert in media Economics Robert Picard.

The Chancellor, Fernando Ocáriz, presided over the ceremony held in the Museum Theater of the academic center, which was attended by around 700 people. Among them, more than 200 PhDs, other professionals from the University as well as academic and political authorities.

Since 1964, the academic center has awarded this distinction, for their academic and professional careers, to 39 personalities. The current proposals come from the School of Architecture, from the Institute for Culture and Societyand from the Schools of Philosophy and Letters, and Communication.

In his speech, the Chancellor referred to universities as places of "hope and freedom.""Paradoxically, in the midst of progress and well-being never before achieved, we see the energy that drives people and societies running out," he said. That energy, he added, can emerge from a genuine Education , "from the transformative power of people thinking for themselves."

In this sense, he assured that "the university must be a lighthouse that, through the research of truth, illuminates the world; a sap that, through coexistence and friendship, nourishes the souls of the young people who pass through this campus year afteryear.In this lies a source of vitality, capable of refund enthusiasm to a tired world".

The Chancellor referred to St. Josemaría, who decided that the University should begin in Pamplona. "It was thus born rooted in this land and here it will always have its home," he stressed. "In recent years," he continued, "the efforts to obtain scholarships and funding opportunities, as well as the B increase in international students, are gradually making the Founder's wishes come true: that no one who wishes to study here should miss out and that the service provided by the University should reach people on all five continents.

Secondly, he spoke of the University as source of freedom. "In it one must learn to respect, love and understand others. Only in a free environment is a genuine Education possible". Bishop Fernando Ocáriz pointed out that "young people come to the classroom when they have to make decisions that will mark the rest of their lives". Relying on their freedom, he remarked, they are invited to "promote the most just causes, to care for the most needy, they are prepared to understand their profession as a service to society".

Navarrese architect of universal dimension

Rafael Moneo, born in Tudela (Navarra) in 1937, is considered the most internationally renowned Spanish architect. In 1996 he was the first Spaniard to receive the award Pritzker Architecture Award. He has also been awarded, among others, the award Príncipe de Asturias de las Artes, the award Nacional de Arquitectura and the award Príncipe de Viana in 1993.

The director of the School of Architecture, Miguel Ángel Alonso del Val, Rafael Moneo's godfather, referred to him as a "universal Navarrese". Awarded with national and international prizes, "he proves to be a prophet in the world and in his land, identified with the Tudela of his first works and recognized in the Pamplona of the place of bulls, the place of the Fueros or the file General", he pointed out.

In his opinion, he represents the figure of the architect who has managed to masterfully combine his work as an academic, theoretician and builder to become "the highest point of reference in Spanish architecture today. He also mentioned the close ties of Navarra and the University with Moneo, "a university student who has made architecture his way of seeing the world and his work an example of dignity and decorum".

Already invested as honorary doctor, Rafael Moneo highlighted in his speech the contribution of the University of Navarra to the modernization of Pamplona. "I am grateful, as a Navarrese, for the valuable contribution of the University of Navarra to the urban planning development of Pamplona," he said. "We must understand the campus of the University, in continuity with the UPNA, as a public space, a park that finishes off the southern growth of the city, recognizing the importance that this river has in the urban structure of Pamplona," he explained.

He also highlighted the impact that School of Architecture has had on the city: "If Pamplona can be proud of being one of the cities that has grown most harmoniously in recent years, it is undoubtedly due to the good work of the professionals trained at this School. In no other Spanish city is the presence of a School of Architecture felt so much and so favorably as here".

Rafael Moneo insisted on the role of the University of Navarra in the transformation of the city, with the arrival of students and professors, and the access of the people of Navarre to "a whole range of professions". "Pamplona has been transformed by the presence of the University, of the universities, and thanks to them it is today a much more lively, joyful, open, confident, prosperous city," he added.

Pioneering sociologist

Margaret S. Archer (UK, 1943) is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick, and a founding member and President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences from April 2014 to March 2019. She was also the first woman president of the association International Sociology. A qualified representative of Realist Social Theory, her central thesis is the autonomy between culture, structure and social action.

Ana Marta González, scientific coordinator of Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) and Margaret S. Archer's godmother, praised the pioneering character of the new doctor and the scope of her intellectual work in the field of social theory. quotation "In her personality, a deep humanity and the rigorous cultivation of science are present in the affability of her conversation and in the seriousness of her ethical commitment to the development of more humane societies," he said. He also remarked that his work constitutes "a clear example of how the springs of social change are activated in the silent fecundity of reflection". 

Margaret S. Archer began her speech by asking why the social sciences have contributed so little to providing answers to the challenges of today's society. "In my view, the most serious problem, which is rarely mentioned, is that the connection between the social sciences and Philosophy is distressingly tenuous." In his view, "for any theory to be considered explanatory of social change, it must necessarily incorporate structured human relationships (Structure), human actions (Culture) and human ideas (Agency)."

Interreligious and intercultural dialogue

Ruth Viviana Fine, born in Argentina (1957) and of Israeli nationality, is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Specializing in literary theory and narrative of the Spanish Golden Age, especially the work of Cervantes, her work has focused on intercultural dialogue between Israel and the Hispanic world. She is founder of the association of Hispanists of Israel; vice-president of the association International of Hispanists; and board member of the association International of the Golden Age.

Javier de Navascués, the philologist's godfather, Full Professor of Spanish-American Literature, highlighted her rigor and elegance in the description and interpretation of the texts. "From the vantage point of her multicultural heritage, which links three continents through Jewish, Spanish and Argentine culture, Professor Fine has shed light on the works of the best narrators of literature in Spanish language ," he said. The professor defined her as "a woman who has devoted herself to the study and interpretation of literature in Spanish language , building bridges of intercultural dialogue between the Hispanic and Hebrew worlds".

Professor Fine retraced her life and academic trajectory, until her decision to turn to the research of the Golden Age. "The primordial interest that guide is still the basis of all my intellectual activity is to investigate and deepen in that great polyphony that is Spanish history and culture, whose diverse melodies - Christian, Muslim and Jewish - constitute multiple stories that ask to be remembered, told, interpreted and rewritten".

Ruth Fine acknowledged that the Bible and Don Quixote have been determinant in her degree program:"My research has been interested in the work of numerous aurisecular men of letters who drew on the biblical paradigm at various levels of their creative project ".

Reference in the Economics of the media

Robert G. Picard, born in 1951 in the USA, is a professor at Jönköping International Business School in Sweden, Tampere University in Finland, and the Institute for average and Entertainment at IESE (University of Navarra) in New York, among others. Until January 2015 he was director of research of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, and one of the founders of the European average Management Association (EMMA), the first European academic association of researchers in this topic.

Mercedes Medina, his godmother and professor at School of Communication, underlined his intense research work, his magnanimity, his solidarity: "His prestige together with a warm and approachable personality predispose him to serve and help others. One of the qualities that stand out about Professor Picard is his ability to put people on contact ". The professor continued her laudatio by explaining that "Professor Picard's vision of business information is closely related to the role of the media in society: economic performance enables full service".

Robert Picard commented that the financial aid he has received on his journey staff and his values make him believe that as teachers and colleagues there is a duty to "contribute to the cultivation and development of the talents of our students and younger colleagues". Likewise, he asserted that "communication is fundamental to build healthy societies. That is why we must find ways to address its current deficits and facilitate Structures and communication institutions that serve our collective needs".