Takeover
NEW PRESIDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY
Takeover
The new president, María Iraburu, proposes to promote
two dimensions: identity and dynamism
The current and future projects of the University of Navarra "are an invitation to each of us to make our contribution in two dimensions, which we could define with the terms of identity and dynamism," said María Iraburu Elizalde, during her inauguration as president at campus in Pamplona (the University also has branches in San Sebastián, Madrid, Barcelona, New York and Munich).
The ceremony was attended by the main Navarre authorities, the board of Governing Body of the University, professors, students and other members of the university community, as well as family and friends of the new president. The event, held at Central Building, was attended by University Secretary, Jesús María Ezponda, who read the decree of appointment, the outgoing President , Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, and president María Iraburu.
Professor Iraburu added: "Identity, because the University has its own irreplaceable contribution, which requires us to be always and above all university students: reflective people, open to the big questions and to the contribution of all knowledge, committed to the truth wherever it is and wherever it comes from, because we are not its owners".
"And dynamism, because the University, to use an expression of its founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá,"spurs passivity and awakens dormant forces".
María Iraburu appealed to the need for dynamism "to question the prevailing paradigms and propose new ones; to be sensitive to the needs of our environment; to learn from our students and colleagues; to dare to break with inertia and take risks without fear of making mistakes". Identity and dynamism, he added, demand each other: "Identity without dynamism is sclerosis, and ends up not being identity; dynamism without identity is dispersion and ends up being exhausted and sterile".
The president referred to the University's development , which, in her opinion, "can have an even greater impact, not so much because of the means at its disposal, which are always insufficient, but because of the transforming power that people have when they work with professionalism and commitment". This dimension of commitment to the environment and to people, he recalled, is the guiding thread of Strategy 2025, which, under the slogan "University and sustainability", points out the lines of progress of the University of Navarra for the coming years: "A transformingteaching , a research focused on social, environmental and economic issues, and interdisciplinary projects, such as the BIOMA Center and its Science Museum, that will allow us to contribute to the great challenges of our time".
Optimism, strategic thinking and trust in people
María Iraburu expressed her gratitude to the former President: "From him we have learned an unbeatable optimism, based on his passion for the University of Navarra; a strategic mentality that always seeks new challenges and does not allow minor issues to distract from what is fundamental; and trust in people, practical, real, which creates an atmosphere of freedom that favours creativity and growth".
Finally, she addressed the authorities present at the ceremony, "with the illusion," she said, "of being the first president born in the Autonomous Community of Navarre". "The fact that the University is from Navarra is not a mere geographical accident. From its origins, those who initiated it wanted it to be a project social, inclusive, rooted in this land and open to the world"He asserted. "We will continue to work for the development, from research, attendance and teaching, sustained by the principles of the Christian humanism that, out of conviction, not tactics, respects and encourages the dignity and the freedom of persons and institutions"he underlined.
He also stressed that the university has always been a space for friendship and collaboration. "We have the challenge and the opportunity to make it also a space for co-creation between institutions, so that together we can contribute more effectively and sustainably to the common good".
Looking to the future with hope
For his part, Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero expressed his gratitude to all the people who have supported the University of Navarra over the last few years, including friends and alumni, as well as to the institutions of Navarra, "with whom we collaborate very closely". He also particularly appreciated "the maturity and solidarity" shown by the students, especially in the last two years of the pandemic.
He also took stock of his time as President. "Interesting advances have been made, thanks to the work of everyone: new Degrees and postgraduate courses, research centres, the Museum of Art, and the campus in Madrid, among others". Beyond these achievements, he highlighted the fact that the perception has been consolidated that "the University of Navarra only has a mission to serve; and that it fulfils this task by collaborating closely with other institutions in Navarra and around the world".
With regard to the new appointment, he assured that the changes at President at the University of Navarra are both continuity and novelty, and thanked María Iraburu for her availability and her career at the University over the last 16 years: "She has demonstrated her excellent governance conditions. It has criterio, determination y empathy. It is a great scholar with a relevant international trajectory. Maria is a brave and magnanimous woman and will successfully promote the projects of the University of Navarra. Moreover, he will have the unconditional support of everyone, so we have every reason to look to the future with hope," he concluded.
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE EVENT
