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Reyes Calderón, Dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra, Spain

Smile under a black beret

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:08:50 +0000 Published in Unav.es

If it is true that the value of a person is measured by the issue of his friends, Luis Arturo was, without a doubt, a "refuge value" and those of us who were lucky enough to work with him had him, as the Scripture says, as "more valuable than gold".

Luis Arturo usually worked surrounded (almost taken over) by piles of articles from journals that talked about innovation and leadership, in front of a corkboard filled with a yellowed newspaper page that read "Viva la contrarrevolución" and a sheet full of homemade holes headed by the slogan "Te quiero papá" (I love you daddy).

He worked in the dark, with no light other than that emitted by the bulb of his reading lamp. But not even the gloom of his office could hide a great humanity capable of always putting himself in the position of others and, as a consequence, responding with a deep affection, which he never bothered to hide. A tireless and efficient worker, a great conversationalist, he never hesitated to get work done and to ask for results. But his English humor and his average smile, embedded in his unmistakable black beret, made those of us around him, who were usually many, imitate him with joy.

His last great project, which he confessed was the one he was most excited about, was the Master's Degree in Personnel Management Service in Organizations, whose official report owes him almost all its pages. But there was something that still mattered more to him: Pablo, Ramón, Pilar, and his wife, Bebuca, who had the skill to make even the most complex things easy.

Of simple and deep faith, from his last trip to Mexico, his second homeland, he brought me a blessed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, for whom he did not hide his predilection. When he received news of his relapse, he never ceased to ask for prayers from everyone he met. We, following his custom, placed his intentions at the feet of La Morenita, who wanted to take him to heaven to have him, if possible, closer. We will miss him very much, but we are sure that we have made a good investment: now our work will be accredited by the National Agency for Assessment of Quality and Accreditation del cielo, of which he has just been appointed evaluator.