Santa Clara Welcomes Delegation from Universidad Centroamericana
Deborah Lohse
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 15, 2014 — A group of 10 faculty and university leaders from Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in El Salvador will be visiting Santa Clara University Sept. 15 - 17, seeking ways to advance and enhance the longstanding relationship between the two Jesuit institutions of higher learning.
The visit marks the first time a group of leaders from UCA have visited Santa Clara, which regularly sends students to El Salvador on “immersions” designed to educate students and put their talents at the disposal of Salvadoran people. Each summer SCU also sends a delegation of faculty and staff on immersion to El Salvador, and in 2013 the President’s Cabinet of SCU traveled there to meet with their UCA counterparts.
Santa Clara University has long had important ties to the UCA, which suffered a tragic loss nearly 25 years ago when its then-president, Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J., was killed along with five fellow Jesuits and two women for his strong advocacy on behalf of the poor. Ellacuria had received an honorary degree and gave the University commencement speech in 1982. In 1989, SCU provided shelter to one of the Jesuits who had narrowly escaped being murdered, Jon Sobrino, S.J. , and SCU recently helped publish a book featuring the account of the sole witness to the murders, Lucia Cerna.
“We are looking forward to welcoming our colleagues and friends from UCA, which has been a part of our extended campus family for nearly half a century,” said SCU President Michael Engh, S.J.
Added Michael McCarthy, S.J., executive director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara, “We expect this to be a time of mutual learning that will set the stage for years of collaboration and support.”
The group will visit numerous University “centers of distinction,” and meet with a wide array of University leaders, students and faculty, including the schools of law and engineering, as well as the University Relations team.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121