UCAN

In November 1996, the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomè appointed an Installation Commission in Luanda to direct all activities related to the creation of the Catholic University of Angola. This fundamental step has been the result of many years of efforts by the Episcopal Conference, and particularly by His Eminence, Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento.

The Installation Commission for the Catholic University of Angola will be solely responsible for defining the curriculum of the university, for planning its operational budget and for appointing the Rector, the professors and other staff members. The Catholic University of Angola, a full-curriculum institution of higher learning, will be a cornerstone in building a strong and self-sufficient Angola. The Catholic University of Angola will be geared to providing in-country studies and training of Angolan students, and helping Angola's social, economic and political recovery from years of strife.

The Catholic University of Angola is defined as an open university; its object being the human, academic and professional education of the Angolan people. As an open university, it will be ruled by principles of absolute liberty of access, regardless of race, sex, religion and social and economic conditions, with the only limits being those deriving from available space and academic selection criteria. As a non-state university, it will be ruled by principles of private law, enjoying statutory, pedagogical, scientific, disciplinary, administrative and financial autonomy.

Law Faculty, a Faculty of Economics and a School of Government focused on public policy studies will be established in the beginning. This curriculum of studies at the Catholic University will help stimulate the debate within the political and economical community of Angola and help the transition to a free-market economy and a modern form of government. Later on, the Installation Commission is considering adding scientific faculties to the curriculum. The Installation Commission has selected the former Colegio S. Josè de Cluny as the interim home of the Catholic University in its first years of existence.