Rafael Urdaneta University; URU (Spanish: Universidad Rafael Urdaneta) is a private, non-profit university founded in 1973, located at La Vereda del Lago (

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

), by the Rafael Urdaneta foundation and the Rafael Urdaneta university civic association. It receives its name from the general

Rafael Urdaneta Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. After overthrowing President Joaquín Mosquera in a 1830 military coup, he served as Pre ...

, Zulian father of Venezuelan independence. Rafael Urdaneta University is a

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

History

The Rafael Urdaneta University (URU) is a nonprofit institution, officially authorized by the Executive Order #101 of May 21, 1974, issued from the Presidency of the Republic, with a positive opinion of the National Council of Universities. It was created "with the purpose to form the necessary and capable human resource to face the scientific and technological developments" in the strategic areas of the country. It was founded by Eloy Parraga Villamarín, who used to be the Governor of

Zulia Zulia State (, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is also one of t ...

state and ambassador of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Formed by extensive professional and business sectors of the society on October 24, 1973, it started educational activities on September 4, 1976. The Rafael Urdaneta University is named after the Zulian hero

(1788-1845), a prominent leader of the Ibero-American independence. Since its foundation, URU investigated and applied an anthropocentric role. Given its commitment to education in a

developing country A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...

, the university focuses on the Undergraduate education. It is an autonomous institution in the terms defined by the Constitution and the Law of Universities. Within the academic community, it is known for its respectful pluralism founded in logical reasoning; the methodology of the science and the social relevance of the knowledge incite the production of wisdom. The integral conception of the person is assumed in extra-curricular activities.

Mission

Rafael Urdaneta University is a

institute whose purpose is to generate and apply the imparted knowledge to contribute to the evolution of the human being and to the formation of professionals with values, independent, competitive and compromised to the scientific, technical and humanistic development of the social environment to elaborate sustainable projects that resolve the problems of the State and the Nation. In that sense, URU executes the necessary academic programs to form professionals of higher education in relevant areas from the social scientific point of view, through fresh and flexible curriculums which are constantly adapted to the new demands of the diverse disciplines of knowledge and of the professional praxis. For that purpose, URU has programs of basic, applied, and extensive investigation. From a higher level, through a line of heuristic training which defines the profile of the creative and suitable professional to resolve problems in situations of increasing complexity; URU emphasizes quaternary education through significant supports to the scientific and social context.

Faculties and schools

The faculties and schools of URU are:

Faculty of Agricultural Sciences

* School of Animal Production Engineering

Faculty of Political, Management and Social Sciences

* School of Business Management * School of Public Accounting * School of Political Sciences *

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

* School of Psychology

Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

* School of Civil Engineering * School of Electrical Engineering * School of Telecommunications Engineering * School of Chemical Engineering * School of Industrial Engineering * School of Computer Engineering *

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is a professional school or institution specializing in architectura ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael Urdaneta University Universities in Venezuela Buildings and structures in Maracaibo Universities and colleges established in 1973 1973 establishments in Venezuela