Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta

History and organization

The university began its life as the "Istituto Superiore di Magistero Maria Ss. Assunta", an educational institute for nuns founded in 1939 by Luigia Tincani (Royal Decree No. 1760 of 26 October 1939). In 1989, it was reconstituted as "Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta" (LUMSA), a university for women. The university was opened to men in 1991.

LUMSA is a private Catholic institution with autonomy at all levels of the university. As an Italian-accredited institution, its degrees are considered equivalent to those issued by Italian public universities.

The university is governed by a council which includes a President, a Rector, two Pro-Rectors, a Director General, and general council members. Since 2017, the President has been Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo.

University teaching is distributed across three departments:

• Department of Law, Economics, Politics, and Modern languages (Rome)
• Department of Law (Palermo)
• Department of Human Studies, Communication, Education, and Psychology (Rome)

The educational structure of LUMSA is arranged around four divisions. The university offers, through the divisions, undergraduate degrees (Italian laurea) in various social science fields. In post-graduate education, LUMSA offers several graduate programs and two long-cycle programs in law and education sciences, as well as four PhDs (Italian: dottorato di ricerca).

Controversies

LUMSA University has been the subject of various types of criticism over time:

Public perception and the job market

LUMSA University has received comments regarding the perception of the degrees it awards, with some former students reporting difficulties in having them fully recognised in the job market compared to those of other universities, both public and private. Despite this, the university is appreciated for the quality of its teaching and the direct relationship between students and teachers, facilitated by its small size and personalised approach. However, looking at the Almalaurea data, the employment rate of university students at the end of their studies remains in line with the national average, albeit lower than that of private universities, while overall satisfaction with the quality of education is below the national average.

Internal controversies and managerial conduct

LUMSA University has been involved in some controversies concerning internal management and the conduct of managers in branch offices. Among the most significant cases, the Taranto office has been the subject of accusations of conduct not in accordance with the code of ethics by members of management, attracting the attention of the press and generating public debate on the role and transparency of the university's governance. The events raised questions about the adequacy of internal controls and the handling of disciplinary issues, leading some observers to call for greater oversight and clarity in administrative processes. However, the university has stated that it is committed to ensuring an environment that complies with ethical principles and respects academic values.

Notable people

• Giuseppe Pizzardo, co-founder
• Luigi Traglia, president
• Mario Luigi Ciappi, president
• Antonio María Javierre Ortas, president
• Carlo Furno, president
• Attilio Nicora, president
• Cornelio Fabro, director
• Giuseppe Dalla Torre, rector between 1991 and 2014

Honorary degrees

These people received an honorary degree, but did not attend the university.

• Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), honorary degree in law, 1999
• Liliana Segre, honorary degree in international relations, 2020
• Sergio Cotta, honorary degree in law, 1999
• Liliana Cavani, honorary degree in communication sciences, 1999
• Carlo Lizzani, honorary degree in media studies, 2009

References

References

1. "Luigia Tincani".
2. "The University".
3. Riondino, Michele. (2017). "Vatican II and New Thinking about Catholic Education". [[Routledge]].
4. "Our history".
5. "Governance".
6. "Departments".
7. "Academics".
8. "Corsi di laurea triennale, magistrale e a ciclo unico - Roma, Palermo, Taranto".
9. "PhD programs".
10. "Libera Università "Maria Santissima Assunta" di Roma {{!}} AlmaLaurea".
11. (2016-02-18). "La Lumsa difende ancora una volta…. il suo direttore Don Antonio Panico. Ma la verità è ben altra".
12. [https://www.ilcorrieredelgiorno.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Schermata-2016-02-18-alle-09.24.36.png Lumsa University] {{in lang. it
13. "I protagonisti".
14. (3 December 2020). "Il lutto. Addio al giurista cattolico Giuseppe Dalla Torre: fede, cultura e diritto".
15. "La storia - 1939-2019: 80 anni dell'Università LUMSA".
16. "Awarding of the honorary master's degree to Senator Liliana Segre".