International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas

The International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Consejo Internacional de Universidades Santo Tomás de Aquino, in Spanish) is a world-wide network of universities inspired by the thought of Santo Tomás de Aquino. Generally known as ICUSTA, it promotes academic exchange between students, professors and researchers. ICUSTA unites some 23 universities, with over 200,000 students on the five continents.

Mission

ICUSTA has as its main mission, to unite all the Catholic universities based on the intellectual, pedagogical and methodologic principles of Thomism, the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in order to create and to integrate university policies. This takes the form of increasing the interchange between students and professors, the development of joint plans between the various institutions and the sharing of information and programs.

History

ICUSTA grew out of a meeting in 1993 between representatives of the University of St. Thomas (Houston) and Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile. They were soon joined by the Pontificia Università degli Studi San Tommaso d'Aquino (Rome) and the Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia. In 1995 in Rome, a second conference was held which was attended by 12 universities. There a permanent international organization was established with bylaws and protocols for the accomplishment of the ICUSTA mission.

In the successive conferences additional members were added. The later meetings were in Manila, in 1997; in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1999; in Rome, in 2001; in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 2003; and in Barcelona, Spain, in 2005.

Members

Angola:
*Universidade Católica de Angola (Luanda) [http://www.ucan.edu/]

Argentina:
*Universidad FASTA (Mar del Plata and Bariloche), [http://www.ufasta.edu.ar]
*Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino (Tucumán) [http://www.unsta.edu.ar]
*Universidad Católica Argentina (Buenos Aires) [http://www.uca.edu.ar/]

Australia:
*Australian Catholic University (Sydney), [http://www.acu.edu.au/]

Canada:
*Saint Thomas University (New Brunswick), [http://www.stu.ca]

Chile:
*Universidad Santo Tomás (Santiago, Chile) [http://www.ust.cl]

Colombia:
*Universidad Santo Tomás (Bogota) [http://www.usantotomas.edu.co]

Dominican Republic:
*Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (Santiago de Caballeros) [http://www.pucmmsti.edu.do/]

France:
*Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES (La Roche Sur-Yon) [http://www.ices.fr/]

Honduras:
*Universidad Santo Tomás (Lomas de Guijarro, Tegucigalpa),

Indonesia:
*Universitas Katolik St. Thomas Sumatera Utara (Sumatra)

Ireland:
*Mary Immaculate College (Limerick) [http://www.mic.ul.ie/]

Italy:
*Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) (Rome), [http://www.angelicum.org/]

Mozambique:
*Universidade São Tomás de Moçambique (Maputo) [http://www.ustm.ac.mz/]

Nigeria:
*Catholic University of Nigeria (Imo State)

Perú:
*Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. [http://www.pucp.edu.pe/]

Philippines:
*University of Santo Tomás (Manila) [http://www.ust.edu.ph/]
*Aquinas University (Legazpi City) [http://www.aquinas-university.edu/]

Spain:
*Universidad San Pablo (CEU), Madrid [http://www.ceu.es/]
*Universidad Abat Oliba (CEU), Barcelona [http://www.uao.es/cream/]
*Universidad Cardenal Herrera (CEU), Valencia [http://www.uch.ceu.es/]

Switzerland:
*Facultà di Teología di Lugano (Lugano) [http://www.teologialugano.ch/]

United States:
*University of Saint Thomas (Houston, Texas), [http://www.stthom.edu/]
*University of Saint Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota), [http://www.stthomas.edu/]

External links

* [http://www.icusta.org/cream/ ICUSTA official webpage] ;
* [http://www.lacapitalnet.com.ar/hoy/laciudad/noticias/120505223326.html “El rector de la universidad Fasta visitó al rey Juan Carlos I”, "La Capital, El diario de Mar del Plata", 13 May 2005] about the Barcelona Conference, in Spanish;