{"id":51636,"date":"2019-11-26T16:06:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T15:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucly.fr\/?page_id=51636"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T09:13:41","slug":"charter-ucly","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ucly.fr\/en\/ucly\/our-institution\/overview\/facts-figures\/charter-ucly\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lyon Catholic University Charter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lyon Catholic University (UCLy), founded in 1875<\/a><\/strong>, is an independent institution fulfilling the three missions shared by all Catholic universities around the world<\/strong>: research<\/strong>, education<\/strong>, and service to society and the Church<\/strong>. We take on the responsibility for every part of these three interrelated areas.<\/p>

Lyon Catholic University lays out in this Charter the foundations of its identity and the focuses of its missions, all aligned with the goal of educating \u2018every person and the whole person<\/em>\u2019 (Father Fran\u00e7ois Varillon S.J., 1905-1978).<\/p>

With our partners (universities in France and other countries, schools, businesses and public and private organisations), we want to be an authentic \u2018force of intelligence in service of humanity\u2019, in service of people in all their facets: intellectual, physical, psychological, spiritual and religious, cultural, economic, social, etc., with the aim of enabling the harmonious development, within a comprehensive environmentalism, of relationships with others, with creation, with the self and with God.<\/p>

A UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY INTEGRATED INTO SOCIETY<\/strong><\/h2>

Our university community brings together students, teaching and research staff and administrative and technical staff; we work together in line with anthropology and ethics inspired by the Gospel.<\/p>

Our desire for openness drives us to welcome students and staff with diverse philosophical, religious and political allegiances and perspectives into this community. This is an element of our global dimension.<\/p>

Based in the capital of the Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes region, a dynamic city at national, European and global levels, our university is firmly rooted in society, is aware of its social responsibility and benefits from partnerships with the socio-economic world.<\/p>

Our university is an associate member of the Lyon Saint-\u00c9tienne COMUE (community of universities and institutions), forms part of the local, national and international university networks and collaborates actively with local authorities.<\/p>

A RECOGNISED ACADEMIC INSTITUTION<\/strong><\/h2>

\u2022 The French government has recognised our contribution to the public service missions of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation by granting us the status of a public-interest private higher education institution (EESPIG<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>

\u2022 Our university is made up of six departments<\/strong><\/a>, each containing schools, faculties and\/or institutes linked to our \u2018research, initial and continuing education and professional training\u2019 CONFLUENCE Sciences and Humanities Research Center<\/a><\/strong> (EA1598). It offers lifelong learning in close collaboration with the business and voluntary sectors as well as ecclesiastical organisations.<\/p>

\u2022 We want to train graduates who are responsible and enterprising players within society, which is why we offer each student personal support with the choices they make in building a career plan.<\/p>

\u2022 Our exacting standards are reflected in our efforts to fight against the fragmentation of knowledge (Fides et Ratio<\/em>) by aiming for excellence in the teaching of fundamentals and practical skills and providing personalised support for each student, training in digital technology and the digital humanities, and opportunities for work experience. An extended learning programme<\/a> <\/strong>alongside the courses takes into account the physical, mental and spiritual facets of each learner, and also offers opportunities to nourish their faith and to embrace solidarity, through the chaplaincy for example.<\/p>

\u2022 In every course and for every discipline, we are constantly turning a critical eye on the goals and methods of teaching and research, with the quality of both the content and the structure in mind.<\/p>

\u2022 The way our research is carried out is interdisciplinary (term used in Veritatis Gaudium<\/em>, a key document for ecclesiastical universities and faculties), largely thanks to a cross-disciplinary laboratory shared by the six faculties, with research-active teaching staff members given the means to carry it out and promote it: research teams, publications, preparation for the accreditation required to lead research, links with the national, European and international networks and assistance with looking for contracts.<\/p>

\u2022 As a university in tune with societal needs and which respects academic freedom of teaching and research, we build collaborations through teaching and research agreements with the Universit\u00e9 de Lyon (which holds IDEX or Initiative of Excellence status). We bring to these our special features linked to cross-fertilisation between skills, fields and ethics, with genuine consideration of sustainable development, combining the environmental and human aspects, as encouraged by Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Si<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>

A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY<\/strong><\/h2>

We affirm our intention to work on societal topics in the tradition, continually updated, of the Church\u2019s social thinking:<\/p>