Historical background
University of San Buenaventura Colombia

The University of San Buenaventura is a private institution, which exerts its purposes within the framework of the constitutional guarantees of university autonomy, teaching freedom, learning, research and teaching,within attitudes of respect, compliance to the Law and concordat regulations established between the Holy See and the Colombian Government. It is a non-profit foundation, run from its origin by the Franciscan Province of the Santa Fé de Colombia, and through its formative activity contributes to the promotion and development of Colombian education, from its creation and subsequent restoration.

It was founded by the Franciscan community as Colegio de Estudios Superiores, in 1708, in Bogotá. It began work under the direction of the Franciscan Fray Diego Barroso and was approved by the Real Certificate of Fernando VI, 19 of September of 1747. In spite of the evident contribution of the Franciscans to the formation of the youths of the country, 5 of November of 1861 The former Colegio Mayor of San Buenaventura was closed by order of Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who ordered the extinction of religious communities throughout the national territory. But in 1959 the Provincial Minister, Fray José Miguel López, commissioned Fray Darío Correa Gómez to process before the Colombian Association of Universities his restoration, a fact that was obtained on June 14, 1961.

Through the Decree 1729 of August 30, 1973 of the National Executive, the denomination was changed to: University of San Buenaventura. It retains its category of University, as provided by the Article 19 of Law 30 of 1992. It develops its institutional purpose in accordance with the provisions of the Article 68 of the Constitutional Charter of 1991. It was recognized as a non-profit legal entity through Resolution 1326 of March 25, 1975, issued by the Ministry of National Education, pursuant to Decrees 125 and 1277 of 1973.

Since the University has been growing uninterruptedly, it has consolidated its untarnished educational prestige and it has expanded its action in the three major colombian cities in which it has opened branches: Medellín (1966), Cali (1970) and Cartagena (1994). In addition to consolidating its traditional Faculties of Philosophy, Theology and Education, in the last decades Bogotá has also been involved in the programs that, due to its novelty, currently technology and as a response to country’s development needs, have become avant-gardes for the development of Colombian higher education.