The Faculty of Humanities and Communication Sciences celebrated the feast of its patron saints, St. Francis de Sales and St. Isidore of Seville, with an academic ceremony inaugurated by the dean, Pablo Velasco. During the event, awards were presented in several different categories to students, administrative staff, and companies.
José María Legorburu Hortelano, professor of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, delivered the keynote lecture: “One Hundred Years of the El Debate School: the legacy of Herrera Oria and the Propagandists’ project in the teaching of journalism in Spain.” In his speech, Legorburu analyzed the origins and historical significance of the El Debate School of Journalism, founded in 1926 under the leadership of Ángel Herrera Oria and the Catholic Association of Propagandists. “At a time when the Spanish press was weak, partisan, and poorly professionalized, this project represented an innovative and courageous initiative aimed at dignifying journalism through solid technical, cultural, and moral training,” he explained. He also said that “the school not only laid the foundations for the later incorporation of Journalism Studies into the university system but also established an educational model that would endure in Spain for decades.”
The professor shone a spotlight on Herrera Oria’s vision of journalism “his defence of an independent, truthful, and impartial press, serving the common good and free from political or economic pressure; his view of newspapers as a key institution in social life and freedom of the press as the foundation of all other freedoms; and his perception of journalism as a demanding, almost apostolic vocation, requiring both technical preparation and profound ethical training.”
Legorburu pointed out that the creation of the School of Journalism responded to the need to professionalize the training of journalists, at a time when the prevailing belief was that journalism could not be taught. “The project combined theory and practice, integrating humanistic and technical education, while promoting professional awareness oriented towards public service,” he noted. He concluded by saying that “despite the initial resistance it faced and the later closure imposed on it during the Spanish Civil War, the school’s legacy proved decisive: it inspired subsequent official journalism schools and directly contributed to the incorporation of Journalism into Spanish universities in the 1970s, consolidating an educational model that remains in force today.”
The keynote address was followed by the presentation of the 2025–2026 End-of-Degree Awards, the 29th edition of the St. Isidore of Seville’ Professional Initiation Awards, and the 29th edition of the St. Francis de Sales’ Professional Initiation Awards.
Awards were also given to the Bone Marrow Team of the Comunidad de Madrid for its commendable work and participation in the CEU-Social project developed by professors and students of the faculty, as well as to ¡Hola! magazine for its involvement in and support ofthe faculty’s educational initiatives through the Aula Antonio Sánchez Gómez ¡Hola! CEU-business initiative.
Student Raquel Domínguez Villalba, a graduate in Early Childhood Education, addressed the audience on behalf of all faculty students.
The Academic Ceremony was closed by the rector, Rosa Visiedo, who said that “celebrating our patron saints is not merely about fulfilling an academic tradition, but about recognizing the intellectual and ethical roots that give meaning to our daily work.” She highlighted the figure of St. Isidore of Seville, “who reminds us of the universal vocation of knowledge, the commitment to preserving, organizing, and transmitting it”; and St. Francis de Sales, “who challenges us to reflect on the responsible use of words, the centrality of truth, and the need for communication exercised with rigour, humanity, and a sense of the common good.” She went on to underline how the celebration coincides with a particularly significant moment in the history of the faculty: the commemoration of the centenary of the El Debate School of Journalism, Spain’s first journalism school, promoted by Ángel Herrera and the origin of the CEU educational project.
Visiedo also talked about the role of digitalization and educational innovation, highlighting projects such as Key Learning, the promotion of the IA Infola laboratory, the integration of new technologies into all academic conferences, and the faculty’s active participation in the digital humanities cluster. She also talked about the importance of employability through the growth of Aula CEU-Business initiatives, “a privileged space for engagement with the professional world.” She gave special mentions to the faculty’s research activity, the launch of new undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and the faculty’s strong international profile, which places it as the second faculty in the University in terms of mobility volume.
To conclude, the rector thanked the faculty for its commitment to CEU Social, “a clear expression of our conviction, and of our university’s conviction, that technical training and human development must always go hand in hand.” She also expressed her gratitude “to our professors for their dedication, intellectual rigour, and commitment to excellence; to the Administration and Services staff for their constant professionalism; to our students, the true heart of the institution; and to the partner companies and institutions that help us maintain a dynamic and fruitful dialogue with society and the professional world.”