CEU Elche to Open New Campus Next Academic Year, Adding Psychology Degree and School of Dentistry

CEU Cardenal Herrera University will inaugurate its new campus in the centre of Elche this September, introducing a Psychology degree and a School of Dentistry to its academic offerings. This announcement was made during the 30th-anniversary celebration held this Thursday at the Gran Teatro de Elche.

The event was attended by 400 guests, including authorities, representatives from the academic, business, ecclesiastical, and political sectors, as well as alumni, faculty, and staff of the university.

The rector of CEU Cardenal Herrera University, Higinio Marín, announced that the new campus will open in September in the centre of Elche, in the building that was formerly a Zara store. The institution will invest seven million euros in refurbishing this property, transforming it into a university space tailored to current educational needs.

The project will cover a total area of 4,750 square metres, representing a 30% increase in the overall area of CEU in the city. "This campus is a strategic step that reinforces our commitment to permanence and growth in Elche, expanding not only our teaching capacity but also our spaces for university life," stated the rector.

During the commemorative event, the 30th-anniversary medal was awarded to eleven individuals and institutions linked to the development of CEU in Elche. Among the honourees were figures from the ecclesiastical sphere, such as the emeritus bishop of the Orihuela-Alicante Diocese, Victorio Oliver Domingo; from the business world, like Rafael Bernabeu Moya, honorary president of J'hayber, and José Quiles Parreño, businessman and former member of the university's Advisory Council; and from the academic sector, like Andrés Pedreño Muñoz, former rector of the University of Alicante.

This institutional recognition was also given to the former president of the Generalitat, Joan Lerma, and several former mayors of Elche who have supported the university's growth over the three decades of CEU's presence in the city: Manuel Rodríguez Maciá, Diego Maciá Antón, Alejandro Soler Mur, Mercedes Alonso García, Carlos González Serna, and the current mayor, Pablo Ruz Villanueva. The ceremony included a posthumous tribute to the wife of the former vice-rector of the Elche campus, César Casimiro Elena.