Directors of the School of Arts and the Faculty of Dental Medicine reappointed
Nuno Crespo was reappointed as director of the School of Arts and Marlene Tourais de Barros as director of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, by the Chancellor of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa for the three-year period 2024-2027.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, said that ‘although they are different, they are two of the schools where the focus on creativity is strongest. They are two schools anchored in different regions, Porto and Viseu, but their activity is not limited to the regions. They have a national and international mission, and this is especially important to emphasise.’
Nuno Crespo expressed his gratitude to the team that has accompanied him and highlighted the main milestones of the School of Arts: ‘we have created new courses such as the Degree and Master's in Cinema, the Postgraduate in Curatorship and Art Markets, among others. We increased the number of students by more than 50 per cent between 2017 and 2024. We organised 29 exhibitions, which were attended by more than 17,000 people, held 43 concerts, organised more than 74 talks with artists, 152 conferences, welcomed 14 artists for artist residencies and started the new film club, which is now entirely coordinated by students.’ The director of the School of Arts also mentioned a recent achievement: ‘today we have the Católica Art Centre, made up of three spaces on the Porto Campus of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, which has been part of the Portuguese Contemporary Art Network at national level since the beginning of September. This is a route that brings together the most important national contemporary art institutions. This recognition makes the Portuguese Catholic University the only one in Portugal and one of the few in Europe to have a cultural centre with this recognition.’ The Católica Art Centre consists of an Exhibition Hall, the Ilídio Pinho Auditorium and the Blackbox, which is more geared towards the performing arts. ‘Art doesn't just do interesting things that give us pleasure and kill our idleness, it's a way of questioning the world, imagining it, contemplating it and loving it,’ emphasised Nuno Crespo.
Pedro Alves, vice-director of the School of Arts, and Joana Teixeira, board member, also took office.
The director of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Marlene Barros, said in her inauguration speech: ‘It's been 5 years of history, but 24 years of purpose. 24 years of providing teaching services, building knowledge and working with and for the community, serving Viseu and the world. The Faculty of Dental Medicine is building its own model of pedagogical innovation and the transformation has required intervention in three dimensions: the creation of new simulation laboratories for pre-clinical teaching; the creation of a postgraduate study, with a surgical block; and the upgrading of the dental clinic, dedicated to clinical teaching.’ The director also reiterated the ability to attract international students, ‘currently 27 per cent of our students are foreigners.’ The team at the Faculty of Dental Medicine is made up of Maria José Correia (for Quality), Anna Moura (clinical director), Tiago Marques (for technology and pedagogical innovation), Nuno Rosa (director of the CIIS research centre, Nélio Veiga (coordinator of the integrated master's degree in dental medicine).
The swearing-in ceremony took place on 4 December 2024 at the Carvalho Guerra Auditorium on the Porto Campus. On the same day, Céline Abecassis-Moedas, Pro-Rector of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, signed the inauguration book. The Rectorate's inauguration ceremony took place on 15 November.