SW News: After ascending the throne of St Peter, Pope Francis has set the wheel in motion to reduce gender bias and empower women. From appointing six women to oversee the finances of the Holy See to nominating a nun as the secretary-general of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City, His Holiness has demonstrated his commitment to placing women in key positions. Inspired by the path blazed by the Holy Father, a prestigious university in Spain run by the Opus Dei has appointed a woman as its rector for the first time in its seven-decade history.

Academician and scientist Maria Iraburu Elizalde, an alumnus of the university, was appointed as its new rector, replacing Alfonso Sanchez Tabernero, who had been serving since 2012. The appointment was made by Opus Dei prelate Monsignor Fernando Ocariz. Elizalde is the ninth professor to be appointed as rector of the university. Hailing from Pamplona in Spain she joined the university in 2005 as its rector for students. In 2018-2019, she completed the Senior Business Management Program there and the following year, she was appointed one of the trustees of the Catholic University of America.

Elizalde has a doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Navarra and she did her post-doctoral studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She is also the principal investigator of seven research projects and has scrutinized eight doctoral theses. She now teaches Structural and Functional Biochemistry and Biosynthesis of Macromolecules and their regulation.

Monsignor Ocariz expressed gratitude to Elizalde for consenting to take on this big responsibility and take the university through a new stage that is full of challenges. He also thanked the outgoing rector for his service all these years that were marked by optimism and magnanimity.

The University of Navarra was founded in 1952 by St Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, which is a Roman Catholic international lay and clerical organization whose members seek to implement Christian values and principles in their profession.