Elena Beccalli to lead the European Federation of Catholic Universities

Elena Beccalli, Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, was elected President of the European Federation of Catholic Universities (FUCE), the European branch of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), on Friday, 6 June, in Leuven.

Professor Beccalli will lead the academic network that brings together 62 Catholic universities, including 56 in 17 European countries and 6 in Lebanon. She succeeds Professor Michael Mullaney, President of Saint Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland. Elena Beccalli is the first Italian and also the first woman to hold the position; she will stay in office for three years.

The FUCE, founded in 1991 and based in France at the Lyon Catholic University, is an important point of reference for higher education and scientific research in the European and international educational context. In her strategic programme, Professor Beccalli indicated a number of priorities to consolidate the FUCE's presence in Europe and worldwide. These include strengthening partnerships and strategic alliances between European Catholic universities; promoting double degree programmes; setting up mobility programmes for professors/lecturers, young researchers and technical-administrative staff; and developing joint research programmes, periodically proposing projects focusing on the main issues of our time. The aim is to ensure that Catholic universities can keep their voice alive and actively contribute to revitalising the European identity and its roots. This will allow the reaffirmation of the central role of education and culture, which have always been the cornerstones of European civilisation. According to the Rector of Università Cattolica, this process, based on dialogue and the valorisation of diversity among the Federation's universities, could provide the impetus to projects capable of generating benefits within the federation but also externally, for institutions and the society. "If properly recognised and supported within EU policies, Catholic universities can strengthen the idea of Europe and contribute to its concrete realisation, restoring the soul of the Union," says the newly appointed president of FUCE.

Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore since 1 July 2024, Elena Beccalli is full professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries at the School of Banking, Finance and Insurance Sciences, where for a decade she served as the dean. She is research associate of the Centre for Analysis of risk and regulation at the London School of Economics (UK), where she has previously also been a tutorial fellow, lecturer and visiting professor. She is an academic fellow at the Centre for Responsible Banking & Finance at the University of St Andrews. She has been a visiting professor at the Singapore Institute of Management and the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University.

She is director of the Research Centre on Cooperative Mutual Banking of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. She has been president of the Italian section of the European Association for Banking and Financial Law (AEDBF). She has been a board member of the Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA) and co-president of the European Financial Management Association. She is co-editor of the Journal of financial management, markets and institutions.

She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation. She is a member of the expert group on socially responsible investments of the Italian Bishops' Conference. On 1 November 2024, she was appointed by Pope Francis as consultant to the Dicastery for Culture and Education. She was the coordinator of the training course on the Document Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones, promoted by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Milan. She was senior expert of the Finance and Humanity Village in the context of The Economy of Francesco. She was also involved in the drafting of the document Mensuram Bonam.

She is the author of numerous articles and monographs in internationally renowned journals and publishers. Her main areas of scientific interest concern the banking sector analysed from the perspective of industrial organisation, with a focus on the issues of technology, efficiency, cooperation and financial biodiversity. In more recent years, her studies have focused on issues of ethics and inclusiveness, sustainability and cooperation, artificial intelligence, and women's leadership.