OUR CENTER
The Center for Education in Virtues and Values (CEV) is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the study of virtues, character and values to promote human flourishing.
The main objective of the center is the promotion of virtue and the cultivation of character in education, in the professional world and, in general, in society, both nationally and internationally.
More specifically, the Center for Virtue and Values Education, based on rigorous, interdisciplinary research integrated with educational practice, aims to place character at the center of educational practice through:
♦ The promotion and strengthening of character education in the different educational stages, from elementary school to university.
♦ The active participation of all actors in the educational process, focusing on strengthening the training of teachers, highlighting their central role in character education and their capacity to be fundamental character educators.
♦ The provision of perspectives, guidelines, criteria and support to teachers (both active and in training), as well as to professionals and educational leaders, to build the education of tomorrow. being a cutting-edge laboratory that integrates research and educational practice.
♦ To be a cutting-edge laboratory that integrates research and educational practice.
♦ Offering support to schools and other communities in the planning and development of character education.
♦ Creating synergies with other research groups within the University, as well as establishing and/or participating in international research networks.
Integrated in the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV), the Center for Education in Virtues and Values is aligned with the integral mission of the university, which is committed to the integral formation and flourishing of its students as its main educational objective. The Center aims to put into practice UFV’s motto, “Train to Transform”, which guides its entire educational model and university activities, seeking to generate a positive and transformative impact on society. All of the Center’s activities are developed with this purpose in mind, encompassing both research and practice
OUR TEAM
ADVISORY BOARD
Our Advisory Committee brings together leading and experienced researchers and practitioners in character and virtues education
Prof. James Arthur, OBE
Ex Director of Training at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
Birmingham University
Wojciech Kaftanski
Interdisciplinary Center for Ethics, Jagiellonian University Research Affiliate of the Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University
Maria Silvia Vaccarezza
Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy. Centro Aretai de Virtudes
Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy
Matthew Lee
Professor of Social Sciences and Humanities, Institute for the Study of Religion, Baylor University.
Research Associate and Director of the Flourishing Network of the Human Flourishing Program
Liz Gulliford
Associate Professor of Psychology, Northampton University
Research Fellow, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
Senior Psychology Advisor, Oxford Character Project
Claudia Navarini
Professor of Moral Philosophy, Università Europea di Roma
Centro Aretai de Virtudes
Gary Lewis
Executive Director of the Association for Character Education (ACE), UK
Edward Brooks
Executive Director The Oxford Character Project
Jorge López
Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Agustín Porres
Director of the Varkey Foundation, LATAM
Juani Savall
Vice-Dean of Integral Education Faculty of Education and Psychology
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Carmen Romero Sánchez-Palencia
Coordinator of the Humanities Department Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Jesús Alcalá
Professor of Theory of Education Director of the University Master’s Degree in Teacher Training Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Our associated researchers bring together researchers from different fields, collaborating interdisciplinarily with the Center’s research and the projects developed
Jorge López
Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Juani Savall
Vicedean of Integral Education
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Olatz López Fernández
Professor of Psychology
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Javier Aranguren
Professor of Ethics and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Javier de Cendra
Dean of the Faculty of Law, Business and Government
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Mª de los Ángeles Muñoz Martínez
Director of the School of Government and Leadership
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Marcelo López Cambronero
Professor of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Patricia Castaño
Professor of Psychology, Instituto de Acompañamiento
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Jesús Alcalá
Professor of Education Theory
Director of the Univeristy Master’s Degree in Teacher Training
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Juan Luis Fuentes
Professor of Theory of Education, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Education
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Salvador Ortiz de Montellano
Professor of Leadership Education
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Paula Rodríguez
Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology
Universidad Isabel I
Paula Crespí
Professor of HCP
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE
MORE ABOUT VERÓNICA FERNÁNDEZ
I am a professor in the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV). My teaching and research focus on educational leadership and virtue ethics applied to education. Some of my publications are: Fernández Espinosa, V & López González, J. (2023). Education in virtues and values in schools: a study in an international sample. Journal of Beliefs and Values, DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2022.2158018; Fernández Espinosa, V & López González, J. (2023). The effect of teacher leadership on students’ purposeful learning. Social Sciences Cogent 9 (1), 2197282, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2023.2197282; (2021) Teacher leadership and freedom education, in Academic research and innovation for a networked society, Tirant; (2019) “Educating for freedom: autonomy or self-determination?” Relections 6, pp. 55-66; The exercise of authority to lead the person to grow in maturity and freedom in love, in Liberi per amare. Is it possible to live in evangelizing counsels in the world? Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum; I have also co-authored the volumes (2022) Pedagogy and Virtues. Excellence in the way of love. Didaskalos; (2022) Liberi per amare. Is it possible to live in evangelizing counsels in the world? Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum; and Arthur, J. & Fernandez Espinosa, V. (2023). In view of the excellent end: Character education in universities, McGraw Hill; I authored (2023) Freedom as self-determination. Bases for the discussion of a teacher education model, MacGrawHill. I am a consultant for the Valued Based Leadership project carried out by the Oxford Character Project at Oxford University. I collaborate with the European Character and Virtue Association and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, which have inspired our project.
I am passionate about people and therefore about education. I have happily spent more than twenty-five years as a school principal and vice-principal, with a special focus on adolescent education. I have experience in team building and management in educational institutions at national and international level. My professional life in education has led me to the need to put the teacher at the center of educational practice, where character must be formed (education in virtues and values) and which has at its core freedom, love and the call to fulfillment. It matters to me that each person not only does things but becomes someone, and therefore, it matters a lot to me that the research is to transform education
MORE ABOUT PATRICIA MAXWELL
Graduate in International Relations from the University Francisco de Vitoria, Master in Humanities, Expert Course in Affective-Sexual Education and , student of Theology and Philosophy. I am passionate about international development and humanities. My personal, academic and professional journey has always been oriented towards the transformation of society through the person, integral human development and social action.
I have worked in the education sector and in the UK publishing sector on politics and public affairs. I discovered my true vocation in the social field by contributing to sustainable development programs with a Mexican NGO, specializing in program creation, strategic development and implementation oversight for families in vulnerable situations. Motivated by a deep interest in politics, philosophy and social development, I love to be actively involved in social causes.
Another of my great passions is organizing, promoting and giving conferences on Theology of the Body for youth and adults. Through this experience and my own vocational journey, I discovered the greatness of the vocation to love and the beauty of the human heart. I am convinced that only by understanding human beings, accompanying them to live in fullness and illuminating their truth, can we understand the world, seek the common good and face today’s social challenges.
Currently, I am responsible for projects in the Botín Foundation’s Solidarity Talent programs. Our goal is to strengthen the Third Sector in Spain and LATAM, helping NGOs to improve their internal efficiency, incorporate external talent and foster innovation and collaboration in the sector.
MORE ABOUT NICOLE HADDAD
I have a university degree in Hispanic Language and Literature from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, a Master in Marriage and Family Sciences from the Giovanni Paolo II Institute in Rome and a Master in Teaching, UFV(2021). I am passionate about humanities and education. I have specialized in editing and translating books as well as in teaching. In addition, I have worked in academia as a teaching assistant in university chairs (Literature and History of Music) and in secondary and Baccalaureate in subjects as diverse as: Language, Critical Thinking and Anthropology. I give talks on Theology of the Body and affectivity for young people and adults. Thanks to the integral formation received at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, I was able to discover a double passion: to spread through teaching and publishing the greatness to which human love is called, and to discover to the world a vision of the education of desire and character – based on the virtues and free from the “must be” – which has love and the call to fullness at its center
MORE ABOUT CHIARA PALAZZOLO
I am a professor of Ethics in the Department of Engineering and Industrial Systems at the University Francisco de Vitoria (UFV) and research supervisor at the Center for Virtues and Values of the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the same university. My teaching work focuses on deontology and professional ethics, putting at the center the connection between profession and moral character, since all good professionalism requires a moral foundation; while my research is oriented towards virtue ethics, the development of moral character -also in professional and artistic contexts, especially in classical music-, the philosophy of forgiveness and restorative justice. In addition to being a philosopher, I am also a classical musician, and this dual training nourishes and informs my academic reflection.
My most recent publications include: 2025 – Musik als Berufung: Berufsethik des klassischen Musikers (Music as Vocation: The Professional Ethics of the Classical Musician), Brill Fink. E-Book ISBN: 978-3-8467-6918-8; Paperback ISBN: 978-3-7705-6918-2 2024 – “Classical Music as Ethical Practice: A Professional Perspective,” Journal of Moral Education, co-authored with Lisa Giombini (Roma Tre University), https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2024.2342273 2024 – “The Ethical Model of Orchestra Conductor: A Psychological and Philosophical Perspective,” Philosophical Psychology, co-authored with Mario De Caro (Tufts University & Roma Tre University), https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2024.2417980 2024 – “Playing with Virtue: Exploring Musical Expertise through Julia Annas’s Lens,” International Journal of Philosophical Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2024.2427592 2024 – “Philosophy of Musical Relationships: Care Ethics and Moral Responsibility of Musical Agency,” Philosophies, 9, 183, https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060183 2024 – “It’s Not Just Music: The Ethics of Musical Interpretation,” Argumenta, https://doi.org/10.14275/2465-2334/20240.pal 2024 – “Music and the Virtue of Humility. Philosophical and Psychological Foundations,” Intersezioni (early access), https://doi.org/10.1404/114610 2025 – “The Morality of Creativity: Virtue and Responsibility of Creatives,” Philosophical Inquiries, vol. XIII, n. 1, https://doi.org/10.4454/philinq.v13i1.562 2024 – “The Necessity of Evil and Free Will: Schellingian Echoes on Harry Frankfurt’s View,” Quaestio, vol. 24, pp. 434-450, https://doi.org/10.1484/j.quaestio.5 https://doi.org/10.1484/j.quaestio.5.145032 2025 – “La natura morale del perdono tra etica delle virtù e psicologia morale”, Paradigmi, https://doi.org/10.30460/116896I am on the editorial board of The Journal of Value Inquiry (ISSN 0022-5363). I also belong to the research group Aretai (Italy), dedicated to the study of virtues, and I participate in international conferences mainly focused on character education and virtue ethics. I am deeply passionate about philosophy, also at the international level, and I actively contribute to the development of its practical applications oriented to moral character education. I have teaching experience in Italy and the United States, having developed research and teaching activities in those countries. I conceive my professional life in the service of the needs of the international scientific community, in order to contribute to the common good of both my university and the global academic community.
MORE ABOUT MIGUEL RUMAYOR
PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Navarra (1998) and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Murcia (2021). I am currently a Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Family and Social Affairs Committee in the Assembly of Madrid (XIII Legislature). Full Professor in Theory and History of Education (accredited in ANECA, 2015), with three sexenios of research (CENEAI), and researcher at the Center for Education in Values and Virtues of the University Francisco de Vitoria. I also belong to the National Research System (SNI) of Mexico. I have been Research Associate Fellow at Oxford University (England), Notre Dame University (Indiana), Catholic University of America (Washington) and Duquesne University (Pittsburgh). I have presented papers at more than fifty international conferences and published similar scholarly works, including books, book chapters and papers in Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, Canada, Colombia, Chile and Greece. Some of my recent articles are: (2023) “Friendship and character education, a systematic review”. Z. Espinosa, J. Ahedo, M. Rumayor, Revista Española de Pedagogía, 81 (284), 143-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP81-1-2023-08; (2022) “Amistad y transcendencia: ¿Tiene sentido tener amigos si van a morir?”, in La familia: ¿es una escuela de amistad. AA.VV. Dykinson, pp. 131-140. My most recent books are: (2021) Academic life and personal formation. La universidad hoy a la luz de John Henry Newman and (2013) El Yo en Xavier Zubiri. I have also published several articles in the national press in Mexico and Spain. I am passionately dedicated to research and training of university students
MORE ABOUT VERÓNICA PÉREZ MENDOZA
University Degree and Professor in Education Sciences at the University of San Andrés (Buenos Aires, Argentina) with a University Master’s Degree in Leadership and Management for the Quality of Educational Centers from the University Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid, Spain). She has worked as a tutor, tutor and teacher at the secondary level. She has also collaborated with the educational consultancies Somos Red, Varkey and Pulso Educación as a specialist in innovation pedagogies and advisor to educational centers