A University with a Future; L. P. Liggio

They have few institutions in their countries around which to expand the islands of freedom. The importance of building institutions was demonstrated during the recent Western Hemi sphere meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in Guatemala. Part of the program was held at Fran cisco Marroquin University. Founded in 1972,this institution is a monument to the intellectual con tributions of Ludwig von Mises and to the organi zational contributions of the founding rector, Manuel Ayau. Dr. Ayau was influenced by the lectures and writings of Mises, and through him by the ideas of Leonard Read and E A. Harper. Thanks to Mises' teachings, Ayau and Ulysses Dent recognized that higher education is the most important contested area for shaping social change-and the area in which the socialists have seized most of the ground. Thus, Ayau and Dent founded a new uni versity,and through much hard work and with the inspiration of Mises, Read, W. H. Hutt, Henry Hazlitt, Henry Manne and others, the university has become a great success.

I have given courses at Francisco Marroquin on two occasions, and can attest to the very high qualProfessor Liggio is Distinguished Senior Scholar at the Institute for Humane Studies, George Mason Universi ty, Fairfax, Virginia. ity of the students. They are bright, attentive, cour teous young ladies and gentlemen with a strong interest in the freedom philosophy.Francisco Mar roquin must compete for students with the nation al university. At the national university, students can study at almost no cost-the university is guar anteed 4 percent of the central government's bud get by Guatemala's constitution, whichwas written by the university's faculty. Its campus looks like a military encampment after it was overrun by the enemy-in this case, by the students from various militant socialist groups. In contrast, like a medieval monastery, Francis co Marroquin University was built brick by brick by dedicated devotees of the freedom philosophy.

Some of these people formed the early faculty of unpaid instructors. Over time, Dr. Ayau was able to add teachers who had been trained in free mar ket economics at New York University with Mises, at the University of Rochester, UCLA, and other leading U.S. colleges. Francisco Marroquin's pro grams have expanded to include economics, busi ness, accounting, computer science, architecture, dentistry, medicine, theology, teacher training, social sciences, and law. However, all students are required to complete two semesters in Austrian economics, a semester on the social thought of Ludwig von Mises, and a semester on the social thought of E A. Hayek. One of the most widely attended courses is "The Logic of Social Coopera tion" taught by Juan R Bendfeldt. The core curriculum reflects the strength of the economics faculty that is headed by Fritz Thomas and includes Julio Cole, Joseph Keckeissen, and Pablo Schneider. Two outstanding scholars, Eduardo Mayora and Armando de la Torre, are 274 heads, respectively, of the law program and the social science program. The greatest limitation on the educational potential of the Francisco Marro quin University is the current lack of Spanish-lan guage books on the freedom philosophy.The uni versity's newly built campus is an attractive and efficient site for educational activities. Built against the walls of a canyon, the main building encloses a natural central area with a descending stream and greenery. The Ludwig von Mises Library is being built; a student activities center is planned.