The former Centro de Estudios Universitarios (CEU), currently called Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU, is a foundation for the development of education. Out of the many academic institutions it runs, it is mainly known for the prestigious university in Madrid, CEU San Pablo University, and CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia.
Fundación Universitaria CEU was created in 1933 in Madrid, by the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas (Catholic Association of Propagandists) on the initiative of its first President, the Servant of God Ángel Herrera Oria. In 1972 the 'Centro de Estudios Universitarios' became the 'Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU', as we know it today. The original faculty consisted of prestigious teachers, many of whom, over time, became professors or ministers, and some have even reached the episcopate. In 1945, the institution received official recognition by the Ministry of Education as a center affiliated to the University of Madrid. The CEU Foundation then set up a teaching institute, under the name of St. Paul College, affiliated with the Complutense University of Madrid. In 1993, Herrera Oria's dream of founding a university was fulfilled when the CEU Foundation established the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid, capital of Spain. This was followed by the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, the first private school of law ever founded in Valencia. It has been associated to the University of Valencia since the early 1970s but the University took on its current name in 1999. The CEU Abat Oliva University is the third university established by the San Pablo CEU Foundation, and was founded in 2003. In 2005, all entities that are part of the institution were united under the name CEU.