The General Assembly of the International Association of La Salle Universities (IALU) has marked the start of a new phase aimed at strengthening the shared mission, global collaboration and impact of Lasallian universities worldwide.
Held on 30 June, the Assembly also formalised the handover within the governance structure and approved the Strategic Plan for the period 2026-2028.
A Path of Commitment
In this regard, the Assembly positioned the new Plan within a path of growth and maturation for the network. Since the 2018 Mexico Encuentro, under the theme “Strength in Diversity”, the IALU has increasingly recognised that the diversity of its institutions is a source of strength. At Beauvais–Barcelona 2022, under the theme “Transforming the Future Together”, the network expressed its determination to actively shape the future of Lasallian higher education. And at Nairobi 2025, under the motto of “Ubuntu” – “I am because we are” –, the association recognised that its mission can only flourish through interdependence, co-responsibility and solidarity.
The new cycle builds on these achievements and projects them into a phase defined by the motto “Bound by Mission, Committed to Impact”.
New Leadership Team
This new phase is led by a renewed management team, with Josep M. Santos (La Salle-URL Barcelona, Spain) as President, Brother Iñigo Riola (La Salle Dasmariñas, Philippines) as Vice-President, and Philippe Choquet (UniLaSalle, France) as Treasurer, alongside the Regional directors and Council members who represent the diversity of the Lasallian university network worldwide: Brother Kenneth Martinez (La Salle Bacolod, Philippines), Brother Paulos Mesmer (La Salle College, Kenya), Brother Manuel Orozco (Universidad Tecnológica La Salle, Nicaragua), Daniel Allen (La Salle Philadelphia, United States), and Luis Ignacio Salgado Fernández (La Salle Oaxaca, Mexico). On behalf of the General Council of the Institute, Brother Carlos Gómez, Vicar General, will continue to accompany IALU’s processes, whilst Carlos Coelho will continue as Executive Director.
In expressing their gratitude to David Livingston, who is bringing to a close a period of leadership characterised by service, institutional continuity and the transition towards a new phase of greater global ambition, as well as to Brother Andrés Govela, former President, for his decisive contribution to the association’s institutional development, the new leadership team assumed responsibility for supporting the implementation of the IALU Strategic Plan 2026-2028, ensuring coordination between Regions and institutions and promoting more active participation by all members.
Global Lasallian ecosystem of higher education
The Strategic Plan sets out a significant evolution: moving from an association understood as a coordination network to a true global Lasallian ecosystem of higher education. This transformation is structured around four pillars: Advocacy, to position the IALU as a global voice in ethical, humanistic and sustainable higher education; Networking, to strengthen institutional networks, partnerships for excellence and international collaboration; Talent Development, to train leaders, lecturers, researchers, staff and students capable of bringing about transformative change; and Solidarity, to diminish inequalities and support emerging and developing universities.
These pillars are aligned with the guiding principles of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, particularly regarding the promotion of peace and justice, the development of global education programmes, and the strengthening of a Lasallian university system in Africa. In this way, IALU aims to contribute more directly to the Institute’s global mission within the sphere of higher education.
* Article produced in collaboration with La Salle-URL Campus Barcelona.
