About Us

Friends of Catholic University in Chile, Inc. (“Friends”), formed in 1989, is a U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission, is to promote higher education in Chile by providing assistance to the Catholic University of Chile, one of the most internationally recognized educational institutions in Latin America, in the development of Chile and to put the University at the forefront of progress in Latin America. Friends’ objective is to facilitate the transfer of resources, knowledge and experience from the U.S. to the University to that end.

Over 30,000 students, distributed through 18 schools are currently studying at the Catholic University. These students will eventually join the 123,000 alumni who have studied at the University.

Friends has donated over US$20 million to the University for scholarships, earthquake recovery programs, J-Pal poverty program analysis, Covid Relief and the Center for Leadership in Education, among other initiatives.

The Foundation is managed by a Board of Directors, currently with 22 members, each with different backgrounds and experiences. The majority of the Directors live in the US. The Executive Committee of the Board is composed of the President, Mrs. Sava Thomas, the Treasurer, Mr. Patricio Donoso, and the Secretary, Mr. Roger W. Thomas.