DOMUNI Universitas: Understanding Its Organisation and Governance Structures

5 november 2026

Following the appointment of the Master of the Order of Preachers as Grand Chancellor of DOMUNI Universitas on 7 October 2026, let us take a closer look at the university's organisation. Grand Chancellor, Senate, Rectorate, faculties and institutes: these various bodies fulfil complementary responsibilities and contribute to the life of an international academic institution. How do they work together? What is the role of each? And how does this organisation enable Domuni Universitas to pursue its mission of teaching and research within the Dominican intellectual tradition?

The Grand Chancellor: The Link with the Order of Preachers and the Church

Founded in 1998 at the initiative of the Dominican provinces of France and Toulouse, DOMUNI Universitas is rooted in the intellectual tradition of the Order of Preachers. This heritage is an essential element of its identity and academic mission.

The January 2026 Academic Statutes provide for the office of Grand Chancellor, whose responsibilities are canonical and spiritual in nature. They stipulate that the Grand Chancellor ensures that DOMUNI Universitas fulfils its mission in accordance with the doctrine and discipline of the Catholic Church, the founding principles of the Order of Preachers and the institution's own identity.

The Grand Chancellor's role also includes fostering communion between Domuni Universitas, other Dominican institutions and ecclesiastical authorities. The Grand Chancellor approves the statutes and any amendments before their promulgation, confirms the appointment of the Rector or Rectress, and receives an annual moral and academic report on the life of the university.

The formal appointment of the Master of the Order as Grand Chancellor thus gives institutional expression to the historical relationship between Domuni Universitas and the Order of Preachers.

This responsibility operates alongside those of the other bodies without overlapping with them: the Grand Chancellor ensures the institution's ecclesial accountability, while its academic, administrative and financial management falls within the remit of the governing bodies established by the statutes.

The Senate: Deliberating and Defining Strategic Priorities

The Senate is the deliberative collegial body of DOMUNI Universitas. Its composition reflects an important principle of the university's organisation: bringing together representatives of the academic community and representatives of the Dominican founding provinces.

The deans of the faculties, representatives of the academic staff, the student body and the teaching, administrative and technical staff participate in this body, alongside representatives of the founding provinces. The Rector and the Vice-Rector or Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs are also ex officio members.

The Senate is involved in the institution's major decisions. It approves the statutes of DOMUNI Universitas, its faculties and its various academic bodies. It elects the Rector or Rectress according to the prescribed procedure and approves the Vice-Rectors or Vice-Rectresses proposed by the person elected to lead the institution.

Its responsibilities also extend to general strategic priorities, academic and institutional development, and the quality of educational programmes. It safeguards academic freedom, regularly evaluates the university's operations and makes recommendations to the Rectorate.

The Senate therefore plays a role in deliberation, strategic guidance and oversight. It provides a forum in which institutional matters are examined collectively, with a commitment to transparency and accountability.

The Quality Assurance Committee, a standing committee of the Senate, contributes to this mission. It examines results, makes recommendations for improvement and helps continuously strengthen quality within the institution.

The Rectorate: Leading and Implementing the Strategy

While the Senate deliberates, the Rectorate is the governing and executive body of DOMUNI Universitas. It is responsible for leading the institution and ensuring that its strategic priorities are implemented.

It consists of the Rector or Rectress and one or more Vice-Rectors or Vice-Rectresses, chosen by the person elected to lead the institution and approved by the Senate. The General Secretariat and the Directorate of Communications are associated with its work in accordance with the procedures set out in the statutes.

The Rectorate is responsible for strategy, multi-year planning, institutional relations and the institution's overall policy. It also oversees the organisation of services, concludes agreements, prepares the annual report and ensures the proper functioning of the university's various entities.

It thus ensures overall coherence: institutional priorities must be translated into concrete action in the areas of teaching, research, administration and development.

The Rectress, Marie Monnet O.P., has led DOMUNI Universitas since 1 September 2023, for a five-year term.

The Faculties: Organising Teaching and Research

The academic activities of DOMUNI Universitas are organised around three faculties:

• The Faculty of Philosophy;

• The Faculty of Theology;

• The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The faculties are responsible for teaching and research in their respective fields. They also contribute to continuing university-level education and to the training of the next generation of researchers.

Each faculty has its own statutes and two main governing bodies: a faculty council and a dean. The council serves as the collegial decision-making body at faculty level, while the dean is responsible for its leadership.

The faculties may also comprise sections and departments organised around specific disciplinary or thematic fields. The Faculty of Theology, for example, includes a Department of Biblical Studies. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences includes, among others, a Department of History and Art History, as well as a Department of Ethics, Economics and Development.

This organisation makes it possible to structure teaching and research activities in close alignment with individual disciplines while maintaining overall coherence. The faculties have their own organisational structures, but operate within the common institutional framework of DOMUNI Universitas and maintain relations with the Rectorate and the Senate.

The Institutes: Fostering Dialogue Between Disciplines

Alongside the three faculties are two interfaculty institutes: the Human Rights Institute and the Institute for Religious Studies.

Their interfaculty nature reflects their transdisciplinary vocation. They provide opportunities to address questions that extend beyond the boundaries of a single discipline and encourage exchanges between different fields of knowledge.

This dimension reflects the intellectual orientation of DOMUNI Universitas, which seeks to promote dialogue between disciplines, cultures and traditions. The institutes thus help broaden research perspectives and develop complementary approaches to major contemporary questions.

The Academic Council, which brings together the three faculty councils, also serves as a forum for coordination. Department heads participate in its work, making it possible to connect the different levels of the academic organisation.

Central Services: Ensuring Day-to-Day Operations

Behind the governing bodies and academic structures, the central services ensure the university's day-to-day operations.

Their organisation is cross-functional: academic services support all educational programmes, regardless of the language of instruction or the discipline concerned. Their responsibilities include student reception and information, admissions, student support, international relations, mobility, and the management of diplomas and academic transcripts.

These responsibilities are complemented by administrative, financial and technical functions, human resources, archives, IT engineering, programming, publishing and web design.

The central services also contribute to the implementation of the quality assurance system, in conjunction with the Quality Assurance Committee.

For a university whose teaching takes place online and which serves an international audience, this organisation is essential. It enables activities to be coordinated, ensures continuity of services and supports the work of faculties, lecturers and researchers.

An Organisation Serving a Shared Mission

The organisational chart of DOMUNI Universitas is more than a succession of positions. It presents a network of bodies and structures whose responsibilities complement one another.

The Grand Chancellor safeguards the institution's ecclesial and Dominican identity. The Senate deliberates on institutional priorities and upholds academic freedom and quality. The Rectorate leads the university and implements its strategy. The faculties organise teaching and research, while the institutes foster transdisciplinary approaches. The central services, in turn, ensure the practical conditions necessary for the entire institution to function.

This organisation reflects a conception of the university founded on participation, shared responsibility and academic freedom. It is rooted in the Dominican tradition, which places study, research and the transmission of knowledge at the heart of its mission.

By clearly defining the responsibilities of each body, the Academic Statutes provide a framework for this ambition: to sustain an international academic community that is open to dialogue between disciplines and cultures and committed to the pursuit of truth.