The Prudentina Association of Education and Culture (APEC), sponsor of the University of West Paulista (Unoeste), was born of the dream of Agripino teacher Oliveira Lima Filho and Ana Cardoso Maia de Oliveira Lima to meet the shortage of higher education in Presidente Prudente (SP ) and region. In May 1972, these educators came with the application for authorization for operation of the Faculty of Arts, Sciences, Letters and Presidente Prudente Education (Faclepp) from the National Board of Education.
It was authorized by the Council in August of that year, and on October 3, 1972 the president, Emilio Medici Garrastazu, signed the Decree 71190, creating the first college APEC, the Faclepp. It was then performed the first bone of APEC, with 536 candidates competing for 350 places offered. On October 21, 1972, the diocesan bishop Dom José Gonçalves da Costa was delivering the inaugural lecture of Faclepp provisionally in the Christ the King College premises.
Due to the ideals of Agripino and Ana Lima and the great demand for other areas of knowledge, in the following years were born the health colleges: Nursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Dentistry, the clinical referred to, and places like laboratories and the Gym Sports. Then the faculties of Civil Engineering, Information Technology and many other top courses. The high of Bongiovani Garden (now University City) quickly emerged the complex of buildings that includes the campus I of Unoeste.
Guided by quality education and life, APEC loomed up. In 1987 was born the campus II, at km 572 of the Raposo Tavares highway in Limoeiro neighborhood of Presidente Prudente, with courses in the areas of Agricultural Sciences, Human and Social Applied. That same year, a ministerial decree 83 / MEC recognized the Unoeste as university - since it is the only private higher education institution in western São Paulo with that title.
The university as well as the materials structures, technological and human, multiplied always with high quality. Jutting pavilions, clinics, Veterinary Hospital, Experimental Farm, laboratory buildings, agronomic centers, livestock and other areas for higher education, scientific research and the constant practice of citizenship. Another relevant data: the direction of APEC always has highly competent professionals, many are part of the teaching / administrative staff from the beginning to the present day.