A new model was created for Spanish universities when the Parliament approved the Ley de Reforma Universitaria. It emphasizes that the university must serve the society and must cooperate in the solution of problems that affect the society. The universities are charged with the mission of executing the scientific policy of the nation and of the Comunidades Autonomas to which they belong. The new model has consequences for such factors as research, technological innovation, and professional preparation. Great flexibility and continual contact with the social reality are required to enable universities to adapt to a world in constant change. The model Spanish university would be financially autonomous, imaginative and creative, having adequate salaries for faculty, transnational, cooperating with developed and developing countries, and above all serving its society by adapting its studies to meet the needs of the country's enterprises and industries and the employment needs of its graduates. (JDD)