Dr. Eduardo Hebel was reelected on June third and takes office together with Renato Hunter Alarcón, the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs; Pamela Ibarra Palma, the Vice-rector for Undergraduate Affairs; Rodrigo Navia Diez, the Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies; and Jorge Petit-Breuilh Sepúlveda, the Vice-rector for Administration and Finances.

“Four years ago, I received the honor to lead this university, and today, it is my duty to renew my commitment to each and every one of our university community,” said Dr. Eduardo Hebel Weiss during the ceremony in which he officially took office for the second term (2022-2026) as the Rector of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO). The ceremony took place at the university’s Aula Magna, in presence of local and regional authorities, former rectors of UFRO, rectors of other universities, and the university community.

At the ceremony, the General Secretary, Dr. Plinio Durán, read the Presidential Decree, which officially appoints Dr. Eduardo Hebel Weiss the new Rector of the Universidad de La Frontera, who then signed the record of assumption of office and received the official Medal of the Universidad de La Frontera, which for each term is lend to the new rector.

In his speech, Dr. Eduardo Hebel reaffirmed his main guidelines that motivate him to lead the university and that are based on the value of the human being, the recognition of diversity, empathy, solidarity and the unrestricted respect for the people. “Because it is you, the people, who make UFRO unique, with your unparalleled richness, differences, styles and knowledge, pushing our university towards new directions and challenges,” he emphasized.

Dr. Eduardo Hebel takes office together with Renato Hunter Alarcón, the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs; Pamela Ibarra Palma, the Vice-rector for Undergraduate Affairs; Rodrigo Navia Diez, the Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies; and Jorge Petit-Breuilh Sepúlveda, the Vice-rector for Administration and Finances.

PILLARS

During this term, from 2022 to 2026, the university authority will keep consolidating the university project initiated in 2018, for which the Rector emphasized the need of a collaborative work and constant dialogue between all members of the university community.

In this respect, he pointed out: “In the immediate future, we have to take care of our permanent and urgent tasks, in order to continue as the nationally and internationally recognized university that we are. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that together we established the transformation we need to ensure, with the desire to create a common UFRO.”

He also stressed that he will “consolidate the institutional work, to build a university of excellence, recognized for our work in the fields that differentiate us, whether the professional training, advances in science, artistic creation or free thinking.”

Therefore, it will be necessary to work cohesively on the six pillars he proposed: transversal commitments for a common UFRO; comprehensive training – training people from our region for the world; institutional management – from administration to integral management for a common UFRO; quality assurance; outreach – a university conscious of its environment; and research, creation and innovation – creation of science and knowledge with a local and global impact.

INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION

The university is getting ready for one of the most important processes: the institutional accreditation process. Actually, the work has already begun, with the preparation of the self-evaluation process, the Institutional Development Project that should be implemented over the next ten years, the ethical commitment that implies the implementation of the new University Statutes, and the Educational Model that will be activated in 2023.

HIGHER EDUCATION

The Rector also expressed his commitment to the strengthening of the public, regional and state higher education. “As a public university, we are important agents for the improvement of the country and its people,” he emphasized. He also explained that these establishments seek to guarantee the right to education with a pluralistic, intercultural and inclusive seal, that they contribute to social mobility, address the needs of the territory and its inhabitants, highlight and support the vocation of young people who have different aspirations and train professionals in sensitive fields.

At the end of his speech, Rector Dr. Eduardo Hebel emphasized that “UFRO is a university that, at its heart, continues to strengthen the academic and educational development of the people of our region and the country, addressing their needs and responding to the challenges and opportunities we have as a society,” inviting the university community to “keep working and dreaming the future of the Universidad de La Frontera together”.