Universities Advocate for Strategic Plans to Alleviate Economic Crisis

…“the major challenge” of academies is “how to maintain the agenda for the future” in times “of such financial fragility.

Vélez Arocho explained that “the richest universities and the less wealthy ones have established policies to cut costs as a strategy to confront the difficult financial situation” the world is facing. He added that “our economy is experiencing moments unlike we’ve ever seen before. This situation is impacting and will impact each organization and individual in our cities including our universities.”

For this reason the Vélez Arocho is suggesting that “the major challenge” of academies is “how to maintain the agenda for the future” in times “of such financial fragility.” He understands that the universities should not lose sight of their mission to educate and train.

“The strategic plans help us focus our resources in the critical areas that will move us toward the future in the context of limitations and difficult decisions that we will need to adopt,” emphasized Vélez Arocho.

The president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico received an honorary doctorate, Honoris Causa, from the APEC University in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to education, research and professional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The investiture was took place in the new Cristóbal Tejeda Multi-Use Hall at the academy. The event was headed by the president of Board of Directors of UNAPEC, Francisco Hernández, Rector, and Justo Pedro Castellanos as well as Ligia Amada Melo, the Minister of Higher Education. Other rectors from private Dominican universities were also in attendance.

UNAPEC Director Justo Pedro said that Vélez Arocho’s effort was “an extraordinary, vital and impressive trajectory characterized by decency, humility, generosity, solidarity, commitment and a decisive participation in the construction of a better world.”

In speaking at the investiture, Castellanos said that thanks to the institutional relations that have been forged with the president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, it has been possible to create academic programs on a post-graduate and Masters level which are “pioneers and unique in the Dominican framework and on the national developmental level.”

The words of welcome at the event were given by Francisco Hernández, president of the Board of Directors of UNAPEC. Following him Vice-Rector Carlos Sangiovanni spoke about the life of Vélez Arocho.

The Honoris Causa was bestowed upon him by the Rector Justo Pedro Castellanos and the Academic Vice-Rector Carlos Sangiovanni.

After accepting the distinction from UNAPEC, the Puerto Rican academic shared his thoughts on the four most important points of the World Declaration on Higher Education in the XXI Century: Vision and Action, which was approved by the World Conference on Higher Education on October 9, 1998 and which provides a framework for prioritized action for changes and for the development of higher education in our hemisphere.

Until 2009, Vélez Arocho was the Rector of the Mayagüez campus of the University of Puerto Rico, a post he held since 2002. He will be in his new job as president of the Catholic academy for a period of six years.

Since 1978, Vélez Arocho has been involved in research projects in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica, among other nations. He formed part of the project along with Dr. Jorge González to prepare a Business Plan for the use of solar power for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Later he proposed doing the same project in the Dominican Republic and Trinidad-Tobago.

Vélez Arocho has collaborated with and prepared research and development proposals on the evaluation of the impact of technology, the establishment of a Hemispheric Center for Training in Legal Metrology, Quality and Certification of Laboratories in Puerto Rico, the development of an interdisciplinary option in chemistry with an emphasis on managerial procedures, the development of a research center in Sources of Renewable Energy as well as an initiative for an integrated system of support for decisions governing the management of water resources in Puerto Rico.