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In the opinion of the executive vice president of this public body, the independence of the CRUCH "is due to its representative character of various intellectual and cultural traditions present in the country." Through the universities that make it up, the Council "collects those long-standing traditions of culture and thought, which in the history of Chile have played a determining role."
To commemorate its 65 years, CRUCH will hold an academic act open to the public at the National Library. On the occasion, the academic from the Alberto Hurtado University and 2017 National Humanities Award winner, Elizabeth Lira, will offer the conference "Education and Memory: What is the contribution of the Council of Rectors to the construction of a more inclusive society"?
Today, August 14, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) celebrates 65 years of experience.
Its executive vice president, rector Aldo Valle, refers to the role of this public body, the conditions that hinder and facilitate the performance of its tasks, and the challenges it envisions for the coming years. In the opinion of the rector Valle, "the most substantive and significant role played by the Council is to be an interlocutor of public policies in higher education, but also of science, technology and innovation."
For the rector, the main value of his role is independence, since "because it is an autonomous body, it has that condition that allows it to be an independent interlocutor with respect to the Government and other types of corporations." From his perspective, the independence of the CRUCH "is due to its representative character of various intellectual and cultural traditions present in the country."
Valle highlights that, through its institutions, the Council of Rectors “collects those long-standing traditions of culture and thought, which have played a determining role in the history of Chile. I am referring to the Christian tradition, represented by Catholic universities, but also to the liberal and modernizing tradition that the State promoted with the creation of the University of Chile in the first half of the 19th century and, later, with the emergence of the other State universities. Those other forces from civil society that gave rise to universities such as Concepción, Austral de Chile and Federico Santa María are also expressed in the Council of Rectors. Today, Diego Portales University joins the same tradition, which has recently joined the Council of Rectors ”.
Performance of the Council of Rectors: obstacles and facilities
Regarding the performance of the CRUCH, Aldo Valle evaluates both the difficulties and the facilitating aspects. Regarding the difficulties, from the external environment, the rector identifies in the first place as an adverse factor “that acute ideological dispute that exists in the country regarding the educational system, because the Council of Rectors cannot take sides due to those different perspectives that they are in the contingent ideological dispute. This same thing makes it keep a distance, but it also generates, on the part of the political actors, a distrust towards the Council of Rectors ”.
On the other hand, it states that “the public nature of the Council imposes on it a series of budgetary limitations and, therefore, its internal functioning encounters obstacles to carry out its tasks. The budget is subject to the financial administration rules of the State, which imposes restrictions that the different governments have not always had the good will and disposition necessary to resolve them ”.
Regarding factors that facilitate its role, Valle highlights that the Council of Rectors is recognized in the institutions of higher education and that the law itself calls it to participate in a set of other organizations.
In this way, “the Council of Rectors appoints representatives of collegiate, inspection or study bodies, which in turn provide the public services, the ministries, with a professional, scientific and academic contribution. From that point of view, the institutional recognition that it has, which is given not only by the organic law of higher education, but also by other laws, of course facilitate the presence of the Council of Rectors in the public life of Chile ”, points out the rector.
Upcoming challenges for the Council of Rectors
For the executive vice president, “the Council of Rectors should propose as a strategic challenge to expand its capacity for impact and influence on the country's cultural system, that is, that its institutions play a more relevant role, not only in the training of professionals and in the development of scientific research, but also in the production of ideas for a sphere of deliberation, public and social, more enlightened, with more diversity and plurality in the approaches, in the intellectual approaches, in order to enrich the institutional development of the country , based on its mission, a mission that is intellectual, formative and cultural ”.
Finally, the contribution to the development of the institutions "must in turn be translated into the strengthening, the consolidation of the rule of law and a constant transformation towards a society with more political, social and cultural democracy", affirms the executive vice president of CRUCH .
Celebration of the 65 years of CRUCH
The Council of Rectors CRUCH will commemorate its 65 years on August 21, at 9:30 am, at the National Library.
On the occasion, the academic from the Alberto Hurtado University and 2017 National Humanities Award, Elizabeth Lira, will offer a conference open to citizens, entitled “Education and Memory: what is the contribution of the Council of Rectors to the construction of a society more inclusive? ”.
More on the 65 years of the Council of Rectors:
Conoce nuestra historia acá.
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