Professors’ union says UPR president is receiving bad advice

University of Puerto Rico President Zayira Jordán Conde issued a written statement in which she noted that “according to the regulations of the University of Puerto Rico, the appointment of chancellors is based on confidence and is therefore subject to free removal.”

By THE STAR STAFF

After the chancellors of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) campuses in Humacao and Arecibo resigned last week, María del Mar Rosa Rodríguez, president of the Puerto Rican Association of University Professors (APPU by its initials in Spanish), stated that UPR President Zayira Jordán Conde is receiving poor advice.

“We knew that the president was new to the position and, since she doesn’t know many people, it would be challenging for her to integrate. However, I believe she is taking advice from some of the most anti-worker elements within the central administration,” Rosa Rodríguez asserted in a radio interview, emphasizing that this situation is destabilizing UPR. “She is listening to bad advice, which is evident in her management as she is dismissing chancellors and leaving those positions vacant. This has led to a series of mistakes throughout the university system.”

Following the resignations of Carlos A. Galiano Quiñones and Ricardo Infante Castillo, the chancellors of the Humacao and Arecibo campuses, respectively, the Association of Exempt Non-Teaching Employees criticized the move.

In response, Jordán Conde issued a written statement explaining that “according to the regulations of the University of Puerto Rico, the appointment of chancellors is based on confidence and is therefore subject to free removal.”

“From the start, it was established that all chancellors would be evaluated. The beginning of a new administration represents the formation of a team committed to achieving the proposed objectives,” the UPR president said in the statement. “This search is guided by a commitment to academic excellence, good governance, and the strengthening of the institution.”

Meanwhile, Rosa Rodríguez expressed her disapproval of former UPR President Miguel Muñoz Muñoz being considered as chancellor of the UPR Mayagüez campus, and of Weyna Quiñones Castillo being considered to lead the Arecibo campus, where she currently works and previously served as dean of academic affairs.

“That dean was removed due to several cases of workplace harassment, and these are the names being discussed to replace those who are being dismissed,” Rosa Rodríguez said. “She [Jordán Conde] needs to consult with those of us who work in the buildings every day so we can inform her about individuals with irresponsible management and those she should not consider. However, she is doing the opposite. That’s why I say they are manipulating her, and it is unfortunate that this is happening in the same way they manipulated Miguel Muñoz.”

The union leader announced that next week the APPU National Board will meet, along with extraordinary assemblies at the Medical Sciences campuses and units on Wednesday, and in Arecibo, Cayey and Utuado on Thursday.