Leonel Fernández Named Professor Honoris Causa by Ecuador’s Technical University of Loja

The GFDD/Funglode President delivered a keynote address.

Last Friday, November 20, GFDD/Funglode president Dr. Leonel Fernández was named Professor Honoris Causa of the Technical University of Loja (Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja–UTPL), a higher education institution based in this south Ecuadorian city.

The distinction was conferred on Fernández, the former president of the Dominican Republic, by the Youth and
Upper Education Council at UTPL in a ceremony held in the convention center in the Ecuadorian higher education center.

Upon bestowing the award, Dr. Santiago Acosta Aíde, acting dean of UTPL, lauded the figure of Fernández and praised the qualities that made him deserving of the distinction. “For his contributions to political science and for his extraordinary work to further the ideal of Latin American unity,” Acosta explained.

Alongside him, Dr. Rosario de Rivas Manzano, vice dean of Open and Distance Learning, highlighted Fernández’s contributions to the region, explaining that “he was awarded the honor in support of any initiative undertaken to benefit Latin America and the Caribbean.”

After his investiture, Fernández delivered a lecture entitled “The Role of Universities in Latin American Development,” prior to which he expressed his gratitude at the recognition bestowed by UTPL. “I receive it with great humility, knowing that I will indeed ask for the opportunity to teach in this university,” he added.

Fernández noted that UTPL is a model of what the Latin American university of the future should be in
order to contribute to development, and added that higher education centers are among the oldest institutions in the Western world.

“Since the 11th century, with the appearance of the universities at Bologna and Paris, other European universities of the era confirm the idea that education is not dispersed, but rather is organized and molded through the university,” he said.

He noted that in Latin America, universities are
centuries-old institutions that have always played a key role in the development of societies.

The ceremony was attended by the governor of Loja province, Jhoana Ortiz; José Bolívar Castillo, mayor of the municipality of Loja; Gabriel García Torres, secretary general; and Dr. Raúl Arias Lovillo, director general of International Relations at UTPL.

Also present were the president of Ecuador’s National Court of Justice, Carlos Ramírez, and
minister-counselor of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Ecuador, Héctor Pérez Valdez, among other special guests and academic and teaching authorities.

Other activities
During the morning, Fernández toured the UTPL campus, in particular the Laboratory area where researchers explained the innovations on which they were working, specifically in the Natural Sciences Lab that works on two principal lines of scientific research:
deforestation and ecology.

Dr. Fernández was also informed about the medicinal properties of certain plants under study in these labs.

He also visited the premises of the Foundation for Business and Social Development (FEDES), created under the auspices of UTPL, where researchers explained the projects being incubated at the academic institution to generate jobs and contribute to the growth of the collective.

The Technical University
of Loja, also known as the Catholic University of Loja, is an autonomous higher education institution for social and public ends that imparts teaching and undertakes research with full scientific and administrative freedom. Founded 35 years ago, since 2012 UTPL has belonged to the Ecuadorian Network of Research and Postgraduate Universities.