Margarita Arboix becomes new rector of the UAB

06/06/2016

A full auditorium was present at the investiture of Margarita Arboix as new rector of the UAB. The event which included the presence of both incumbent government members and the new university government team, rectors and delegates from other Catalan universities, academic and political authorities, members of the university community and relatives and friends of the new rector.

The event began with the lecture of the Government of Catalonia's decree of appointment by Jordi Baiget, Minister of Business and Knowledge, and the signing of the appointment by Margarita Arboix.

Following that, Gabriel Masfurroll, President of the UAB Board of Trustees, spoke on behalf of the board and thanked Ferran Sancho and his team for all their work. He wished the new rector all the best with the challenges currently posed by society and the country in general: “the university must be the drive behind future economic, social and educational changes”. And, despite "the cutbacks of recent years, the university is society's main generator of knowledge". Finally, he offered the board's full support to all of the projects which will be undertaken by the new team.

Carles Escolà, Mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès, also spoke to say that "the UAB forms part" of the city and assured that the City Council will "do everything possible to consolidate closer ties" with the University. For Escolà, "education and knowledge are key elements of a united society". He went on to reaffirm his commitment to "social justice", by working on "an economy of knowledge at the service of the majority".

Ferran Sancho, as former rector of the UAB, pointed out that the event was a celebration and that he wished "the best of luck" to the new rector. Sancho said it had been a "profound honour" to be a rector of the UAB and thanked "the extraordinary generosity of the governing team, deans, department and institute directors, and all the professionals working at and students who chose to study at the UAB". He also stated that "it was not easy to make decisions not everyone would be happy with, but they were necessary" as part of the "accompanying economic situation".

Arboix's First Words as Rector

Margarita Arboix began her first speech as rector of the UAB with a few words in memory of Ferran Ferrer, professor of pedagogy who passed away in 2013, stating that it was "a great pity he could not be with us as a member of the governing team". She thanked Ferran Sancho for his work and praised the fact that "the UAB once again demonstrated the capacity to elect a woman rector in clear recognition of gender equality" and she reaffirmed that this period which is now beginning, "the people(students, lecturing staff and administration and services staff) are the priority".

Rector Arboix asked Minister Jordi Baiget to "not continue with the cutbacks" and for "the government to make an effort to return to previous funding levels, but without forcing students to have to pay for the difference through tuition fees". Rector Arboix exclaimed that it was "not acceptable that undergraduate degrees in other parts of Spain were 66% less expensive than in Catalonia" and she stated her desire for "undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to have the same prices". In addition, she affirmed that "a debate between professors and students of each centre is necessary to solve the 3+2 problem" and "decide which competences are needed in each degree and how to acquire them, whether in three, four or five years".

With regard to research, Rector Arboix is committed to "doing everything possible to foster a strong and effective support structure". She also asked the minister and secretary of universities to "value these aspects of our work and take them into account instead of discriminating in favour of large research centres" as has happened in other occasions, she emphasised.

Rector Arboix firmly stated that "the university is something we all build together" and, therefore "there is a need for dialogue and participation". She voiced a need "to work with social agents and other groups in which the University is involved". She ended her speech by saying that "now is the right moment for all of us to reflect upon and evaluate what the UAB has represented these almost 50 years, both for us as individuals and for Catalonia and the social surroundings we interact with".

Key Part of a Quality System

The last person to speak was Minister Jordi Baiget, who expressed his gratitude for Ferran Sancho's "commitment to the university community, its surroundings and the country" and congratulated the new rector by wishing her "many victories for the UAB, which will also be victories for our country". He spoke on the lack of economic resources to indicate that "not only do they affect public universities", but also the government's administration. He praised "the enormous value of the work carried out in universities because not only do they maintain their position, they also have consolidates a huge qualitative leap forward". In this sense, he described the UAB as "a key part of a system of quality" and highlighted its position in international rankings.

Minister Baiget also spoke on tuition fees to clarify that "the government's objective is to equalise the prices of bachelor's degrees and master's degrees" and reaffirm the his government's commitment to maintaining prices of the first year of a master's degree and also apply this measure to the second year "as soon as the economic situation allows doing so".

The event ended with a performance by the UAB Choir singing Gaudeamus Igitur, accompanied by the public.