Banners Lifting Ceremony at the 41 Anniversary of INTEC

Rector's words
Dr. Rolando M. Guzmán

Dear friends, Dear friends
Past Rectors and past Rector Members of our Board of Regents,
Directors, teachers and professors, students, all and all,

Like every year, it is a moment of pleasure to meet in this anniversary celebration, and like every year, it is an appropriate moment to remember the achievements and the challenges that we have pending. This recurring task of appreciating the past and visualizing the present is not accidental, but inherent to the essence of our institution, which has set itself the objective of taking the accumulated legacy, nurturing it, increasing it, and passing it on to subsequent generations. This year has been particularly intense and time would be insufficient to describe all the effort and all the results that the collective effort of the hive has generated over the last few months, but let me cite a few examples.

From a long-term perspective, the most relevant event is the design and implementation of the new institutional strategic plan, which will guide our actions over the next few years. It is a transformative and visionary plan, which reaffirms our vocation of plural community life committed to the sustainable development of society, which reaffirms the values ​​of academic excellence, scientific rigor, solidarity and integrity, and that the ambitious vision that INTEC will be recognized , nationally and internationally, as a model university.

Within the framework of this plan, we have started a process with a view to the accreditation of our programs, we are taking early but well thought out steps towards the development of a virtual offer and we are putting enormous energy into our internationalization process. This is being accompanied by a great effort in search of a permanent growth of our professors, who undoubtedly constitute an asset of incalculable value for our institution. In terms of research, everything indicates that this year will end up being one of the most productive in recent times. In administrative matters, we have had a responsible financial year, which is manifested in a budget execution with very few deviations. The latter also corresponds to the results of our most recent financial audit process, which for the first time in many years did not present any significant observation, beyond the unavoidable (and, I would say, even welcome) opportunities for improvement.

An important aspect is the recognition of society. In that sense, I cannot fail to refer to the testimony of our most outstanding graduate, the Constitutional President of the Republic, Danilo Medina, who made an emotional visit to us a few months ago. His words are not wasted: "I hope - the President told us publicly - that the country had more universities like INTEC." Of course, those words of the President are a reflection of the appreciation of Dominican society by our university, which in turn is the result of 41 years of creative, plural, inclusive and transparent university life.

Finally, to end in a few words the intensity of our last year, I would like to highlight the effort that we are beginning with a view to developing an infrastructure master plan that, if faithfully executed, as I hope we can do it, will involve a radical transformation of our university campus over the next few years. This plan has begun with the construction of a new building for the Health area, considering that it is an essential investment to adapt that area to the demands of an international class education. In the near future, probably in this same year, the expansion of one of our main buildings, called Garcia de la Concha, will begin. And we hope to start work soon in 2014 for the construction of a modern engineering building, which will house classrooms and laboratories with a new standard.

All of this has required and will continue to demand a gigantic effort, which must continue, because we all know that we are far from reaching our dreams. We still have a lot of work to do in and out of the classroom. We still have a lot to do to ensure that our research becomes a cornerstone of the national development process. We still have much to do to ensure systematic and continuous accountability of our actions to our community, to assure the community that every peso spent is invested wisely and in the best interests of our institution, which is to say in function of the best interests of Dominican society. And we still have a lot to do to ensure that professors, researchers and administrative contributors really find a place at INTEC that matches the talent they bring, and that each student considers this space as fertile ground for growth.

In short, it is my opinion that the established goal is very clear. Let's continue working, as we have done so far, to make each line of our strategic plan an absolute reality, to guarantee that, in a short time, we can say unequivocally and forcefully that INTEC is not only the best institution in academic terms, but also also the best workplace in the entire Dominican higher education system.

Thank you very much.