Here’s what you might have missed last week:
After the governor, Wanda Vázquez declared a national alert status on the island, the president of the UPR, Jorge Haddock, named Carolyn Mercado as the new security monitor to adhere to the public policy against sexual harassment. The new monitor will be in charge of revising the stablished protocols, making sure the personnel is trained adequately to manage this kind of situations, standardize the process to report and make a complaint, inform the University’s statistics in cases of harassment, and increase orientations and workshops for students and employees.
After a scandal that involved the ex-rector Héctor Díaz, the misuse of funds and giving a contract without following the process established, the functionary presented his resignation on Friday.
Díaz is being investigated by the Office of Internal Audit for buying material for the University without market rates, contracts to people of confidence, naming professors that do not have the academic preparation needed, and the using of the official vehicle for personal uses. Moisés Cartagena, former interim dean of Academic Affairs, will serve as rector starting tomorrow.
On Wednesday, the volleyball season of the Interuniversity Athletic League (LAI, in Spanish) began with eight teams playing. Last year’s champion for the male branch, the Pioneros from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico and the three times champion for the female branch, the Juanas from the UPR in Mayagüez defended their titles.
The soccer action began on Thursday when the three-times champion Tarzanes from the UPR in Mayagüez won against the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico.
The Tigres from the Interamerican University (INTER) won against the UPR in Humacao, 4-1. The Gallitos from the UPR in Rio Piedras won, 14-7, against the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. The two winning teams maintain the first position in the charts, both undefeated.
A group of professors from the UPR and the University Ana G. Méndez (UAGM, in Spanish) received $3 million from NASA after they approved their research proposal for developing technologies to help astronauts maintain better health in the future trips.
The research team will be working in water purification, removing and converting carbon dioxide, and lithium batteries. The team will have students from the UPR in Mayagüez, in Cayey, in Rio Piedras, and the UAGM in Gurabo.
Edited: Ariana Ríos Dieppa
