Luján criticizes the appointment of Fortea as director of Universities

The rector of the University of Murcia, José Luján, was critical yesterday of the regional government’s decision to appoint a UCAM professor last July, Isabel Fortea, general director of Universities, after the resignation of the UMU professor Christian of Faith. «In the last days of July, what everyone knows happened and for the reasons that everyone knows. The counselor made the unfortunate decision to appoint a professor from a private university as Director of Universities, and it is the first time that the university system is directed by a person outside the two public universities. I told him that it is a serious mistake”, he criticized before the Senate of the UMU, where Luján assessed the complicated financial situation of the UMU due to the delay in the negotiation of the multi-year financing plan, which he attributed to the changes in the management team of the Counseling.

Leap into the void, no remnant

«We had a very advanced plan, led by Christian de la Fe, who had a very high percentage of consensus; It was a good plan, or at least the best possible one, and it couldn’t be finished off. We have to face the leap into the void that means not having a remnant. We have crossed the abyss of having no remnant and we are on the other side of the precipice. The negotiation has been tremendously difficult and we have achieved the least bad option”, Luján assessed.

During the session of the Senate, the memory of the past academic year and the action plan for the present were also released, which includes, among other issues, plans for the implementation of digital disconnection among UMU staff. Precisely, some student representatives demanded the extension of these measures to students as well.

Regarding the demand for places, the report highlights that the pre-registration applications received (20,170) represent the highest value in the last four years and position the UMU among the ten Spanish universities with the most demand. Enrollment in master’s degrees (1,866) also registered a significant increase of 13.9%.