New university rector heralds changes

THE NEW RECTOR  of the University of Panama (UP)  has promised to steer away from the path of his controversial predecessor Gustavo Garcia de Paredes, who had reigned since 1992 and left the University facing  financial problems.

Eduardo Flores took office Friday, September 30.

In his first speech as leader of the university, he said that austerity measures will be applied during his term.

At the same time he announced that there will be audits of parts of the school.

He said that the university will also have more tolerance for dissenting opinions.

“We won’t prosecute anyone,” he said.

He added that the school’s finances will be carefully checked by the Office of the Comptroller to ensure that money is not wasted.

Flores  said  that there will be stricter controls on new hires, but that more resources will be available for research and career development.

He won the June election with 53 percent of the vote.