Josep Eladi Baños will be rector of UVic-UCC for a second term of four years

The Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation ratified the renewal of Josep Eladi Baños as rector of the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) at its plenary meeting on Wednesday afternoon. This will be the second term of office for the current rector, who will remain at the forefront of the University's academic management for another four years, from 2022 to 2026.

His renewal has concluded after a process that began with the presentation of his candidacy to the Board of Trustees on 18 May. Later, on 30 May, the rector presented his governance proposal to the UVic-UCC Senate, which issued a favourable report. This latter document was presented to the Board of Trustees last Wednesday for the ratification of his appointment. According to UVic-UCC's unique model of governance, the Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation is responsible for appointing the rector, who must have a doctorate and be a university professor, or hold an equivalent accreditation from a Catalan, Spanish or international agency.

During the renewal process, Josep Eladi Baños took stock of his first term of office which began in December 2018, and outlined the challenges that will define his government over the next four years. "It was a period with a great deal of work, involving difficulties that arose such as the pandemic, during which I received unwavering support", says the rector, who highlights measures such as the approval of the new Strategic Plan, the federation agreement with Elisava, the appearance in the THE rankings for the first time, the launch of the International Simulation and High Performance Centre, and the creation of several chairs, the IRIS-CC Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the Within Everyone's Reach Grants, as well as the 2+3 programme linking advanced vocational training cycles to university studies, among others.

He says that his second term will enable him to "finish projects that have already started and launch new ones" and achieve goals such as "making UVic-UCC a Catalan and European benchmark in teaching quality, contributing to the growth of Vic and Manresa as university cities, and continuing to carry out research as an engine for economic and social innovation, and moving forward with internationalisation." His plans also include the consolidation of the range of courses available, expanding the hybrid teaching model and dual training, and developing a postgraduate school to reinforce the range of lifelong learning courses.