The arrival of Ana Isabel Gómez to the rectory of the Universidad del Rosario It promises to calm spirits and provide a time of calm to the capital’s beloved cloister. It is the first time since its foundation, in 1653, by Fray Cristóbal de Torres, that a woman reaches the highest position at the university. A doctor, who has been a professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences for decades and had previously been vice dean of medicine.
In a recent interview with , Gómez had sent a heartfelt message to Rosarista students, after months of uncertainty as a result of the university’s financial crisis and the departure of former rector Alejandro Cheyne.
He also spoke about what his priorities will be in the rectory. “I have three ideas that will permeate everything I do from now on. The first is that I believe in leadership by principles and values, which aim to restore trust. The second thing, which for me is fundamental, and it is due to discipline—as a bioethicist that I am—is that I do believe that Good ethically feasible and legally sustainable decisions are born from dialogue,” he said.
He added that he will seek “a participatory dialogue that respects others and their differences, from the outset. That from this participatory dialogue of the different interest groups we can reach action and not remain polarized,” said the rector.
And finally, he said that he will bet on the transformation. “But it is a transformation that must maintain our identity, our DNA, what we have been historically recognized for, what is valuable. If we erase with a stroke of the pen what we are, it means ignoring these 370 years of valuable people who have worked for the country. I want to open the reflection of what are the great transformations that we must make to maintain our legacy over time. It sounds cliché, but what is so close to us is a reality: the ability to preserve what is truly important, but also the ability to transform ourselves for the challenges of the future, for the protection of fundamental freedoms, for new technologies” .