The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

system in the U.S. Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. It is a

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,300 faculty members. UPR has the largest and most diverse academic offerings in the commonwealth, with 472

academic program An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

s of which 32 lead to a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

History

In 1900, at

Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

, the ''Escuela Normal Industrial'' (

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

) was established as the first higher education center in

. Its initial enrollment was 20 students and 5 professors. The following year it was moved to

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. On March 12, 1903, the legislature authorized founding of the University of Puerto Rico, and that day the "Escuela Normal" was proclaimed as its first department. LaUniversidad

Clock Tower University of Puerto Rico-San Marcos-Harvard

In 1908, the Morrill-Nelson Act was extended to Puerto Rico, making the University a "

Land Grant College A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...

," which authorizes the use of federal land to establish colleges of agriculture, science and engineering. Two years later, in 1910, the College of Liberal Arts was established and the year following that the College of Agriculture at Mayagüez came into being. In 1912, the name was changed to College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 1913 - The Departments of Pharmacy and Law were established. 1923 - The University Act of 1923- the University reorganized administratively it independent Insular Department of Education, provides the Board of Trustees as the governing board, and make the position of Rector as the principal officer. In 1924 the governor appointed the first Rector. 1924 - The administrative structure and identity of the University of Puerto Rico becomes independent from the Department of Public Instruction. 1926- The School of Commerce (later School of Business Administration) and the School of Tropical Medicine were established. 1927 - Opening of the first graduate program: the Master of Arts in Hispanic Studies. 1928 - The San Felipe Segundo hurricane struck the island of Puerto Rico and caused serious damage in the Río Piedras campus. Staff and faculty began a reconstruction effort. 1935 - The U.S. Congress extended to Puerto Rico the benefits of Bankhead-Jones Act, which provided funding for research and the construction of more buildings. 1936 - 1939 - Major structures in Spanish

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

are built in the quadrangle in Río Piedras, including buildings such as the Tower Theatre. 1938 - Augusto Rodríguez composed the music and lyrics Arriví Francisco's Alma Mater, the University anthem. 1942 - Act No. 135 of May 7, 1942, amendment to the University, created the Higher Education Council as the governing board of the institution and regulator of the higher education system in Puerto Rico. 1946 - The University received accreditation from the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

. 1966 - Act No. 1 of 1966, restructuring the university. The system change to three campuses-Río Piedras, Mayagüez and Medical Sciences. 1967 - Creation of the regional colleges: Arecibo, Cayey and Humacao. Five more were created in the following years: Ponce (1969), Bayamón (1971), Aguadilla (1972), Carolina (1973), and Utuado (1978). 1979 - WRTU-FM began broadcasting from the Río Piedras campus. 1998 - Act No. 186 of August 7, 1998, provides for the gradual autonomy of regional schools as provided by the Board of Trustees, to lead to eleven autonomous units.

2010–2011 University of Puerto Rico strikes The 2010–2011 University of Puerto Rico strikes (UPR) refer to the student strikes which took place between May 2010 and June 2010 in ten of the university system's eleven constituent institutions, as well as the protests that occurred from Oct ...

where a series of strikes which occurred as a result of administrative budget cuts and an attempt to impose a $800 quota for students. July 2010, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education placed the accreditation of the University on probation citing concerns about shortfalls in the governance of the institution. By the end of 2011, all 11 campuses had regained full accreditation after demonstrating significant progress in this area. 2017- The UPR's staff organized a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in opposition to budget cuts proposed by the

Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMBPR), colloquially known as ''La Junta de Control/Supervisión Fiscal'' is a government entity whose role to revise and approve the budget and obligations of the government of Puerto R ...

. After the impact of

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

the University suffered damages totaling over $175 million. The University system was still in the process of acquiring

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

funding to repair damages and as a result still suffered from structural damage months after the hurricane. The hurricane also affected the process of accreditation since eight campuses where in non compliance according to of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The eleven campuses opened within two months of Hurricane Maria, offering a sense of structure and normalcy for professors and students. 2019- During Jorge Haddock tenure the university newspaper, Diálogo, after 32 years in print, was moved online and employees were laid off until only the editor and an assistant remained. They were reassigned, while the newspaper was moved from the central administration to the Arecibo campus. 2021- In June the Financial Oversight and Management Board cut $94 million from the UPR budget which would have drastically affected the institutions ability to operate. The local government intervened and assigned the money necessary before the August semester commenced.

Organization

Board of Trustees

The

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

is the governing body of the University of Puerto Rico. On April 30, 2013, governor

Alejandro García Padilla Alejandro Javier García Padilla (; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political la ...

signed into la
Act 13 of 2014
enacted by the 17th Legislative Assembly. The act effectively replaced the incumbent board with an entirely new board. In 2017 the board was changed once again by governor

Ricardo Rosselló Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares (; born March 7, 1979) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2019. He resigned on August 2, 2019, after protests related to the Telegramgate scandal. He is the s ...

Campuses

Presidents

Campus radio

The

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

station is called "

WRTU WRTU (89.7 FM), branded on-air as Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico, is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting a variety format, together with programming from NPR, PRX, the BBC and other distributors. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto R ...

Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico", and it was established in 1980. This is a public radio station with diverse musical and news programming. Its broadcasts both in FM and online.

Admissions

UPR has the highest selectivity index of all colleges and universities in Puerto Rico, it has also maintained a systemwide admission rate of 67% since 1997. Its enrollment rate has surpassed 90% during the past five academic years. In terms of tuition, the cost per credit is $145 per undergraduate credit and $300 per graduate credit. The cost of undergraduate credit is expected to rise until reaching $169 in 2026.

Research

The university has a

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

of "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". On October 15, 2010 it was awarded over $25 million from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

(NSF) to support research in

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

. The organization within the University of Puerto Rico impacted is called Puerto Rico EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research). Since its creation 24 years ago, Puerto Rico EPSCoR has received over $180 million from NSF, NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense. On August 24, 2020 the University announced ten investigations for preventing and mitigating the spread of Covid19 as part of $1.7 million the institution received from the local government.

Rankings and notable facts

According to the QS world ranking 2022 published in 2021, the University of Puerto Rico ranks number 40 in Latin America having dropped from 37 in 2020, but still higher than previous rankings of 42 in 2018 and 62 in 2015. As a system, the University of Puerto Rico placed in the 800-1000 bracket in the 2018 edition of

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

. Times Higher Education also ranks it in the 801-1000 bracket in the world. UPR was ranked among the best 20 universities in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

by SCImago ranking in 2010. The University of Puerto Rico ranked 18th and

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...

ranked 78th by

Webometrics The science of webometrics (also cybermetrics) tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and using patterns. According to Björneborn and Ingwersen, the definiti ...

in Latin America. The UPR is the number one university in the Caribbean according to Webometrics. The system's only school of engineering at the Mayagüez campus is accredited by

ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...

and graduates more than 600 engineers per year. The school was chosen as the top engineering school for Hispanics by ''Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology Magazine''. In 2020 the director of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

grant consortium in Puerto Rico doctor Gerardo Moller, stated that 25% of the Hispanic employees hired by NASA are graduates of the UPR. Research activity, measured in terms of external funds received, has grown exponentially since 1985, doubling every five years. In 2007-2008 the UPR received over $87 million for research.

Notable alumni

File: Anibal Acevedo Vila.jpg,

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...

, (BA 1982, JD 1985), 8th

governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

(2005-2009), U.S. Representative (Resident Commissioner), D-Puerto Rico (2001-2004), State Representative, P.R. House of Representatives (1992-1999) File:Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, Hon. Jose Aponte.jpg, José Aponte, (BBA 1980), State Representative,

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senat ...

, (2001–present), 28th Speaker of the

(2005-2009) File:Orlando.Figueroa.jpg,

Orlando Figueroa Orlando Figueroa (born September 9, 1955), previously the NASA Mars Czar Director for Mars Exploration and the Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and the Deputy Center Director for Science a ...

(BS 1978), Director of the Mars Exploration Program in NASA File:ADM Joxel Garcia.jpg,

Joxel García Joxel García (born 1962) is a Puerto Rican physician and a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He served as the fourteenth Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser ...

(BS), former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He served as

Assistant Secretary for Health The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position is a statutory office () and the holder of the office serves as the United State ...

and currently serves as the President of the

Ponce School of Medicine The Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), formerly Ponce School of Medicine & Health Sciences, is a Private university, private, For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Ponce, Puerto Rico and St. Louis, Miss ...

File:Gonzalez Sanabria.jpg, Olga D. González-Sanabria (BS), is the highest ranking

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

at NASA

Glenn Research Center NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a subsidiary facilit ...

File:Rafael Hernández Colón, Former Governor of Puerto Rico.jpg,

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

(JD 1956), 4th

first term (1973-1977), second term (1985-1993, State Senator,

Puerto Rico Senate The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control t ...

(1969-1973) File:Hertell amb dom republic.jpg, Hans Hertell (JD), U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, (2001-2007). File:McClontock.JPG,

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

(UHS, 1974, Undergraduate 1974-77), 22nd

Secretary of State of Puerto Rico The secretary of state of Puerto Rico ( es, Secretario de Estado de Puerto Rico) leads all efforts that promote the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico and foreign countries, and other jurisdictions of the United S ...

, (2009-2013), 13th

President of the Senate of Puerto Rico The president of the Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Presidente del Senado) is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the Senate of Puerto Rico. The president has voting powers as it is elected amongst the own members of the Senate ...

, (2005-2008), State Senator,

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control th ...

, (1993-2008), San Juan City Councilman (1990–93) File:AAMGSiani.jpg, Antonio Mignucci (PhD 1996), a biological oceanographer specializing in the management and conservation of marine mammals File:William A. Navas.jpg, William A. Navas, Jr. (BS 1965), the first Puerto Rican to be named an

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

File:Carlos Romero Barcelo.jpg,

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He al ...

(JD 1956), U.S. Representative (Resident commissioner), D-Puerto Rico (1993-2000), 5th

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

(1977–1985), State Senator,

(1986-1988),

Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico This is a list of mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Juan is the capitol of Puerto Rico. List of mayors of San Juan Under the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (5) (5) See also * San Juan City Hall * San Juan government * Timeline of Sa ...

(1969-1977) File:Dr Pedro Rosello.jpg,

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...

(MPH 1981), 6th

(1993–2001), State Senator,

(2005-2008) File:Nydia_Velázquez.jpg,

Nydia Velázquez Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (born March 28, 1953) is a politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York, Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. Her ...

(BA 1974), U.S. Representative, D-New York (1993–present)Biographical information
from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Notes

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Puerto Rico

Educational institutions established in 1903 1903 establishments in Puerto Rico Public university systems in the United States