Millennium States
Guadalajara / 11.11.2024 20:29:01
Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí, general rector of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), received the title of Honorary Doctor Caseby University of Valencia, Spainthrough which his work in expanding university education, the exercise of critical thinking and international cooperation in scientific research is recognized.
Villanueva Lomelí thanked the distinction, and took the opportunity to call on the universities of the world, through a ceremony that began with a minute of silence.
“It seems that universities have left philosophical language in the backyard and, instead, we have dedicated ourselves to speaking exclusively in economic language. Our attention began to revolve around concepts such as ‘productivity’, ‘competitiveness’ and ‘performance’. I wonder, when did humanity decide to study and measure human success in terms of transactions?” said Villanueva Lomelí.
He said that universities must make room in their study programs to not only teach technical skills and provide the market with individuals hyper-specialized in a topic, but invite students to reflect with critical thinking, to look at the entire landscape and find comprehensive solutions. to complex and global problems.
With what happened in Valencia, a reflection on happiness has been floating around in my mind that I want to share with you…
We live in an era where happiness seems to be for sale, we have confused happiness with momentary gratification and we forget that true… pic.twitter.com/Qgyqc1HKjJ
— Ricardo Villanueva (@rvillanueval) November 12, 2024
Otherwise, “we run the risk of educating minds that calculate very well, but that forget what is essential: knowing who we are, why we are in the world and, above all, what kind of world do we want to build? Universities must be the laboratory where we incubate great ideas that solve problems; the place where new generations question this suicidal model that leads us to disaster. And for that, we need to return to the essentials and ask ourselves the fundamental philosophical questions again,” he commented.
“I firmly believe that universities must be a refuge for humanity; a place in which we turn our gaze to remember who we are and where we are going; a place where we are clear that material goods are only means, not ends in themselves; a place where we remember that genuine happiness does not depend on what we possess. “We need to ask ourselves the fundamental philosophical questions,” he added.
When making the presentation of Villanueva Lomelí, Dr. Gabriel Torres Espinoza, Director of the University System of Radio, Television and Cinematography of the UdeG, highlighted the humanist profile and its university leadership with the highest ethical standards of research, teaching and dissemination of knowledge.
“His leadership at the UdeG has been a management paradigm that, with a vision for the future, has increased university enrollment by more than 47 thousand spaces, opening doors for thousands of young people who long to pursue higher education,” he declared.
He explained that with this expansion he has promoted the creation of four new university centers, expanding the educational network in the state of Jalisco, which has become an exemplary model of inclusion and accessibility in Mexico.
“Dr. Villanueva Lomelí is, above all, a humanist, committed to the comprehensive training of his students and the cultivation of ethical values in higher education,” he indicated.
JMH
