The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities () (Cruch) or simply the Council of Rectors is an organization and legal entity that reunites the rectors of thirty Chilean universities, both public and private with the goal of coordinating the academic efforts in the country and bettering the quality of university education.
The council was created by law in 1954 and given legal personhood in 1964. The members of this organization are the rectors of public and private universities founded before 1981 or derived from those founded before then, and those created by law.
Only universities belonging to Cruch have the right to direct financial support from the state, and the amount of the Solidarity Fund of University Credit () assigned by institution since 1994, which replaced the Fiscal University Credit.
The universities grouped under the Council of Rectors are commonly called "traditional universities" ().
History The Council of Rectors was founded August 14, 1954 by law number 11575. Its first goal was to prepare coordination plans for technological investigations on a yearly basis according to the budgets of the involved universities. It was first composed by the rectors of seven higher education institutions: the University of Chile, the University of Concepción, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, the Technical University of the Estate and the Federico Santa María Technical University.
It was given legal personhood in February 4, 1964 by law number 15561, in which it was also given the function of giving proposals for initiatives and solutions destined to coordinate, in general, the activities of the universities and to better the performance and quality of university education.
That same year, the Council of Rectors' first regulations were published through a decree by the Ministry of Education. The original goal of the administration of public investigation funds was maintained until the creation of the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research in 1967.
Until 1975, the president and legal representative of the Council was the rector of the University of Chile. With the law decree 1287, the president and legal representative of the Council became the current minister of education.
Through decrees in 1984 and 1986, seventeen more higher education institutiones joined the Council of Rectors.
In 2018, the promulgation of law number 21091 eliminated the veto of private universities founded after 1981, with new requirements for their joining of the Council established in the law. With these new requirements, the rectors of the Diego Portales University and Alberto Hurtado University were accepted as members of the Council, being the first private universities founded after 1981 to do so.
In 2019, the rector of the University of the Andes was accepted as a member of the Council, being the latest rector to join it.
Members + List of members of Council of Rectors University Main campus Established Type Rector University of Chile Santiago 1842 State Rosa Devés Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Santiago 1888 Private Juan Carlos de la Llera University of Concepción Concepción 1919 Private Carlos Saavedra Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso Valparaíso 1928 Private Nelson Vásquez Federico Santa María Technical University Valparaíso 1931 Private Juan Yuz Austral University of Chile Valdivia 1954 Private Egon Montecinos Catholic University of the North Antofagasta 1956 Private María Cecilia Hernández University of Valparaíso Valparaíso 1981 State Osvaldo Corrales University of Antofagasta Antofagasta 1981 State Marcos Cikutovic University of La Frontera Temuco 1981 State Juan Manuel Fierro University of La Serena La Serena 1981 State Luperfina Rojas University of Santiago, Chile Santiago 1981 State Cristián Muñoz University of Magallanes Punta Arenas 1981 State José Maripani University of Talca Talca 1981 State Carlos Torres University of Atacama Copiapó 1981 State Forlín Aguilera University of Tarapacá Arica 1981 State Emilio Rodríguez Diego Portales University Santiago 1982 Private Carlos Peña González Arturo Prat University Iquique 1984 State Alberto Martinez Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences Santiago 1985 State Solange Tenorio Playa Ancha University Valparaíso 1985 State Carlos González University of the Bío Bío Concepción 1988 State Benito Umaña University of Los Lagos Osorno 1993 State Óscar Garrido Metropolitan University of Technology Santiago 1993 State Marisol Durán Catholic University of the Maule Talca 1991 Private Claudio Rojas Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception Concepción 1991 Private Christian Mellado Temuco Catholic University Temuco 1991 Private Marcela Momberg Alberto Hurtado University Santiago 1997 Private Cristián del Campo University of O'Higgins Rancagua 2015 State Fernanda Kri University of Aysén Coyhaique 2015 State Enrique Urra University of the Americas Santiago 1988 Private José Antonio Guzmán Notes
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