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The Higher Council of the university, meeting in an extraordinary session, decided that the academic from the Department of Electronics will head the institution during the period 2026-2030.
Dr. Juan Yuz Eissmann was re-elected rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University for the period 2026-2030, following the decision adopted by the Higher Council in an extraordinary session held this Friday, September 11.
The election by the university's highest governing body took place after the academic from the Department of Electronics obtained the most votes in the second round of the electoral process, with 55.71% of the valid votes cast. Since no candidate reached the 60% threshold established by internal regulations, the final decision fell to the University Council.
During the extraordinary session of the Superior Council, the candidates who advanced to the second round of the Rector's election, Dr. Juan Yuz Eissmann and Dr. Darcy Fuenzalida O'Shee, presented their government programs to this council, which constitutes the highest authority of the institution.
Subsequently, the members of the council unanimously agreed to the re-election of Dr. Juan Yuz Eissmann as Rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University for a second consecutive term. The authority will begin its new term on October 1, 2026, and will hold office for four years..
Electoral process
After the election process concluded with the deliberation of the Higher Council, the president of this collegiate body, Yessica Cartajena, highlighted that "the election of the rector is one of the most relevant decisions from the point of view of the governance of our university," valuing that "this process allowed us to exercise the institutional mechanisms provided for in our Statutes and to develop a serious, responsible deliberation with independence of judgment.".
Along the same lines, he added that "the electoral process, as a whole, has also been an opportunity to listen more deeply to the university community, gather different perspectives and better understand the challenges, concerns and aspirations that are present today.".
“The commitment of the Governing Council is to continue contributing, from its role, to the long-term development of the university and to work institutionally with the elected rector, considering the different voices, experiences, and capabilities that coexist in our community—students, academics, faculty, staff, alumni, and those who contribute from the various areas of the Institution—to face the short- and long-term challenges that lie ahead, in an increasingly demanding, changing, and accelerated national and global environment,” he concluded.
A story linked to the USM
Juan Yuz, a civil engineer with a master's degree from USM and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Newcastle University, has a long and distinguished career at the university as a student, faculty member, and administrator. He was a student leader from 1996 to 1998 and received the Federico Santa María Award for best graduate of his class in 2001.
In his academic career he also served as director of the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (AC3E) between 2015 and 2019, and reached the rank of full professor in 2021. In 2022 he was elected rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University, a position from which he has also been responsible for the presidency of the G9 Network and the CRUV, in addition to serving as rector in charge of the CRUCH Research Commission.
Source: USM Communications
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