UFRO – UACh

UNIVERSIDAD DE LA FRONTERA

The Universidad de la Frontera was founded by order of the Chilean federal government (Decree with Force of Law Nº 17 of March 10, 1981–part of the legislative package of Decree Law Nº 3,451 of 1980), and it was created through the fusion of the local campuses of the Universidad Técnico del Estado and the Universidad de Chile that existed in the city of Temuco at the time. The university is a public law corporation, which is defined in the context of its mission statement as follows: “…an autonomous, state-funded, socially responsible institution of higher education in the Region of Araucanía. Its mission is to contribute to the development of the region and the country through the generation and transmission of knowledge, the training of professionals and academics, and the cultivation of arts and culture. The university undertakes a commitment to quality and innovation, to respect for persons, the environment, and cultural diversity, and to the construction of a more just and democratic society.”

The Universidad de La Frontera is the only state-funded university located in the Region of Araucanía, which naturally represents the opportunity to fully assume the social responsibility that this status entails, making this institution the regional flagship of university activity.

ORGANIZATIONAL LAYOUT OF THE UNIVERSIDAD DE LA FRONTERA

UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE

The Universidad Austral de Chile is a community of study formed by academics and students who, with the assistance of academic support personnel and administrative and service staff, are oriented toward the broad goal of higher education. The university was founded in the city of Valdivia by order of the Chilean federal government (Supreme Decree Nº 3,575 of September 7, 1954) thanks to the initiative of a group of prominent Valdivians led by Dr. Eduardo Morales Miranda, who took action in response to the pressing aspiration to have an institution of higher education in the south of the country. The following decade, the passing of Law Nº 16,848 of June 3, 1968 enshrined the university’s autonomy to dictate plans and programs of study.

The Universidad Austral de Chile is legally organized as a non-profit private law corporation, being recognized by the state while enjoying academic, administrative, and financial autonomy in accordance with the law; this status is established in its founding statutes (which date to 1955), whose most recent modifications were approved by the corporation’s Joint Board on November 25, 2004 and April 26, 2005. The university’s central headquarters is located in Valdivia, but it carries out its activities throughout Chile’s southern-austral zone on various campuses and at additional local headquarters and centers.

The university’s principal objectives are those established in Article 4 of its Statutes:

• To develop scientific and humanistic research and promote the advancement of technology and artistic creation in order to contribute to the resolution of problems and the needs of humanity, society, and the environment;
• To transmit knowledge through undergraduate and graduate teaching and other activities aimed at the education of professionals and academics within a framework of respect for fundamental rights and socially shared values;
• To interact with the community through extension programs, continuing education, technological training, and services that contribute to cultural development, as well as linking the university with the productive sector.

ORGANIZATIONAL LAYOUT OF THE UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE