Hear from Leaders in Higher Education

Banner-Importance of Colleges and Universities in Puerto Rico

From Excelencia in Education’s founding in 2004 to the present, we have included Puerto Rico in our analysis about Latino student success in higher education and recognized the importance of colleges and universities in Puerto Rico.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Excelencia lent support by emphasizing how students, faculty and administrators continued their efforts despite the devastation to campuses and communities. We dedicated a session during the 2018 ALASS Institute and joined forces with Margarita Benitez, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Foundation for the Humanities.

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"We need to discuss what unites Puerto Ricans and our interaction with the diaspora, with Latinos in the United States will help us do that."

- Margarita Benitez, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Endowment for the Humanities

“Academics in the U.S. should know that the University of Puerto Rico system welcomes any collaborations with U.S. universities and institutions. In spite of the hurricane, we are not passive victims and are doing a lot of good things.”

- Rima Brusi, Writer-in-Residence, Center for Human Rights and Peace, Lehman College-CUNY

“The University of Puerto Rico is back on our feet after Hurricane Maria hit us. They were difficult times but we have been rebuilding. Our students are working all over the U.S. in big companies - as scientists, medical personnel, engineers, in accounting...”

- Luis Ferrao, Chancellor, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

“The Puerto Rico higher education system is an academic destiny that the U.S. should know about with American accreditation in many specialized programs. Our students are fully bilingual.”