Ponce college injects $20M to upgrade facilities, expand curriculum
The Pontifical Catholic University in Ponce is investing to transform itself into a state-of-the-art educational facility.
The Pontifical Catholic University in Ponce has invested some $20 million over the past two years in its facilities, human resources and to strengthen its research programs to enrich its academic offer, school officials said Thursday.
“Our goal is to contribute to an integral development of the university community,” said University President Jorge Iván Vélez-Arocho. “This short- and long-term strategy further reaffirms our interest in that the student body and the academic community experience a current and modern academic and professional environment to enable them to meet today’s competitive challenges without losing sight of the enjoyment of an enriching college experience.”
The university’s enrollment has increased by 6 percent in the last two years, Vélez-Arocho said.
Among the investments completed so far are improvements to its law school, a new library updated with the latest computer technology and resources, the new Center for Biotechnology and Agrobiotechnology Teaching and Research, and the new School of Architecture located in the historic area of Ponce, which opened two years ago.
Meanwhile, the school has already begun improvements to its facilities and has a future agenda of projects, which includes building a Fine Arts Pavilion, an athletics track, an exercise trail, and a ball park, among others.
For Vélez-Arocho, “the focus of these initiatives centers on providing the student and faculty with a better quality of college and community life.”
To enrich its academic offerings, the Pontifical University has also implemented a binary curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science degree and professional degrees in Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine. These programs are conducted in collaboration with leading institutions like the University of Monterrey in Mexico, the Pontificia Universidad Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic, Mississippi State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Case Western University in Ohio, among others.
To deliver its message of growth and development, the university is launching branding campaign under the umbrella message “Live the future today.”
The campaign “highlights our university demands for quality and the attributes we reinvest in the community,” Vélez-Arocho said, of the effort that includes several media, such as print, television, radio, outdoor advertising, Internet and others.
