Higher Ed in the Dominican Republic

Founded in 1538, the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo is probably the oldest university in the western hemisphere. According to the Enciclopedia Catolica, it was established by papal edict, but didn't begin classes until 1558. Santo Domingo has a number of other colleges and universities, including:

• Universidad Iberoamerica
• Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo
• Universidad Catolica Santo Domingo
• Universidad Dominicana O&M
• Pontifica Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra
• Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena

There may be others, but this appears to be a fairly solid group of higher ed institutions with a wide variety of educational programs.

My son happened to be at the Autonoma last week when a mini riot broke out. Someone hit a guy over the head with a two-by-four and big fight erupted.

I ran across Livio's site, a site with dozens of links about everything Dominican.

A couple of weeks ago, the Rector of the UNAM in Mexico City received an honorary doctorate from the Autonoma de Santo Domingo and gave this speech drawing comparisons between the two countries and the development of their respective university communities. In addition, he confirmed the creation of the Red de Macrouniversidades de América Latina y el Caribe, a network of major universities in Latin America that will allow more student exchange and mobility.

About 24% of Dominicans begin classes in the country's system of higher education, while only 47% finish the eighth grade. The recent Presidential Forum on Academic Excellence served to discuss academic issues of critical importance in the country.