Posthumous Honorary Doctorate to Juan Vela Valdés

May 15, 2022

The University of La Habana on May 12th, post mortem, granted the academic distinction of Doctor Honoris Causa in Higher Education Sciences to Dr. Juan Vela Valdés, who recently passed away.

In a ceremony held in the Aula Magna of the prestigious institution of higher learning, Dr. Miriam Nicado García, rector of the University of La Habana, read the resolution authorizing the granting of such a high distinction to one of the most outstanding figures of the University.

From the hands of Nicado García, Dr. Isabel Aradia –life companion of Dr. Vela Valdés– received the credential title in the solemn act, which was presided over by José Ramón Saborido Loidi, Minister of Higher Education, and Ileana Morales, national director of Science and Technological Innovation of the Ministry of Public Health.

Dr. Rita González, Professor Emerita of the University of La Habana, on behalf of the university community, noted that for those who knew Vela, he was always, in addition to a boss, a guide, an advisor, a teacher, a friend.

The life of Dr. Juan Vela Valdés was linked to the University of La Habana in recent decades. Among his countless merits stand out his participation in the Literacy Campaign, his work as regional director of Public Health in Baracoa and Guantánamo, founding rector of the University of Camagüey, rector of the University of La Habana, and Minister of Higher Education.