Decree appoints Alejandra Mizala as rector of the University of Chile

The Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile published this Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in its edition no. 44,596, supreme decree 137 of the Ministry of Education —issued by the Undersecretariat of Higher Education— appointing Alejandra Cristina Mizala Salces as rector of the University of Chile. The appointment is effective as of June 19, 2026, and extends for a legal period of four years, that is, until 2030. This is the highest authority of the country’s main state university, a decision adopted by the President of the Republic and endorsed by the Minister of Education.

The administrative act, identified with the official reference CVE 2897419, bears the signature of President José Antonio Kast Rist and Minister of Education María Paz Arzola González, and was sent for the knowledge of the Undersecretary of Higher Education Fernanda Valdés Raczyns. The decree was published in Section I of the bulletin, within the general regulations, on page 1.

From the electoral process to the supreme decree

The designation closes the procedure established by the statutes of the educational institution, which grant the University Council the power to call for the election of the rector and the President of the Republic the power of appointment via supreme decree from the Ministry of Education, for a period of four years with the possibility of one immediate reelection.

The stages verified by the decree are as follows:

• The University Council, in its third ordinary session on March 10, 2026, agreed to call for the election of the rector, a decision formalized in university decree 7,049 of 2026.
• The voting days took place on May 12 and June 2, 2026.
• Through official letter U. de Chile (O) 1,647, dated June 8, 2026, the University of Chile informed the Ministry of Education that Mizala Salces, full professor, was elected for the 2026-2030 period.
• The University Education Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education requested the issuance of the appointment via memorandum 06/602, dated June 10, 2026.

Mizala Salces succeeds in the position Rosa Noemí Devés Alessandri, appointed by supreme decree 115 of 2022 of the Ministry of Education for a period of four years starting from June 18, 2022.

Academic trajectory and positions of the new rector

The decree supports the designation based on the academic and management background of the new authority, verified by the Higher Commission for Academic Evaluation and by the Pro-rectorate (S) of the institution:

• Ratification in the rank of Associate Professor, during session 31/2011 on December 21, 2011.
• Permanent appointment as Associate Professor, grade 5° ESU, full-time, as of March 1, 2012.
• Tenure as Pro-Rector between July 1, 2022, and February 28, 2026, among other management positions.
• Degree in Commercial Engineering conferred by the University of Chile in 1978.
• National identity card 6.904.041-1.

Two accessory provisions and immediate assumption of duties

The decree contains two additional articles to the appointment. Article 2 establishes that the rector will maintain the tenure of her position as associate professor, grade 5° ESU, full-time, in the same institution for the duration of the appointment, in accordance with letter e) of article 87 of decree with the force of law 29 of 2004 of the Ministry of Finance, which established the consolidated text of law 18.834 on the Administrative Statute.

Article 3, meanwhile, provides that the rector will assume her duties from the date of her appointment, “for reasons of good service,” without waiting for the full processing of the decree. The regulation also invokes law 21.091 on Higher Education, law 21.094 on State Universities, law 18.956 which restructured the Ministry of Public Education, and resolution 36 of 2024 of the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The appointment arrives with the educational institution already in a transition period: the decree is dated June 11, 2026, but its publication in the Official Gazette occurred five months later, on November 11, by which time the new rector had been in office for nearly five months.

Impact

The publication formalizes the leadership of the University of Chile for the next four years before the higher education system as a whole, with a rector who comes from within the institution after serving as Pro-Rector and who assumes office with the tenure of her professorship safeguarded. The decree also provides documentary evidence, in the official bulletin, of the complete process chain: call by the University Council, election days, communication to the ministry, and presidential appointment.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44.596, November 11, 2026, Section I, p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2897419).