Luperfina Rojas Escobar assumes the rectorate of the University of La Serena

The Ministry of Education appointed Luperfina Eloísa del Carmen Rojas Escobar as rector of the University of La Serena for a legal term of four years, through supreme decree No. 207, dated September 3, 2026. The appointment was published in the Official Gazette No. 44,581, on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Section I of general regulations, with the official reference CVE 2887100.

The decree was issued by the Undersecretariat of Higher Education and signed by the President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, and the Minister of Education, María Paz Arzola González. The Comptroller General of the Republic took notice of the act through official letter No. OF193042/2026, dated October 9, 2026, processing it with a scope.

The electoral result that originated the appointment

The process dates back to the election of the rector for the 2026-2030 period, convened by exempt decrees No. 113 and No. 273, both of 2026, from the University of La Serena, in accordance with the agreement adopted on March 19, 2026, by the then Board of Directors.

According to the official scrutiny record of June 10, 2026, from the institution’s Electoral Board, Rojas Escobar obtained 62.3% of the votes. The result was communicated through official letter No. 002/2026, dated June 17, 2026, and later reported to the Minister of Education by a letter dated June 30, 2026, from the president of the Superior Council.

A university with new governing bodies

The appointment occurs within the framework of the entry into force of the institution’s new statute, approved by the decree with the force of law No. 26, of 2023, from the Ministry of Education, adapted to Title II of Law No. 21,094 on State Universities.

That statute has been in effect since August 8, 2025, and set a nine-month deadline to constitute the Superior Council and terminate the Board of Directors. According to a certificate dated August 12, 2026, from the institution’s general secretary, the Board of Directors ceased on May 8, 2026, and the Superior Council was constituted and began operating on May 11 of that year.

The text recalls that the rector is the highest single authority and legal representative of the university, serves a four-year term in office, and may be re-elected only once for the immediately following period. Rojas Escobar herself had been previously appointed by supreme decree No. 166, of 2022, with a term that began on October 29, 2022.

Start date and academic continuity

The first article of the decree provides for the appointment effective as of October 29, 2026, with the RUN 9.329.096-8 of the appointee. The second article establishes that she will maintain ownership of her academic position at the same institution, and the third article authorizes her to assume functions from the date of her appointment, for reasons of good service, without waiting for the complete processing of the decree.

The Comptroller General’s Office specified, however, that since the previous term extended until October 29, 2026, the new appointment is effective from October 30, 2026, and the four years are computed from that date, until October 30, 2030.

The file further records that the rector is a commercial engineer from the Universidad Autónoma de Chile, with a degree conferred on January 31, 2009, and that she has served as an academic at the institution in 1995, 1996, 1997, and from 1999 to date.

The publication closes a process of nearly five months between the election and the legal review (toma de razón), and formally establishes the leadership of one of the state universities in the Coquimbo Region for the 2026-2030 quadrennium, in an institution that also debuts its collegiate bodies in accordance with Law No. 21.094.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44.581, Friday, October 23, 2026, Section I, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2887100).