President Kast appoints Prieto Cox to the Superior Council of the UPLA

The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, accepted the resignation of Miguel Alejandro Caro Ramos and appointed Juan Pablo Prieto Cox as a member of the Superior Council of the Universidad de Playa Ancha de Ciencias de la Educación representing the President. The decision was formalized in supreme decree No. 183, dated August 4, 2026, from the Ministry of Education, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,569, on Thursday, October 8, 2026, Section I, pages 1 to 3 (reference CVE 2881463).

The decree was issued by the Undersecretariat of Higher Education and bears the signatures of Kast Rist and the Minister of Education, María Paz Arzola González; its official transcription corresponds to the Undersecretary Fernanda Valdés Raczynski. The regulation is based on Law No. 21,094, on State Universities, and decree with the force of law No. 14, of 2023, which approved the UPLA statute adapted to Title II of said law.

According to the statute, the Superior Council is the university’s highest collegiate body and is responsible for defining the general development policy and the strategic decisions of the institution. Article 14 establishes that three of its members are representatives of the President of the Republic, with four-year mandates, and that the Ministry of Education coordinates the designation and renewal of vacancies.

A vacancy opened by resignation

Caro Ramos had been appointed to the position via supreme decree No. 18, of 2026, from the Ministry of Education. Through a letter dated July 20, 2026, he submitted his resignation effective July 24 of that year, which was accepted in Article 1 of the now-published decree.

The vacancy was reported by the University Education Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education through internal memorandum No. 06/725, dated July 20, 2026, which requested the management of the administrative act to accept the resignation and appoint the replacement.

Profile and background of the appointee

The accompanying file certifies the legal requirements of the new member:

• Bachelor of Science with a major in Mathematics from the University of Chile.
• Academic Vice-Rector of the Universidad Central between December 2019 and February 2023, and director of the Research and Postgraduate Institute of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences between February and December 2023.
• Senior authority positions—Academic Vice-Rector and Rector—at the Universidad Viña del Mar.
• Associate Professor at the University of Talca between 1994 and 2009, where he served, among other roles, as director of the Institute of Mathematics.
• No current or previous employment link with UPLA, according to a July 20, 2026 certificate from the institution’s Human Resources Administration Directorate.

Article 16 of the statute specifically requires that members appointed by the president shall not hold positions or functions within the university from the moment of their designation, and refers their regime of disqualifications and incompatibilities to articles 14 and 16 of Law No. 21.094.

Validity and effects of the appointment

Article 2 appoints Prieto Cox, RUN 7.927.737-1, for a period of four years starting from the date of the decree. Article 3 provides that, for reasons of good service, they shall assume their functions from the date of their appointment, without waiting for the full processing of the administrative act.

The accepted resignation corresponds to Caro Ramos, RUN 11.317.729-2, who had been appointed to the same position during 2026.

With this designation, the President of the Republic fills one of the three representations corresponding to them on the Superior Council of the UPLA, the body that defines the development policy of a state university. The new member arrives with experience in academic management in several educational institutions and with a four-year mandate, which will allow them to influence the strategic decisions of the institution during that period.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44.569, Thursday, October 8, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2881463).