The Institute of Geosciences (IG) at Unicamp held the inauguration ceremony of Professor Emilson Pereira Leite as director for the four-year period 15-5, replacing Professor Márcio Antônio Cataia. Leite, who had already served as associate director in the previous administration, will share the current administration with Professor Maria Beatriz Machado Bonacelli, who assumes the associate directorship. The event took place in the IG's Milton Santos Auditorium.
After being sworn in by Rector Paulo Cesar Montagner, Leite emphasized the special significance of this moment. With a background in basic and higher education from public institutions, the professor completes 15 years of dedication to teaching, research and university life at Unicamp this year. “I deeply believe in the transformative role of public universities, in the power of scientific knowledge, education and culture. Our Institute and Unicamp are certainly fundamental parts of this mechanism.” Leite has a degree in Geophysics and obtained his master's and doctorate degrees in Geophysics from the University of São Paulo.
The director committed to carrying out management guided by dialogue and inclusion, with priorities such as expanding the Institute’s infrastructure, strengthening academic training, encouraging research and innovation, valuing the extent of social impact and people, qualifying administrative management and improving institutional planning. “We will be committed to collaborative management that considers the University as a whole.”
Leite highlighted the financial, structural and social challenges faced by public universities, which, he says, must be tackled with creativity, efficiency, strategy and collaboration. He emphasized that the diversity promoted by the union of three departments – Geology and Natural Resources, Geography and Science and Technology Policy – is one of the assets of the IG. “At this time, science needs to engage in dialogue with society, with the territory, with the environment and with global and local changes. We have the conditions to do this.”
The professor expressed his gratitude to those who preceded him and congratulated Cataia on his successful management. “Today, I am not just assuming a position, but also the responsibility of keeping the IG strong, diverse, relevant and in line with what Unicamp represents.” Leite also mentioned the joy of sharing the management with Bonacelli, a professor in the Department of Science and Technology Policy, who holds a degree in Economic Sciences, a master’s degree in Science and Technology Policy from Unicamp and a PhD in Economic Sciences from Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse (France). “Professor Bia has a solid track record in teaching, research and university management activities. We have developed a well-aligned management plan for the next four years and I am fully confident that this partnership will be essential to strengthening IG’s performance.”
Unicamp’s rector, Paulo César Montagner, highlighted the honor of participating in this ceremony, which recognizes the work of the outgoing administration and celebrates the one that is beginning. “Inaugurating a new director means granting legitimacy to the choice made by the Institute’s community, ensuring that the person chosen will represent this community and fulfill their responsibilities in front of the IG. It is a huge responsibility. We wish Emilson the best of luck, clarity, tranquility, balance and that he can always count on us.”
Montagner recalled the founding of the Institute in 1979 and the collective effort that consolidated it, 46 years later, as a “center of excellence in research, teaching and extension in the areas of geography and geology. With solid projects, recognized nationally and internationally for the development of cutting-edge research on the frontiers of knowledge”. Such achievements were possible due to the presence of clear values, modern and efficient management and a competent and dedicated administrative team, added the rector.
In his farewell speech, Cataia thanked all the faculty, staff and students at IG, as well as colleagues from other units and departments and the Unicamp Rectorate, who collaborated in the development of the actions developed at IG in the last four years. He also thanked Emilson Leite for his constant presence and competence. “During this period, we had a very intense partnership. It was four years of great learning. During our administration, we continued to do what had been done with academic and financial responsibility and with respect.” Among the major challenges of the four-year period, Cataia mentioned the restructuring of IG’s budget, the expansion of the laboratory area, the approval of the unit’s certification and the search for new positions for staff and faculty. The professor will now take over the coordination of Unicamp’s Executive Secretariat for Communication (SEC).
