University autonomy, free education and social inclusion will be the main points guiding the management of professor Alvaro Gabriel Bianchi Mendez at the head of the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) at Unicamp. He expressed this idea in his first speech as the new director of IFCH, during the inauguration ceremony in the "Prof. Dr. Fausto Castilho" auditorium, last Monday (4). Bianchi serves a four-year term: from 2017 to 2021, replacing professor Jorge Sidney Coli Junior.
In a ceremony presided over by the rector of Unicamp Marcelo Knobel, the board of directors was made up of professor Jorge Sidney Coli Junior, the associate director in the 2013-2017 administration Jesus José Ranieri, the new director of IFCH professor Alvaro Bianchi and the new associate director Roberto Luiz do Carmo . The event was also attended by the general coordinator of the University Teresa Dib Zambom Atvars, the pro-rector of Research Munir Skaf, the dean of Postgraduate Studies André Tosi, the dean of University Development Marisa Beppu and the dean of Extension and Community Affairs Fernando Hashimoto.
According to Bianchi, it will also be a priority in his management to preserve the institute's human resources and reinforce the excellence of academic activity. “In 1994, we had 120 teachers. Today we have only 87. The number of students, however, has grown rapidly. Today we are the second largest unit at Unicamp in terms of number of postgraduate students and the fourth in number of enrollments. We went from 1.232 students in 1994 to 2.063 students in 2015,” he recalled.
Despite some mismatches, said Bianchi, IFCH managed to maintain quality in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. He recalled retirements as another point of imbalance and assured that he will seek the necessary adaptations, optimization of management practices and the establishment of routines.
The new director of IFCH also committed to improving the institute's infrastructure; implement the University’s first comprehensive accessibility project; develop and consolidate affirmative policies to combat discrimination and defend diversity. “We will act firmly and uncompromisingly in the fight against racism, sexual harassment and discrimination”, he maintained, among other topics covered in his speech.
Bianchi said he was convinced that a difficult situation like the one Unicamp is experiencing requires strong academic and institutional activism. “We will count on the solid support of our institute and we will not give up our values and principles”, he stressed.
Jorge Coli, when saying goodbye, thanked the community for these years at the helm of IFCH. He regretted that his mandate ended with the automobile tragedy that killed two IFCH doctors and began with the death of Professor John Monteiro, who was director of the institute for just three months. He also remembered professors Fausto Castilho, Edgar Salvadori De Decca, Manoel Tosta Berlink, Marco Aurélio Garcia, Mariza Correa and Plínio Dentzien, as well as employees Maria Aparecida Paranhos Penteado and Maria das Dores, who passed away during his tenure. He asked for a minute of silence in their memory.
Jorge Coli thanked associate director Jesus Ranieri and Suely Kofes who replaced the associate director for six months. He highlighted that, "although the economic prospects are not good for Unicamp, we have reasons to trust: firstly because the next directors are young and full of energy to overcome the difficulties of this role and, secondly, because we have a new management at this University that has already demonstrated lucidity, clarity and is sensitive to the importance of the Humanities".
Dean Marcelo Knobel thanked professors Jorge Coli and Jesus Ranieri, and greeted the new directors Alvaro Bianchi and associate Roberto Luiz do Carmo. He highlighted that they will move together in the same direction to defend public universities, the quality of teaching and free education. He recalled some initiatives in which the Rectory is involved for greater inclusion, such as the creation of the Refugee Chair, the signing of the University Pact for the Promotion of Respect for Diversity, the Culture of Peace and Human Rights, of the federal government, and the formation of a Working Group (GT) Against Sexual Harassment. “We are together in defense of the public university. We may differ on some points and priorities, but we have many common goals,” he concluded.
political science
Alvaro Bianchi is a full professor at the Department of Political Science at Unicamp. He completed his master's degree in Sociology and his doctorate in Social Sciences also from Unicamp. He works in the area of Political Science, with an emphasis on the history of political thought and political science in Italy and the United States, and on Latin American political thought. He was director of the "Edgard Leuenroth" Archive (AEL) in the period 2009-2007.
