On Monday 21 April, Dr Josep Samitier i Martí was formally named Acting Rector to succeed Dr Màrius Rubiralta. During the extraordinary meeting of the Governing Council which preceded this appointment, it was agreed that the elections to the Rectorate at the UB should be called during the first half of September, and held during the second half of October.

The Rector of the UB, Dr Màrius Rubiralta, has accepted the offer of the new Minister of Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia, to become Secretary of State for Universities. Dr Rubiralta has informed the President of the Social Council of the UB and his management team of his decision. In the next few hours, the UB will decide what changes this appointment implies in relation to the governance of the University. An extraordinary governing council meeting is expected to be held in the next few days.

Graça Machel, the chairman of the GAVI Fund Board, the funding arm of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), and winner of the Príncipe de Asturias Prize for International Cooperation in 1998, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the UB. The degree ceremony will be held at 12 noon on 23 April in the Paranimf of the University’s Historic Building. Graça Machel, founder and president of the Fundaçao para o Desenvolvimiento da Comunidade (FDC), is a reference point all over the world for her defence of the rights of children and women. During the ceremony she will be sponsored by Professor Pedro L. Alonso of the UB’s Department of Public Health.

The UB has published a special issue of its magazine La Universitat in English in order to promote the University on a broader international stage. The magazine will be distributed among prominent visitors from abroad when they visit the UB and among participants at the European University Association’s Spring Conference which is being held in the Historic Building until 29 March. The magazine will also be used by members of the UB when travelling abroad as a means of introducing the University to a wider audience.