Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (AM Xochimilco)

The Metropolitan Autonomous University (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana), also known as UAM, is a Mexican public research university. Founded in 1974 with the support of then-President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, the institution aims to be is Echeverria Alvarez, the institution aims to be closely linked to the social and human environment. As an autonomous university, UAM is a public agency of the Mexican government. It has five academic units located in Mexico City and Greater Mexico City: Azcapotzalco, in the north, Iztapalapa, in the east, Cuajimalpa, in the west, Xochimilco, in the south, and Lerma in the State of Mexico. The institution is among the top academic universities in Mexico. In 2019, it ranked first among both public and private institutions, was second in the number of full-time research professors with doctorates, according to the Comparative Study of Mexican Universities; having the second largest number built in the National and Research System (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores), and the second in having researchers at Level 3 of the same system. It is one of the leading universities in Mexico to submit the highest number of research works. It is also the second institution to have publications in refereed journals, such as the Institute for Scientific Information, Latindex, and journals included in the Index of Mexican Journals of Scientific and Technological Research of the National Council of Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología). Additionally, it is among the top four with the largest number of patents granted in Mexico. History After the historic 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico concluded, and after other subsequent movements in favor of education and social improvements, the need for comprehensive education reform in Mexico was evident. In 1973, during the administration of President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) presented a document to the President noting the need to establish a new university in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, taking into consideration issues such as increasing student demand and the failure of existing universities to admit more students. It was proposed that the nascent university project also constitute an opportunity to modernize higher education in the country. The expected characteristics of the new university were that it be public, metropolitan, independent, and innovative, both in educational and organizational terms. Under such expectations, the law came into force for the creation of the Autonomous Metropolitan University on 1 January 1974. On 10 January of that year, architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez was appointed as the first Rector of the UAM. The University established three initial units, located in Iztapalapa, Azcapotzalco, and Xochimilco, with the goal of promoting decentralization and allowing the full development of each. Empirically, scientific research was concentrated in the Iztapalapa (UAM-I) Unit; traditional careers such as civil engineering and architecture were based in the Azcapotzalco (UAM-A) Unit; and health sciences were located in the Xochimilco Unit (UAM-X). Subsequently, it was decided that their internal organization would be composed of divisions and academic departments, creating a contrast with the schools and colleges of existing universities. Each division would group different areas of knowledge and related disciplines into departments, in order to create a flexible structure that would prevent the lag education had experienced in relation to scientific progress. The first Rector of the Iztapalapa Unit was Dr. Alonso Fernandez González, and the unit began operations on September 30, 1974. The Rector of the Azcapotzalco Unit was Dr. Juan Casillas García de León, which opened its doors on November 11, 1974. For the Xochimilco Unit, Dr. Ramon Villarreal Perez served as Rector, also initiating teaching on November 11, 1974. Recently, the possibility of creating a new unit of the UAM was analyzed. On April 26, 2005, the Academic College of the institution approved the creation of the Cuajimalpa campus, appointing Dr. Fresán Magdalena Orozco in June of that year as the first Rector. The activities of the Unit officially began on September 14, 2005, initially using different locations, including the Universidad Iberoamericana. It later occupied three temporary facilities: Baja California, Artifice, and Constituents, adding a fourth in 647. Its final location was achieved in 2014 on the grounds of "Scorpio," formerly part of the Zona Especial Forestal y de Repoblación Bosques Industriales La Venta, which had not been built due to the lack of legal certainty and the opposition of local residents to forest development in Ocotal, Cuajimalpa. ...view more