UNED Director Refutes 'Fleeting Rector' Article on Brief Visit

Maria José Moreno Sirvent, director of the UNED Associated Centre in La Seu d'Urgell, has responded to a Bondia article published on 5 February, accusing it of misrepresenting internal communications and creating a biased narrative around a brief visit by UNED rector Ricardo Mairal.

The original piece, titled "Un rector fugaç" (A Fleeting Rector), highlighted surprise among some educational community members over not being invited to the rector's short stop at the centre, located in the Plaça de les Monges building. Moreno Sirvent emphasised that the visit coincided with exam week, preventing any formal institutional event due to regulations. She noted the rector's packed schedule also ruled out informal gatherings.

In an email sent the day after the visit to all tutor professors—parts of which were quoted in the article—Moreno Sirvent described the stop as "vist i no vist" (here and gone in a flash). She provided full context, explaining that Mairal delivered three new screens obtained through his efforts and inspected their installation, along with the library, to assess further support needs.

Moreno Sirvent criticised the article for focusing on the visit's brevity while downplaying these concrete outcomes and linking the screens to prior complaints, as if addressing demands was not a sign of responsive leadership. She defended not informing students, prioritising their focus during exams over protocolary interruptions.

The response also addressed the article's characterisation of support from La Seu d'Urgell mayor Joan Barrera as "discretíssima" (minimal), contrasting it unfavourably with other municipal spending. Moreno Sirvent pointed out that Barrera rearranged his schedule to attend, and his administration's ongoing collaboration—alongside Lleida Provincial Council, the Andorran government, and UNED itself—sustains the centre's operations. Invitations to the mayor, who chairs the university consortium, and Ràdio Seu, a consistent partner, followed institutional protocol rather than excluding others.

Moreno Sirvent called for rigorous debate on the centre's financing and equipment needs but argued that fixating on the visit's length or selectively quoting emails fosters confrontation rather than solutions for students, tutors, and the region.