On Monday, May 19, 2025, in the municipality of Guapi, delegates from the Ministry of National Education, local government representatives, and administrators from Universidad del Cauca took significant steps toward an ambitious project that will bring a university campus to Colombia’s Pacific region. This initiative seeks to address a historical debt owed to the municipality and to the entire coastal area of the Cauca department by ensuring access to higher education for its communities.

But the road to achieving this long-awaited goal has not been easy. More than two years ago, a thorough process was launched to identify the most suitable site for the new campus. Fifteen plots were evaluated, and after a detailed technical study, a three-hectare lot located within the premises of the Normal Superior School “La Inmaculada” was selected as the ideal location, meeting all the necessary conditions to host the future campus.

“They asked us to contribute and help make the dream of accessing higher education for our youth a reality. Today, thanks to the combined efforts of so many people involved in this process, we’re making it happen. We are embarking on this journey and moving forward with all the necessary steps to enjoy and inaugurate this new campus as soon as possible,” stated Deibar René Hurtado Herrera, Rector of Universidad del Cauca, visibly moved to share this great news. Ricardo Monero, Vice Minister of Education and Acting Minister, added: “We are delivering on our promise to public higher education—strengthening our university, but above all, fulfilling the responsibility that public universities have to be present in the places where they’re needed most.”

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As part of this coordinated effort, the Guapi Mayor’s Office will present a proposed ordinance to the Municipal Council this Friday to formalize the land donation. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education will provide funding for the architectural studies and designs for the new facilities. Universidad del Cauca, in turn, will launch the “University in the Classroom” program, offering academic courses immediately while the new campus is being built.

Without a doubt, this project will benefit not only the population of Guapi but also communities in neighboring municipalities such as Timbiquí and López de Micay (Cauca), as well as others along the Pacific coast of the Nariño department. Its impact will be profound and transformative: expanding educational opportunities, reducing social inequalities, and significantly contributing to a more dignified future for hundreds of young people in the region.

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The news has been met with great enthusiasm and renewed hope by local residents, who see in this announcement a collective dream fulfilled. The arrival of Universidad del Cauca to the Pacific region not only marks a historic milestone—it also symbolizes a genuine commitment to territorial equity, inclusion, and social transformation. It is a gesture of recognition and dignity for a region that has long resisted neglect, and which now opens its doors to knowledge as a powerful tool for building peace, strengthening identities, and charting new paths toward a brighter future for all. In this way, the nearly two-century-old Alma Mater from Cauca—#HeritageForAll—reaffirms its mission to transform lives and make dreams come true, now with and for the Pacific region of Cauca.

Written by: Communications Management Center