Founders

Our Founders

" A group of friends form the Coffee Zone, who in the seventies decade worked in different sectors: higher education centers, telecommunications and urban and rural infrastructure development; led political movements becoming the voice, before the central government, of the interests of the inhabitants of what is known today as “el Viejo Caldas”. This is how the endeavor of this group can be defined. In Bogota -in the middle of the seventies decade- this group summed up the idea of Pablo Oliveros Marmolejo about creating a Higher Education Institution known today as la “Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina".

PABLO OLIVEROS MARMOLEJO

He was born in Bolivar, municipality of the department of Valle del Cauca, on August 18th, 1935. He is the second son of the marriage formed by Pablo Oliveros Ibáñez and Blanca Marmolejo. In 1954, he obtained his high school diploma from the University Institute of Caldas, in Manizales and in 1955; he joined San Ambrosio University in Iowa, United States where he graduated in 1960 as a Physicist Engineer. Chancellor of the Technological University of Pereira; Director of the Colombian Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education (Icfes) between 1972 and 1978; Founding member of la Fundacion Universitaria Los Libertadores; President of the Colombian Association of Technological Education Institutions; President of the Colombian Association of Private University Institutions (ACIUP); President of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina. Since the beginning, he was a founding member of the General Assembly and the Superior Council of la Fundacion Universitaria los Libertadores, where he served as the Chancellor from 1982 to 1987. Additionally, since the beginning, he was an ideologist, founding member of the General Assembly and the Superior Council of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina, where he served as Vice-chancellor (1990-1993) and Chancellor (1993-2005). He died the 23rd of March 2005.

GUSTAVO EASTMAN VÉLEZ

Electrical and Communications Engineer, graduated from the Industrial University of Santander in 1960; specialized in Electric Plants, sub-stations and transmission lines in Germany with Siemens and in Switzerland with Brown Boveri; specialized in Economy from Javeriana University in 1982 and from Andres University in 1986. Engineer and Chief of the Hydroelectric Plant (CHEC) in Manizales from 1960 to 1965; Manager at INEICO Ltda, company dedicated to Electric Plants Construction from 1965 to 1970. Electric Plants Professor at Distrital University in Bogota, from 1968 to 1972, Marketing and Finance Chief at Proyco Ltda., company dedicated to Electric Plants Construction and Communications, from 1970 to 1987; Manager of the company: Constructora del Sur y Urbanizadora Prado Alto Ltda, dedicated to build social interest housing. Co-founder with Pablo Oliveros Marmolejo (r.i.p.) of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina and since the beginning, member of its General Assembly and the Superior Council; Chancellor’s Economic Consultant since 1983 until the present day. He was sworn in on November 14th 2008 as Permanent Member of the Hispano American Academy of Science and Letters; He received the Great Cross Award for Academic Excellence. On January, 29th 2013, the Superior Council of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina, bestowed the Area Andina Great Sun Award, in the grade of KNIGHT, for distinguishing in undertaking actions with a social, humanistic, investigative, political and cultural impact -coherent and aligned to the institutional Mission and Vision- during his permanence as co-founder and member of the different management bodies of the Foundation at a national level.

Board

The following if the first generation of managers and leaders of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina, who from the General Assembly or their managerial roles in the public and private sector supported and support its orientation and development to keep it within the principles of the founding entity that they interpret and base on the union of its managers, academic and administrative community to keep “together in hope and together in Action”.

 

• Silvio Baena Restrepo: Former Manager for Colombia of the International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT). Currently, member of the Board of Directors of Andes University.
• Carlos Enrique Marín Vélez: Former Vice-minister of Labor, Former President of the City Council in Bogota, Former Magistrate of the Superior Council of the Judiciary and Higher University Institutions Consultant.
• Julio Lizarazo Arevalo: Electrical Engineer, General Manager of Projects and Constructions Company. Electric Engineering (Proyco S.A). Currently, the Manager of Baliza Ltda., company dedicated to the integration of Engineering Projects.
• Armando Romero Oliveros: Public Administrator from the Superior School of Public Administration in Bogota, Project Director in the company of Pablo Oliveros Associated Consultants in Higher Education: Creation of 15 Higher Education Institutions.
• Mario Cuellar Gaviria was an Active Member of the General Assembly of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina; is a Civil Engineer and specialized in Louisiana University, Baton Rouge. Postgraduate studies in the University of Paris between 1958 and 1959. He was Secretary of the State and interim governor of Caldas Department in 1957.
   

The above is the first generation of manager and leader of la Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina, who from the General Assembly or their managerial roles in the public and private sector supported and support its orientation and development to keep it within the principles of the founding entity that they interpret and base on the union of its managers, academic and administrative community to keep “together in hope and together in Action”.