Re-elected as Rector

Professor José Capilla Romá will serve as the eleventh Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València for the next six years, securing the support of 65.17% of the university community's votes.

The elections, conducted electronically, saw a participation rate of 84.51% among tenured faculty and permanent academic staff; 49.22% among non-permanent teaching and research staff; 36.01% among non-permanent research staff; 70.4% among technical, management, administrative, and service staff; and 10.89% among students.

After nearly four years in office, he has been re-elected, running as the sole candidate in these elections, which had to be postponed due to the catastrophe caused by the DANA that devastated the comarca of l’Horta Sud on October 29, 2014.

Upon learning the results, Capilla stated that “it has been a magnificent election day, with participation rates that we should be very proud of because they are high and outstanding.”

Capilla now faces a six-year term and believes that planning a mandate until 2031 requires “a roadmap that must be reviewed in the medium and long term. At this moment, we are witnessing remarkable changes in the international university landscape. We are talking about topics such as Artificial Intelligence, which is set to transform universities and the way we educate our students.”

Six Weighted Elections

In the 56-year history of the UPV, since 2004—when elections began to be held by weighted universal suffrage—six electoral processes have occurred. Two of these required a second round due to the presence of three candidates. The last elections were held in 2021. In the first round, José Manuel Barat, José Capilla, and Ángel Ortiz ran, with the first two advancing to the second round, where Capilla emerged victorious.

The elections held in 2013 and 2017 also featured a single candidacy, that of Francisco Mora, whose team included José E. Capilla.

José E. Capilla Romá (València, 1961) is a professor of Applied Physics, a Civil Engineer (Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos) from the Universitat Politècnica de València, and holds a PhD in Water Resources. He won the Valencian Community’s Waste Technology Award in 1999.

From the Post-Pandemic Era to the DANA Crisis

Capilla has served as UPV Rector for the past four years. He took office in 2021, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, promising to restore classroom normality. During his term, he has faced challenging moments, such as the management of the DANA, which forced the suspension of in-person classes and a return to online teaching.

With 39 years of teaching experience at the UPV, he has held various academic and administrative positions since 1993. He remains motivated and enthusiastic about leading a six-year term, as established by the new UPV Statutes adapted to the Organic Law of the University System (LOSU). This law has lowered the requirements to become Rector—no longer requiring the candidate to be a full professor—but Capilla has faced no opposition.

He previously served as Vice-Rector under Rectors Justo Nieto and Francisco Mora. He was also the Director General for Universities and Higher Education of the Generalitat Valenciana from 2004 to 2007, during Justo Nieto’s tenure as Regional Minister for Business, Universities, and Science.

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