The rector of the Northeastern Catholic University (Universidad Catolica Nordestana, UCNE) in San Francisco de Macoris, Father Ramon Alfredo de la Cruz Baldera has been promoted to rector of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) by the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic.
He will replace Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado who has headed the university since 1970, turning it into by far the largest Dominican private university over the past 44 years. Nunez Collado entered the university as a professor when it was founded in 1962, and was promoted to vice rector in 1963. He is also known for his role as a national mediator.
Father De la Cruz is also president of the Association of Rectors of Dominican Universities (ADRU).
In September 2013, Monsignor Agripino Nunez revealed that former papal nuncio Josef Wesolowski had been replaced after being accused of pedophilia, while the high-ranking echelons of the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic were denying the charges.