Aurora Vergara
Minister of National Education
Assumed office
February 27, 2023
PresidentGustavo Petro
Preceded byAlejandro Gaviria
Deputy Minister of Higher Education
In office
August 7, 2022 – February 27, 2023
PresidentGustavo Petro
MinisterAlejandro Gaviria
Preceded byMaximiliano Gómez
Succeeded byAna Carolina Quijano[1][2]
Personal details
Born
Aurora Vergara Figueroa

(1987-05-14) May 14, 1987
Cali, Cauca Valley, Colombia
Political partySoy Porque Somos
EducationUniversity of Valle, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Aurora Vergara Figueroa (born May 14, 1987) is a Colombian sociologist and academic who has been a tenured professor in the Department of Social Studies at the Icesi University and director of the Center for Afrodiasporic Studies.

In July 2022, she was appointed to be part of the transition team of the Gustavo Petro government along with Mauricio Lizcano, Carolina Corcho and Daniel Rojas. In August that year, the newly appointed Minister of Education, Alejandro Gaviria, appointed her as Deputy Minister of National Education.[3][4]

On February 27, 2023, she was appointed Minister of Education by President Gustavo Petro, replacing the outgoing Alejandro Gaviria.[5][6]

Early life

Aurora Vergara Figueroa was born in Cali, Cauca Valley but grew up in Itsmina, Chocó since she was four years old. She arrived there with her brother and her mother after the disappearance of her father when he was a telephone employee in Emcali.[7][8][9]

Due to the lack of opportunities to study in Istmina, Vergara Figueroa considered enrolling in a convent as this could be an opportunity to continue her studies; however, her mother did not give her the required permission. In 2003, she won the Convenio prize Andrés Bello in history, which allowed her to move to Cali and enter the Universidad del Valle to study sociology, despite the economic difficulties and having to work in various trades such as domestic service to pay for her expenses, she was able to complete her studies. One of her professors encouraged her and helped her to apply for a scholarship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States where she obtained a master's degree and a doctorate in sociology.[10] Later she did a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University[11]

In 2014, Vergara Figueroa won the Martin Diskin Dissertation award from LASA (Latin American Studies Association) for the best PhD dissertation creatively incorporating a combination of activism and scholarship. In 2016, she was nominated as one of the 20 best leaders in Colombia by the Fundación Liderazgo y Democracia.

References

  1. ↑ "Una de las llaves de la ministra Aurora Vergara desde Cali, será ahora su Viceministra". las2orillas.co. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Se posesionó la nueva viceministra de Educación Superior, Ana Carolina Quijano Valencia". mineducacion.gov.co. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Aurora Vergara es nombrada como nueva ministra de Educación". eltiempo.com. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Designan a Aurora Vergara Figueroa viceministra de Educación Superior". redmas.com.co. 5 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Aurora Vergara, nueva ministra de Educación". elheraldo.co. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Aurora Vergara, la nueva ministra de educación que reemplazará a Alejandro Gaviria". elespectador.com. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Conozca a Aurora Vergara, mujer premiada por su aporte a la población afro". elpais.com.co. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "¿Quién es la nueva ministra de Educación que reemplaza a Alejandro Gaviria?". blueradio.com. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Aurora Vergara, la historia de dolor y coraje de la nueva ministra de Educación". eltiempo.com. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Aurora Vergara es designada como nueva ministra de Educación". radionacional.co. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Egresada Aurora Vergara es designada como Viceministra de Educación Superior". univalle.edu.co. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
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