The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

university with its main campus in

San Germán, Puerto Rico San Germán () is a historic San Germán barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the Sabana Grande Valley of southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and Maricao, Puer ...

. It also has campuses in

Aguadilla Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is s ...

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

Barranquitas Barranquitas (, ) is a small mountain town and municipality located in the Cordillera Central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquitas ...

, Bayamón,

Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, Ponce, and

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. The university also has three professional schools:

School of Optometry A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

, and the School of Aeronautics. The Inter offers academic programs in 11 teaching units. It was founded in San Germán in 1912. The San Germán campus is also the home to the Inter American School, a private co-educational college-preparatory school.

History

The Inter American University was founded as Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico in 1912 by Rev. John Will Harris, his brother Clarence Harris and Eusebio López Acosta. It was founded as an elementary and high school in the Lomas de Santa Marta sector of the town of San Germán in land now occupied by the university's San Germán Campus. In 1927, the first high school class graduation took place. In 1944, the institute was accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

, thus becoming the first liberal arts college to receive such accreditation in Puerto Rico, as well as the first outside the continental United States. This accreditation has been maintained over the years.

Governance

The governing body of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico is its self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. The faculty and administration of the Faculty of Law and School of Optometry determine their own programs and rules subject to approval by the president and trustees.

Religious life

Although Inter American University maintains a historic relationship with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

, it does not adhere to any one particular theology or ecclesiastical body.

Accreditations

The eleven academic units of Inter American University of Puerto Rico are authorized by the Council on Education of Puerto Rico and accredited by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

to offer university studies of the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, as the case may be. Likewise, the university is committed to the professional accreditation of its academic programs. For this reason, some academic units have programs accredited by organizations, such as: * Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Bayamón Campus * Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) School of Optometry * American Bar Association (ABA) School of Law * Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program (CANAEP) Arecibo Campus * Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Arecibo and Fajardo campuses (B.A.) Metropolitan Campus (B.A., M.S.W.) * International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) Aguadilla, Arecibo, Barranquitas, Bayamón, Fajardo, Guayama, Metropolitano, Ponce and San Germán campuses, School of Law and School of Optometry * International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) San Germán Campus (B.B.A., M.B.A, PhD) * Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) San Germán Campus (A.A.S., B.S.) * National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) Metropolitano and San Germán campuses (BS, Professional Certificate) * National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) Aguadilla and Arecibo campuses (B.S.N.) Recinto Metropolitano (A.A.S., B.S.N.) * Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Metropolitan Campus (Division of Economic and Administrative Sciences) * Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) Barranquitas, Fajardo, Metropolitan, Ponce and San Germán campuses (Teacher Education Program)

Campuses

* Aguadilla * Arecibo * Barranquitas * Bayamón * Fajardo * Guayama *

Metropolitano Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...

* Ponce * San Germán

Academics

Inter American University offers pre-university, undergraduate, graduate and professional academic programs for obtaining certificates and Associate, Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in subject matters normally offered by institutions of higher education of a nature, educational mission and goals similar to those of this university. The School of Law of Inter American University grants the Juris Doctor degree and the School of Optometry, the Doctor of Optometry degree. Graduate courses may be taught in Spanish.

Notable alumni

Luis Germán Cajiga Luis Germán Cajiga is Puerto Rican painter, poet and essayist known for his screen printing depicting Puerto Rico's natural landscape, its creole culture, and religious motifs. He was born in 1934, in the municipality of Quebradillas, Puerto Ri ...

- artist, painter *

Yiye Ávila José Joaquín Ávila Portalatín (September 11, 1925 – June 28, 2013), better known as Yiye Ávila, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican Pentecostal Evangelism, Evangelist and writer of Sephardi Jews, Sephardic origins. His preaching and m ...

– Pentecostal evangelist, writer and former bodybuilder *

Jaime Fonalledas Jaime Fonalledas (born 1946) is a Puerto Rican businessman who is the current president and CEO of Empresas Fonalledas Inc., which owns Plaza Las Américas, the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean. Empresas Fonalledas Inc., also has holdings in ...

– businessman and President of Empresas Fonalledas, which owns

Plaza Las Américas A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

Alejandro García Padilla Alejandro Javier García Padilla (; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political lan ...

– Former

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

Noemí Ruiz Noemí Ruiz was a Puerto Rican painter, graphic artist and teacher. She is said to be a pioneer of abstraction in Puerto Rico. Her works can be found in many significant collections, and she has represented Puerto Rico in many international exhibi ...

– artist *

Antonio Sanchez Anthony Sanchez, Antonio Sanchez or Tony Sanchez may refer to: Sports * Antón (footballer) (1914–2005), Spanish footballer born ''Antonio Sánchez Valdés'' * Antonio Sánchez (boxer) (1905–?), Spanish boxer * Antonio Sánchez (footballer, ...

- Puerto Rican television and radio personality * Tony Santiago - military historian *

Luguelín Santos Luguelín Miguel Santos Aquino (born 12 November 1992) is a Dominican sprinter, who specialises in the 400 m. He was the silver medallist in the event at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of nineteen. His personal best is 44.11 seconds. Sa ...

– Dominican sprinter *

Joan Smalls Joan Smalls Rodriguez (born July 11, 1988) is a Puerto Rican model and television personality. In 2011, she became the first Latinas, Latina model to represent Estee Lauder Companies, Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered ''Forbes'' maga ...

– Supermodel *

Raymond Dalmau Raymond Dalmau Pérez (born October 27, 1948) is a retired Puerto Rican professional basketball player and coach. Dalmau played in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the top tier basketball league in the country, for 20 seasons with the Pir ...

- basketball player *

Rubén Colón Tarrats Rubén Colón Tarrats (b. 1940) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican composer, clarinet player and band director from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He also conducted the Banda Municipal de Ponce for ten years. He received his music training at Escuela L ...

– orchestra director *

Wanda Vazquez Garced Wanda is a female given name of Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popular in P ...

- Governor of Puerto Rico

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inter-American University Of Puerto Rico Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico Universities and colleges established in 1912 1912 establishments in Puerto Rico Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Private universities and colleges in Puerto Rico San Germán, Puerto Rico Aviation schools in the United States