Student well-being and infrastructure: the pillars of the UC Chile tour of New York universities
Visits to student residences, spaces of campus life, and research centers have been a central part of the itinerary followed by the UC Chile delegation led by President Juan Carlos de la Llera, in New York City. There, they met with university officials from Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and New York University.
photo_camera UC Chile delegation at Princeton University, at the Electric Propulsion and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory, with Professor Edgar Choueiri
A 26-story residential building with 352 apartment units and common areas such as lounges, terraces, a gym, and study rooms open 24 hours a day: this is “The House,” a student housing facility of Cornell Tech, a Cornell University campus, which the UC Chile delegation will visit during its trip to New York.
The UC Chile committee, composed of President Juan Carlos de la Llera, Vice President for Academic Affairs Mario Ponce, and Executive Director Isabel Alarcón, began its activities in the United States on Monday May 18th, and will continue until Friday May 22nd.
The UC Chile delegation will meet with officials from highly prestigious institutions of higher education, such as Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and New York University, to learn more about their research centers, undergraduate programs, and student well-being initiatives, as well as the student experience and the infrastructure that supports campus life.
“On this trip, many extraordinary universities are opening their doors to this delegation so we can learn about areas directly related to our upcoming strategy,” comments the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The tour and its objectives are aligned with the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, particularly with key areas such as “A university connected to the world,” and “A transformative educational experience,” which draw on visits to various campuses, providing insights into their infrastructure, student housing, and wellness programs.
This is also linked to the area “A university at the service of Chile’s challenges,” through meetings and activities focused on climate change, such as the tour to Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
The tour also aligns the area “A community that transcends time,” by fostering connections with UC Chile alumni living in New York, with whom a gathering was organized– similar to the trip taken in April to universities in Scotland.
University life and student well-being
During the tour, the UC Chile committee visited different New York universities’ campuses, such as Columbia University’s Morningside campus.
Lorena Prosco, Executive Director of Residential Services and Student Center Operations, led the tour, during which she showcased facilities designed to support university life, such as the student center, the library, and the housing and dining areas.
This is one of the most tangible points of the UC Chile Strategic Plan: the transformation of campuses through new infrastructure designed for university life, a project that, among other initiatives, includes the creation of the first student residence hall.
In addition to visiting Columbia University’s housing facilities, on Thursday the delegation will also visit Cornell Tech, Cornell University’s postgraduate campus and research center on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan.
The main residential building, known as “The House,” is one of the largest and tallest student housing complexes in the world built to “Passive House” standards. It meets strict energy efficiency criteria, which allows it to reduce its energy consumption by 60% to 80% compared to conventional buildings.
“The House” is home to students, faculty members, and affiliates of the graduate school, and features two lounges, an outdoor terrace, a fitness center, and study rooms open 24 hours a day.
The delegation also visited Gensler, a global architecture, planning and design firm with 57 offices in 16 countries. The firm is advising UC Chile on the design of three buildings focused on university life at the San Joaquín Campus: the first student residence hall, a 3,000-seat stadium, and the Student Center.
Along with infrastructure, the topic of student well-being was discussed with Melanie Bernitz, Executive Vice President of UC Chile University Life and Well-being, and Tamika Peaker, Executive Assistant for the Executive Vice President of University Life and Well-being from Columbia University.
How to train leaders to address the challenges of climate change
Another highlight of the trip was the visit to Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a renowned research observatory founded in 1949, that studies the origin, evolution, and future of the natural world.
Regarding this visit, Mario Ponce highlighted that that this experience and all the knowledge acquired will be applied to “a new earth sciences initiative that we are currently developing at the university.”
Along the same lines, the UC Chile delegation will meet on Thursday May 21st with authorities and experts from the Columbia Climate School, which, through postgraduate programs, research, and other learning opportunities, trains climate leaders to address today’s challenges.
