Father Secilio Espinal

He was born in Monción, Santiago Rodríguez on June 3, 1972. He holds a PhD in Education, concentration in Leadership in Higher Education, from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

He completed an International master’s degree in University Management at the Universidad Alcalá de Henares, Spain; a master’s degree in Pontificia Universidad Gregoriana in Rome, Italy; and a master’s degree in University Management and Teaching at the Universidad Católica de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He also holds a degree in Theology from the Seminario Pontificio Santo Tomás de Aquino de Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo and a degree in Philosophy from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra of the Dominican Republic.

He studied specialty in University Teaching at the Catholic University of Santo Domingo and has completed several diplomas, among which are: Distance Higher Education and use of Virtual Learning Environments under a Competency Approach, at the Universidad Católica de Santo Domingo (UAPA); Management of Accompaniment Processes in the Educational Center, at the Universidad de Sevilla, Spain, and at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC); Human Resources Management, Entrepreneurship, Santo Domingo; Human Resources Administration, at the Universidad Psicología Industrial Dominicana (UPI), Santo Domingo; and Vocation Ministry, at ITEPAL – CELAM, Bogotá, Colombia.

To his professional endorsement is added many courses, seminars and workshops in leadership, management of higher education and pastoral work, as well as his studies and mastery of English, Italian and Creole. In addition, his participation as a lecturer, panelist, and moderator in national and international congresses.

In his professional career he has served as rector of the Universidad Católica Tecnológica de Barahona (UCATEBA) and university professor of undergraduate and postgraduate studies, at the same university, of the subjects Professional Ethics, Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to the Bible, Biblical and Theological Foundations, and Ethics and Introduction to the Bible.

It is part of institutions and organizations, occupying management, and membership positions. Currently, he is president of the Asociación Dominicana de Universidades Católicas e Institutos Especializados Católicos de la República Dominicana (ADUCA), and a member of the Comité Ejecutivo del Consorcio Hemisférico de Universidades (HUC). He was vice president of the Asociación de Rectores de Universidades Dominicana (ADRU), and vice president of the Consejo para el Desarrollo Estratégico de Santiago (CDES); He is also a member of the Consejo de Directores de la Fundación de Apoyo al Suroeste (FUNDASUR) and member of the Consejo de Educación Superior Ciencia y Tecnología (CONESCyT).

For his contributions in the professional field and for his pastoral work he has received recognitions from the Universidad Católica Tecnológica de Barahona (UCATEBA), the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Mipymes; the Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, the Asociación Dominicana de Rectores de Universidades (ADRU), the Instituto de Contadores Públicos Autorizados, Filial Barahona (ICPARD); the Escuela Dominicana de Comunicación Oral (EDOCO), the Colegio Dominicano de Periodistas (CDP) y Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Prensa (SNTP), and the Asociación para el Desarrollo de la Provincia Bahoruco, Inc. (ADEPROBA). Also, he was declared “Meritorious Son of the city of Barahona”, by the City Council of the Municipality of Barahona.