On 19 December, the Academic Association of the University of Minho paid tribute to Professor Emeritus of the School of Engineering, António Guimarães Rodrigues, who died on 5 November, at its 46th anniversary session.
A video lasting several minutes showed the importance of the former rector and president of EEUM to his family, former students and colleagues.
For the president of AAUMinho, Margarida Isaías, António Guimarães Rodrigues was “someone very special”. “We felt that my generation no longer knew very well who Professor Guimarães Rodrigues was and we wanted to celebrate, honour and make him known,” she explained.
“Professor António Guimarães Rodrigues was, in the best academy in the country, a unique and unrepeatable rector”. These are the words of Pedro Soares, the last president of AAUMinho to deal with Guimarães Rodrigues as rector, and there were many memories he wanted to share.
“In his relationship with the students and the AAUMinho, the professor always recognised the role of the latter, having publicly stated on numerous occasions that the Academic Association is a fundamental partner of the University,” he added.
In a speech in which he recalled the words he dedicated to him in his last speech as president of the Academic Association, when Guimarães Rodrigues was awarded the title of honorary member of AAUMinho, Pedro Soares stressed that it was at the “statutory assembly chaired by the professor that the statutes began to recognise, for the first time, in 2008, the Academic Association as the legitimate representative of the students”. “He never neglected the students, he understood that they are the fundamental reason why a university exists and their strong presence would make the university better.
The President of the School of Engineering, Professor Pedro Arezes, had already announced that António Guimarães Rodrigues would be named the “EEUM Scientific Publication Award”. The statement sent to the entire academic community on 14 November read: “As a way of paying a simple tribute to Professor António Guimarães Rodrigues, who was, among many other institutional positions, Vice-President of the School in 1995 and 1996 and President of the School in the 1997-1999 and 1999-2000 biennia, the Presidency of the School decided to give his name to one of the merit prizes that the School awards annually to members of its community. Thus, by decision of the Presidency team, the “EEUM Scientific Publication Award” will be formally named the “António Guimarães Rodrigues Scientific Publication Award“.
In 2024, when this award is presented, we will remember this same tribute and symbolically highlight the remarkable contribution of Prof António Guimarães Rodrigues to the construction and development of the School of Engineering and the University of Minho.”
Listen to the statements made by Pedro Soares and Margarida Isaías, former and current president of the AAUM respectively, as part of this tribute here.
SOURCE: RUM
