SANTO DOMINGO – In an official administrative move signed into effect via Presidential Decree 517-26, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has named seasoned education leader Dinorah García Romero as the new rector of the Salomé Ureña Higher Institute of Teacher Training (ISFODOSU), the country’s preeminent public institution for preparing K-12 educators. The appointment went into immediate effect following the decree’s issuance on July 30, 2026.
As part of the executive order, Abinader formally revoked the prior appointment of Nurys María del Carmen González Durán, who had served as ISFODOSU’s rector since taking office in March 2021. The leadership transition follows a structured, formal candidate selection process overseen independently by ISFODOSU’s Board of Directors. Per the presidential decree, the board vetted applicants and finalized a shortlist of qualified candidates through its official Resolution JD-03-2026-01. The board’s nominee proposal was then submitted to the Executive Branch on July 14, 2026, by Luis Miguel De Camps García, who serves dual roles as Dominican Minister of Education and president of the ISFODOSU Board of Directors.
The decree anchors the leadership change in the Dominican government’s core legal mandate: upholding the state’s obligation to guarantee all citizens access to a high-quality public education system. The official document outlines the institution’s core mission as advancing “the comprehensive development of citizens with critical thinking, creative capacity, and a commitment to democratic principles, equity, social justice, and the sustainable development of the Nation.” It further emphasizes that all public administration appointments must meet strict standards of full transparency, legal accountability, and alignment with the broader public interest.
García Romero brings to the role more than three decades of hands-on experience across pedagogy, academic research, and higher education leadership in the Dominican Republic. She built her academic foundation at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), where she earned her undergraduate degree in Education. She went on to complete a master’s degree in Higher Education Center Management through a joint program between the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and the University of Barcelona, followed by a second master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC). She also completed doctoral-level studies in Education at the University of Murcia in Spain.
Prior to her appointment at ISFODOSU, García Romero held a series of prominent leadership roles across Dominican education, including a nine-year tenure leading the Higher Institute for Specialized Studies (ISESP) from 2016 to 2025, a period marked by significant institutional growth and consolidation for that center. She has also previously served as director of the Poveda Center and as a sitting member of the Dominican National Council of Education. Her decades of specialized work in teacher training and national curriculum development leave her uniquely positioned to lead the country’s leading university focused exclusively on training the next generation of Dominican educators.