Editorial

Farewell to the Director of the UBA Korea Argentina Studies Center Prof. Pedro Krotsch (1942-2009)

The University of Buenos Aires Korea Argentina Studies Center informs with deep sorrow that his Director, Professor Pedro Krotsch, has passed away on July 12, 2009.

The tenuous delineation of a new world order raises the possibility of redraw the relations between both regions. Having that objective in mind is that we, at the CECA, make our contribution from the academic and cultural fields.

Krotsch, a professor of sociology, was the first post degree Secretary in the School of Social Sciences. He was in that position for eight years. During that period of time, he created several Master programs in Social Investigation, Communication & Culture, Social Politics and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences. He was Director of the University of Buenos Aires Gino Germani Research Institute and board member of the Ministry of Education National Committee on University Evaluation and Accreditation.

He worked as a guest professor in several Argentine and foreign universities. He was invited by the German government as a scholarship recipient professor to participate at the Superior Education System Institute in the Federal Republic of Germany. Also, he was a guest professor invited by the Kassel University in Germany, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Fullbright scholarship recipient and guest professor of the New York State University, Albany among others.

He wrote many books and articles about education. He also created and directed the “Pensamiento Universitario” (University Thought) and “Argumentos” (Statements) publications. Besides that, he participated in the editorial counseling of prominent national and foreign publications.

He had the capacity to see the world from a broader angle that allowed him to promote new institutional spaces. Not only was he the initiator to the superior education and university fields in Argentina, but also he led the academic reflections about the Far East world. His interest on Asia precisely started when he got to participate in the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Committee between Argentina and China that took place at Beijing in the year 2001. Thanks to that endeavor, he emerged as a leading figure in the Argentine academic scenery and became the Director of the UBA Korea Argentina Studies Center. In the last years, he endorsed the development on Asian studies and specifically the Korean studies at the University of Buenos Aires. In these two fields of study he offered his valued critic point of view. Guided by a constant concern on the Argentina’s place under the sun, he foresaw the geopolitical chance that was taking place in the international arena.

His trajectory and legacy are everlasting on us. We, who had the honor to work at his side; we, who actually got to meet him, we are witnesses of the passion that he always dedicated to his projects; we know his permanent support to the young researchers and students; we experienced his genuine generosity and his deep compromise to institutions, teaching as a comprehensive task and academic research.

Today, we embrace his legacy and promise to continue it to uphold a stronger democracy with solid institutions. Above all, we treasure in our minds what Pedro has fought the most for: a consolidated educational system based on science and technology without which Argentina, and even Latin America, cannot improve their quality of life.

We say so long to his intellectual and human excellence, to his affection, his love and his warmth. Moreover, we look forward to being guided by them in the future endeavors to come.