Iñaki Sandoval Campillo elected director of UT Viljandi Culture Academy

The new director of the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy is Iñaki Sandoval Campillo who currently works as professor, dean of graduate studies and director of the Jazz Department at the Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona. The new director will start his term on 1 September.

Associate Professor of Regional Planning and former Director of the UT Pärnu College Garri Raagma and Iñaki Sandoval Campillo ran for director of the culture academy. The new director was elected by a 25 member electoral council which comprised of members of the Viljandi Culture Academy council and council of advisors.

The term of office of the current director of the culture academy Anzari Barkalaja ends on 31 August.

Iñaki Sandoval Campillo received a PhD from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2013 (PhD in Art History and Musicology), has worked as a lecturer in the Pamplona Conservatory and as a teaching assistant at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. He is a renowned jazz pianist with numerous concerts and albums.

The election of the director took place for the second time after the University of Tartu’s rector Volli Kalm did not approve the decision of the electoral council, which comprised of the Viljandi Culture Academy council and council of advisors, on 22 June to elect Garri Raagmaa as the director of the academy.

The decision is based on the dispute by member of the electoral council Helir–Valdor Seeder regarding the electoral procedure. The dispute referred to the fact that the regulation of electing the director of the Viljandi Culture Academy is not in accordance with the academy’s statutes. Also, the rules of voting secret ballot in university were applied incorrectly.

The new election took place on 24 July at 14:00 in the main building of the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy and resulted in the Spaniard Campillo being elected as the director with 14 votes in his favour.

Additional information: Mart Meri, chairman of the electoral council, tel.: 512 7314