UMPRUM elected Jindřich Smetana as rector for the second time

Prague - Jindřich Smetana is expected to be re-elected as the rector of the University of Applied Arts for the next four years. The academic senate elected him on Monday with 13 votes out of 14, one senator abstained from voting. The newly elected rector will be appointed by the president of the republic for the term from 2015 to 2019. This was reported today by the university's PR manager Veronika Pařízková.
    Smetana has been at the helm of the school since 2011. During this time, according to Pařízková, significant achievements include completing preparations for the new school building, introducing a new visual style for the school, and stabilizing the school's financing, including the continuation of successful collaboration with industry. Instead of its abbreviation VŠUP, the school now uses the term UMPRUM, which more closely refers to the school's history and its content. Plans for the construction of a new building in Ďáblice have been abandoned, and preparations are underway for the reconstruction of the former primary school on Mikulandská Street into an object that will primarily house workshops and studios.
    Jindřich Smetana is the son of architect Pavel Smetana and writer Jindřiška Smetanová. He is an alumnus of the school, graduating in 1979 under scenographer Josef Svoboda, with whom he collaborated in Laterna Magica from the early 1980s. In addition to scenography and exhibition design, he primarily focuses on cultural buildings. With his company Anima-Tech, he has realized theaters such as Spirála (1991) and Alfred ve dvoře (1997), for which he received the Grand Prix from the Association of Architects.