2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHTEEN - Education (§§ 1 — 3510-3520) › PART III - Educational Activities Generally (§§ 861-866 — 1597b) › Chapter 61 - Scholarships (§§ 861-866 — 910v) › § 910k - Cataloging and preservation of the patrimony

(a) The “Specialization in Cataloging and Preservation of the Historic, Cultural and Artistic Patrimony Scholarships Program”, attached to the University of Puerto Rico, is hereby created, which shall be administered and implemented by a Special Joint Committee, as provided in subsection (c) of this section.
The purpose of this program is to provide economic support to employees who work as archivists in any historic archive or document depository of any dependency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for studies addressed to obtaining of Master’s and Doctor’s university degrees in Preservation and Archivistics, archaeology, conservation and restoring of historic structures and curatorships of works of art, among other subjects related to the current program, to students who have shown a high degree of academic achievement in their studies, sufficient capacity for post-graduate studies in universities, as well as a special interest and genuine commitment toward the Puerto Rican culture.
The scholarships created by virtue of this section shall be distributed according to the needs of the university student and the value of same shall be applied to the payment of enrollment fees, the purchase of text books, lodging expenses or any other necessary expense, as part of the study program leading to a Master’s or Doctor’s degree in Archivistics. The University of Puerto Rico may use the resources of this Program to contract professors specialized in these areas.
(b) It is hereby established as the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to achieve the optimal development of our students and to provide the necessary mechanisms for them to achieve their professional development goals in such a way that they may use the knowledge acquired specifically for the protection of the historic, cultural and artistic patrimony of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in service to our society and the community. Thus, our society shall benefit by the development of educated and trained young professionals, who upon joining our work force shall collaborate to improve the quality of life and services in our country.
(c) The Special Joint Commission of the Specialization in Cataloging and Preservation of the Historic, Cultural and Artistic Patrimony Scholarships Program, attached to the University of Puerto Rico, is hereby created. The Commission shall be comprised of the Archivist General of Puerto Rico, the Director of Museums and Parks, the Director of the National Library, the Director of the Library of the University of Puerto Rico, the President of the University of Puerto Rico, the Director or Executive Director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and a member representing the public interest appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for a total of seven (7) members.
The President of the University of Puerto Rico shall be the Chairman of said Committee and its Vice-Chairman shall be the Director or Executive Director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.
(d) Functions of the Committee. — The Special Joint Committee shall have the responsibility of evaluating candidates for the “Specialization in Cataloging and Preservation of the Historic, Cultural and Artistic Patrimony Scholarships Program of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”, attached to the University of Puerto Rico, who are interested in continuing post-graduate studies leading to obtaining Master’s and Doctor’s degrees in Archivistics, Archaeology, the conservation and restoring of historic structures, curatorships of works of art, among other matters related to the current program in diverse duly-certified public or private universities, in Puerto Rico or abroad. It shall also be its responsibility to receive and interview the applicants who, according to the regulations approved, qualify for these scholarships. The selection of the scholars shall be based upon criteria of economic need and academic achievement. Likewise, it shall be responsible for establishing and promoting the direction, disclosure and promotion of this program, as well as the consideration of such university professors specialized in this area for their potential contracting.
The Committee shall submit an annual report to the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the implementation, administration and achievements attained through the Program.
(e) Regulations. — The Special Joint Committee shall approve regulations no later than sixty (60) days counting from the approval of this act. Provided, That said regulations shall establish the rules, procedures and all matters needed to expedite the skilled and effective implementation of this Program including, but not limited to the requirements or rules needed for the selection of the students; evaluation criteria; procedures for the payment and disbursement of the scholarships; academic achievement requirements; cancellation or suspension of the scholarship when the academic achievement, behavior or any other circumstance does so warrant; the approval for contracting of specialized professors, if any, and any other matter that the Special Joint Committee deems convenient to achieve the purposes and objectives of this section.
(f) Executive Director of the Committee. — The members of the Committee, by simple majority, shall appoint an Executive Director to direct and exercise the administrative functions of the Committee. The salary or remuneration of the Executive Director shall be established pursuant to the rules and criteria set forth with the advi[c]e and consent of the Committee. The Executive Director shall exercise his/her administrative duties under the supervision and direction of the Committee, from whom he/she may receive the necessary administrative support to discharge his/her functions.
The Executive Director shall be responsible for determining the internal work of the Committee and shall establish the mechanisms and procedures needed for its agile, effective and adequate operation, as well as for the execution of the necessary administrative and management actions needed for the implementation of this section and the regulations adopted by virtue of subsection (e) of this section and any other function which may be delegated to him/her.
(g) Stipends. — The scholarships granted by virtue of this Program shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) a year for each student. The scholarship amount shall be paid to each student pursuant to the regulation created by virtue of subsection (e) of this section. Scholarships may be renewed annually for a period that shall not exceed the term prescribed for the corresponding academic degree in the curriculum of the institution where they pursue their studies.
(h) It is hereby established as a requirement for the granting of this scholarship, that its beneficiary shall be bound to render two (2) years of service to the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, or the University of Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth Historic Conservation Office, or the School of Plastic Arts. It is thus guaranteed that the funds invested in the education of the scholarship awardees shall have a significant impact on the preservation, conservation and disclosure of our cultural patrimony. If the scholarship awardee is an employee of a document archive or repository of any dependency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, he/she may render such services in his/her workplace.
History —Aug. 4, 2004, No. 187, §§ 1—8.