Mauricio Molina Ahumada

Mauricio Adolfo Molina Ahumada is a Chilean historian and academic at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV). His academic work has focused primarily on nineteenth-century Chilean history, the history of Valparaíso, and the teaching of history.

He served as director of the university's Institute of History during the 2010s and subsequently as its academic secretary. He later became chief of staff of the Rector's Office at PUCV.

Professional career

Molina studied history at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, where he obtained a master's degree in history. He has subsequently remained associated with the university's Institute of History, where he holds the rank of assistant professor. He has taught nineteenth-century Chilean history and has participated in academic initiatives concerning history education and the teaching of the social sciences.

An important component of Molina's academic activity has been the teaching and didactics of history. In 2006, he and historian Nelson Vásquez Lara coordinated the eighth Seminar on History Didactics at PUCV, which addressed the teaching of history in the classroom a5 5nd the challenges posed to historical learning in the twenty-first century.

Molina also participated as an expert in a project concerning the assessment of civic competencies documented by the Library of Congress of Chile. The report identified him as director of the Institute of History and noted his academic experience in the fields of history and citizenship. The same source recorded his academic training in history and described him at the time as pursuing doctoral studies.

Molina succeeded Eduardo Araya as director of the Institute of History in 2011. He is documented as holding the directorship by January 2012, and university records identify him as director in 2013, 2016, and 2017. He remained in office until 2017 and was succeeded by Ricardo Iglesias Segura.

As director, Molina participated in the organisation of the Institute's academic activities. In 2016, he opened its twenty-first Medieval Studies Conference, which included a commemoration of historian Héctor Herrera Cajas, a former director of the Institute and an important figure in the development of medieval and Byzantine studies in Chile.

Following his tenure as director, Molina continued his academic work at the Institute and later served as its academic secretary under director Ricardo Iglesias Segura. He subsequently joined the central administration of PUCV as chief of staff of the Rector's Office, while maintaining his affiliation with the Institute of History.

Selected works

• Molina Ahumada, Mauricio (2015). "La acción benéfica y caridad en la salud pública en Valparaíso del siglo XIX". In María Inés Concha C. (ed.). Actas IV Simposio de Historia Religiosa de Valparaíso. Valparaíso. pp. 139–159.