Founded 15 September 1956 | Type Cultural Organization Area served Southern Puerto Rico | |
Founder Dr. Ramón Zapata Acosta Focus Fine Arts, Literature, Social Sciences, Physical Sciences | ||
The Ateneo de Ponce (English: Ponce Atheneum) is a nonprofit, civic, non governmental organization located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that seeks to preserve and promote Ponce's cultural traditions. The institution, founded on September 15, 1956, by Dr. Ramón Zapata Acosta, is one of Ponce's chief cultural institutions.
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Location
The Ponce Atheneum does not have a permanent physical brick-and-mortar location. It operates either out of donated space at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico or the Museo de Arte de Ponce for its meetings and symposiums.
History
The mission of the Ateneo de Ponce is to preserve and promote the culture of the sciences, literature and the arts. To achieve its mission, on September 15, 1956, the Atheneum was formed and memorialized via an inaugural ball. There were 111 co-founding partners led by Dr. Ramón Zapata, who was the president of the Atheneum during several terms. To achieve its objectives the Atheneum organizes a variety of activities such as dissertations, conferences, tournaments, publications, concerts, and various other presentations. Dr. Zapata Acosta is recognized at Ponce's Tricentennial Park for his contributions in the field of literature.
Organization
The Atheneum is made up of five sections: social sciences, physical sciences and mathematics, history, literature, and fine arts. The administrative staff consists of the members of the Governing Board, which has nine members: president, vicepresident, secretary, treasurer, the presidents of the five sections. As of 2007, the Atheneum had 60 regular members in its roster.
Its current officers are: