"Now is the time to rediscover unity. The University of Sassari needs to rediscover its role as a community." These were the first words spoken yesterday in the Aula Magna by Omar Chessa, elected rector for the six-year term 2026-32 with 364 votes , surpassing the 312 votes of Francesco Morandi, Professor of Tourism and Navigation Law. The Professor of Constitutional Law immediately addressed the differences with the outgoing Professor, Gavino Mariotti, who was elected in 2020.
"First of all, the important ones that concern the general political guidelines of the University," he stated. The other issue concerns the University of Olbia project, supported by Mariotti, for which the Region is investing €45 million in the Innovation Department over the next 15 years. "We will bring the issue to the attention of the academic bodies," the professor stated, "and we will carefully evaluate the resources allocated. I think it needs to be reconsidered, but without throwing the baby out with the bathwater ."
He then added other short-term, urgent priorities: "We must give an opportunity to the many researchers waiting for a competitive exam to become university professors. These will be difficult years," he continued, noting that "Sardinia's problems are reflected in this university. First, demographic depopulation, then resources, and the low school enrollment rate. All factors that do not help us in the national competition between universities." Then he concluded, regarding his university: "The sense of freedom, which is the very essence of a university, must be rebuilt. I will be the rector of all because divisions, like factions, lead nowhere."