This morning, Miguel Hernández University (UMH) awarded journalist Paloma del Río an Honorary Doctorate during the closing ceremony of the academic year. The sponsor of the new Honorary Doctorate is Carmen María López Rico, professor of Journalism at the UMH. During the ceremony, held in the Assembly Hall of the Rectorate and Social Council building on the Elche campus, the UMH also presented 93 extraordinary graduation awards for the 2023/24 academic year for undergraduate and master’s degrees.

The event was chaired by the Rector of the UMH, Juan José Ruiz; the Vice President of the Board of Trustees, Diego García; the Vice Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer, Ángel Carbonell; the Vice Rector for Students and Coordination, José Juan López; and the Secretary General of the UMH, Mercedes Sánchez. Among those present were the President of the Valencian Parliament, Llanos Massó; the Regional Secretary for Universities, Esther Gómez; and the Director General of Universities, José Antonio Pérez.

Prior to the ceremony, Paloma del Río, a leading sports journalist, inaugurated the Brachychiton discolor tree (Brachychiton discolor) in the Honorary Conferees’ Garden on the UMH Elche campus. The tree was planted in her honor by the University of Mexico (UMH). The Honorary Conferees’ Garden is located near the Rector’s Office and Social Council building and its objective is to preserve and offer recognition to the various Honoris Causa awarded by the UMH. This initiative began several years ago, and in it, each Honoris Causa awarded a tree is chosen to be planted next to their informational posters with the name of the Honoris Causa, as well as the common and specific names of the tree, accompanied by a QR code with more information about the tree planted.

Paloma del Río, a leading figure in Spanish sports journalism, has developed her journalistic career over 37 years at RTVE, where she held positions such as Editor-in-Chief of Sports, Director of Sports Programs, and Coordinator of Sponsorships and Federations. An unmistakable voice in disciplines such as gymnastics, figure skating, and equestrian, she has covered 16 Olympic Games and has become a symbol of sports journalism for public service television.