The University of Miami Senate voted for their Speaker Pro Tempore for the 2026-2027 school year, with Rafael Gonzalez-Acosta winning the election held on Wednesday, March 25.
The Speaker Pro Tempore is the second-in-command of the Senate, and works closely with the Speaker. Trinity Vodovoz was recently elected to be the next Senate Speaker.
As Gonzalez-Acosta prepares to step into his new role, he is reflecting on the goals he hopes to achieve.
“My biggest goal for Senate is to create better connections with constituencies and administration,” said Gonzalez-Acosta. “The First Year Senators can have forums with freshmen for example, and have space to actually talk with their constituents.”
Gonzalez-Acosta joined the Senate during the first semester of his freshman year. He is a current junior and has served as a College of Engineering Senator for the past three years.
In this role, Gonzalez-Acosta worked to widen engineering software access beyond UM Wi-Fi.
“I worked with IT to make a virtual machine where you can access the software off campus so commuter students don’t have to stay here until midnight finishing assignments,” Gonzalez-Acosta said.
He also served as the Faculty Senate Liaison where he worked with administration members and relayed information back to Student Senate.
During his time on Senate, Gonzalez-Acosta has pushed to improve grade transparency for students alongside fellow Senators.
“We want professors to be posting grades on time and for students to have access to the grading scale on the syllabus before registering for classes,” Gonzalez-Acosta said.
His years of experience and collaboration with fellow Senators prepared Gonzalez-Acosta to run for Speaker Pro Tempore.
“I was inspired by the Senators that came before me,” Gonzalez-Acosta said. “My big in Senate was the Speaker Pro Tempore during my freshman year, so it’s like I am standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Gonzalez-Acosta was one of four candidates in the Speaker Pro Tempore election. He ran against his fellow Co-Chair of Academic Affairs, as well as the two Chairs of University Affairs, making for a competitive race. They each gave a three minute speech, with an additional 90 seconds for questions.
A specific issue that Gonzalez-Acosta would like to further address in Senate is the career services department at UM. He wants to improve resume reviews and career fairs for all students.
“Miami is an industry hub. The industries should be coming to campus,” said Gonzalez-Acosta.
As a student leader, Gonzalez-Acosta hopes to leave a legacy in Senate by setting an example for future Senators and creating a tight-knit community.
“The Speaker and I want to leave Senate better than we found it, and build a long-lasting relationship between students and administration,” said Gonzalez-Acosta.