Instituto Salomé Ureña

“Instituto de Señoritas” was the first school for higher learning for ladies in the Dominican Republic.

 

The school was the dream of Eugenio María de Hostos and Dominican poet Salomé Ureña de Henriquez (Salomé Ureña – born October 21, 1850 – died March 6, 1897 from tuberculous).

 

Opened November 3, 1881, the school was the first center of higher education for women in the Dominican Republic. After 5 years open the school boasted its first graduates, 6 female teachers, very uncommon at this time. One of the original graduates was teacher and Women’s Rights activist Luisa Ozema Pellerano.

 

The building that houses the modern school was designed by the architect Marcial Pou Ricart in 1944 in an Art-Deco style.

Instituto Salomé Ureña is located on Calle 19 de Marzo #56, Ciudad Colonial, Santo Domingo.

Plaza de la Poesía has a statue of Ureña.