Oliva, who also chairs the Association of Public Universities of Andalusia (AUPA), proclaimed that "José Carlos was always a rector", praising the figure of the former head of UCO and minister. The news of his death reached them through the current rector of UCO, Manuel Torralbo.

The UPO rector recalled a continuous relationship of six years, the last four as head of the Ministry, which began as a tutorial relationship. He remembered that after winning his first elections as rector of Pablo de Olavide, "the first person I visited, before taking office, was him." At that time, Gómez Villamandos was "president of the Spanish rectors," of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), and offered him "good advice" and "guidance," as Oliva reflects.

Regarding the separation between personal and professional relationships, especially when the rector claimed resources and the minister managed them, Paco Oliva stated: "We always knew how to separate the personal and the professional." He added that "beyond disagreements, the person remains."

After recalling that he was "a young person, 63 years old, taken down by an illness," Oliva noted that their last meeting was on "Friday, May 15, the last day of the campaign." Gómez Villamandos attended the meeting that the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, held with rectors, "making a huge effort," despite the fact that "it was evident he was unwell," although he was "in good spirits."