Freytes was born in 1950.[1] She completed a Ed.D. at Boston University School of Education.[1] Her 1977 thesis was titled, Paired-Associate Learning with Spanish and English Mediation in a Bilingual Population.[1] Sue Allen Warren was her doctoral advisor.[1] Her study found that verbal mediation significantly improved paired-associate learning in bilingual children, with English mediation yielding better results than Spanish mediation, regardless of the children's language proficiency.[1]
By 1976, Freytes was working in the department of reading and language at the BU School of Education and was a member of The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS).[2] The following year she was an assistant professor of education at Boston University.[3] Freytes began teaching at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus in 1979.[4] She has been involved in various projects focused on higher education and the self-study process.[4]
In 2013, Freytes was a member of Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla's transitional team before he took office as governor; Garcia Padilla contacted her directly about becoming interim president of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) before she was named to the position.[5][6] In January 2016, she began her first term as a commissioner on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[4]
Freytes has held multiple administrative positions at UPR, including vice president for academic affairs.[7] She first served as interim president from September to November 2013 and was appointed to the position again in February 2016, following the resignation of former president Uroyoán Walker after a controversy regarding the awarding of presidential scholarships for the 2015 to 2016 academic year.[7][8] During her second term as interim president, Freytes focused on managing the university's financial difficulties, developing a new strategic plan for 2016 to 2021, and ensuring compliance with accreditation standards from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[8][7]
Freytes Gonzalez announced on February 16, 2017, that she and other UPR leaders were renouncing from their positions, a move that was investigated by the Puerto Rican senate.[9] She was succeeded by Nivia Fernández Hernández as interim president of the UPR.[10]