print pdf - University of the Philippines Diliman
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print pdf - University of the Philippines Diliman
UPdate Magazine MARCH-AUGUST 2014 • Volume 1 • Number 1 UP Diliman under a new administration Pride of place; Boldness of vision Cover Photo: Dr. Gil Jacinto WHAT’S INSIDE Pride of place; Boldness of vision Chancellor Michael L. Tan 3 UP Diliman: resources and challenges 5 Re-engineering academics: Dr. Benito M. Pacheco Chi A. Ibay 6 Strengthening the culture of research: Dr. Fidel R. Nemenzo Bino C. Gamba 8 Haidee C. Pineda 14 Creating vibrant spaces: Dr. Nestor T. Castro Anna Regidor 16 Rediscovering naiveté Teresa Paula De Luna 18 Academician, public servant, administrator Improved efficiency: Prof. Virginia C. Yap Mariamme D. Jadloc Bibingka leadership: Dr. Neil Martial R. Santillan Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay 20 10 Candid conversation with an “accidental” chancellor 12 EDITOR’S NOTE W e are pleased to introduce UPdate Magazine, our platform for free and spirited discussions on issues and concerns affecting UP Diliman (UPD) and the nation. As the public information and communication arm of UPD, the UP Diliman Information Office (UPDIO) is committed to produce and disseminate up-to-date information about and for our community. Most recently, details on the achievements, honors received, activities and other interesting stories on members of the UPD community were again delivered to your offices via the printed UPdate, our community newspaper after three years of hiatus. For our maiden issue of UPdate Magazine, we introduce the new UPD administration and its mission and vision for the community, which Chancellor Michael Lim Tan foregrounds via his exposition of what it means by place-making vis-à-vis the concept of space as safe, nurturing, shared, connected and sustainable. In the essays introducing our new vice chancellors (VCs), our VCs have interrogated and connected the thrust of their respective offices to Chancellor Tan’s provocation of “Pride of Place; Boldness of Vision.” Included in this issue are two essays written by Dr. Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay and Prof. Teresa Paula De Luna who provide glimpses of Chancellor Tan as an administrator and as an educator. Chancellor Tan visited the office one afternoon in June. He talked about a lot of interesting stuff except his post as the new leader of UPD. The discussion was really interesting. We decided to annotate the recorded-meeting/ discussion and post it as the magazine’s centerpiece with one agenda in mind: to give you a peek into the heart and mind of UPD’s top executive officer. We hope you enjoy our first issue of UPdate Magazine. Sir Anril PinedaTiatco EDITOR Sir Anril Pineda Tiatco MANAGING EDITOR Chi A. Ibay ASSOCIATE EDITOR Mariamme D. Jadloc ART DIRECTOR Denes V. Dasco WRITERS Albino C. Gamba Jr., Haidee C. Pineda, Anna Kristine E. Regidor PHOTOGRAPHERS Leonardo A. Reyes, Jefferson Villacruz ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Shirley S. Arandia CIRCULATION OFFICERS Narciso S. Achico Jr., Pia Ysabel C. Cala, Raul R. Camba, Agnes P. Guerrero 2 The UPdate Magazine is UP Diliman’s platform for discussion and a bi-annual publication of the UP Diliman Information Office under the Office of the Chancellor, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Its editorial office News is located at the Villamor March-August Hall Osmeña Avenue, 2014 UP Diliman, Quezon City, with telephone numbers 981-8500 locals 3982 and 3983, telefax (+632) 924UPdate Magazine 1882, email address: [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this news magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the University of the Philippines unless otherwise specified in the story. l MICHAEL L. TAN January 17, 2014 Pride of place; Boldness of vision (Editorial note: Chancellor Tan’s vision paper was prepared in January 2014, one of the requirements in the search process for a new chancellor.) I have walked around this campus many times too, as a student dating back to the 1970s, through almost 30 years as a faculty member. As an administrator—nine years as the chair of the anthropology department and three-and-a-half as dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy—the walks have more often been to recharge and to renew and to declare, “This is why I stay. This is the UP I love.” My vision paper is a time to share with you the many insights gathered during these long walks, alone and with friends, many from outside the academe, people I have worked with in civil society, mass media, government, even donor agencies where I have seen what can be done when there is committed leadership. Finally, I will describe my vision for the way we can move toward our goals, in terms of an academic citizenship that is collegial and informed, just and fair, and ethical, guided by servant leadership. UPD spaces. I envision a UPD where spaces are safe, nurturing, shared, connected and sustainable. My vision of a safe campus takes many dimensions. Foremost, safe means secured, where we can walk around without fear of being held up, of being approached by “budolbudol” gangs. Security budgets should never be compromised, even as we look for measures beyond guards and CCTV. There are times too when the euphoria turns into dismay, seeing deteriorating buildings, littering and vandalism, loudspeakers blaring away what vaguely resembles music, promo agents giving out free samples of junk food, even, one time, skin “whiteners.” I have always loved the sunsets in Diliman but now sometimes I have a feeling of dread as darkness sets in, knowing our campus has become so unsafe. Despair sometimes sets in hearing of limited budgets for maintenance. in the past, but able to work on a bolder and more outward-looking vision, setting our horizons beyond our own colleges toward a Diliman perspective, toward a One UP system, to the nation and into the world. That journey toward and beyond the horizon must use tools of research, transdisciplinary, with varied perspectives and tools. Physical security is also proactive, and a major component should be disaster preparedness. Whether in response to crime or to disasters, UPD must emphasize prevention and preparedness. I will start out talking about what UPD should and could be, in terms of spaces, because we cannot talk about projects without a vision of the environment in which those programs can be planned and implemented. I will talk about the need for spaces that are safe, nurturing, shared, connected and sustainable. I will then move into a more specific vision that starts with pride of place, and time, grounding ourselves Spaces must be “safe” too in terms of a campus that is aesthetically pleasing and, in the process, environmentfriendly. I envision a campus that sets the pace for healthier living, starting with food service units that understand the dietary needs of all our constituents, from young students, to retired staff, all the way up to incentives for energy conservation, of roads giving priority to people, walking and biking. Second, we need spaces that are nurturing, meaning spaces where we can grow, learn and thrive. This means giving top priority to infrastructure, to equipment and to UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 3 Finally, our spaces must be sustainable, which means integrating the concepts of “safe,” “nurturing,” “connected” and “shared”. To give just one concrete example, I believe that if we have more public spaces, provided with tables and benches, well lit at night, with WiFI, we will encourage faculty, students and staff to use these spaces for studying, working, as well for recreation and leisure, we will have a safer campus because criminals avoid places where there are people who enjoy life, and who will defend those spaces. The past and future as present. TheUPDanceCompany,theresidentdancecompanyoftheCollegeofMusic,performingthepieceentitled“Flight.” libraries, even as we train our faculty and students to enhance the art of mentoring through “old fashioned” ways of listening and teaching-bydoing. Our bias in UP has tended to be toward the mind, and I would like to see spaces also for the body and spirit. I would like to continue the initiatives started by the current administration for sports development but integrated with other programs such as psychosocial support, all working toward wellness. I envision a tackling of the problem of health financing and insurance, having seen how catastrophic illnesses can ruin the families of our faculty, students and staff. Third, our spaces must be shared. We must dismantle turfing and territoriality and encourage a sense of stewardship, recognizing UP spaces can never be permanently assigned to anyone, to any unit, and that we need to prove we are worthy of such spaces by exercising responsibility. I believe students must have learning commons in each academic unit, learning here to include studying, as well as recreation and socialization. Faculty and staff need spaces too for continuing learning and renewal. 4 UPD was exemplary in opening our spaces to UP Tacloban students and that generosity of spirit must extend to the communities within the campus. Much can be done to improve living facilities of faculty, students and staff, and I would like to address as well the issue of some 70,000 informal settlers. I do not believe in eviction and would like to work with the UPD community, including the informal settlers, toward containment, with the existing settlers taking on their share in stake-holding. Fourth, we must have connected spaces. We must continue to expand our connectivity in terms of the new information technologies, but I think of connectivity as well in terms of a constant flow of information among all constituents, so that we are an informed UPD, about each other and about the world outside. Connectivity means our spaces are porous, and, in an academic environment, that means people are able to work across disciplines. It means we develop a research culture that uses different perspectives and tools, making them more powerful in guiding policy and practice. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 Having described my vision for spaces, I would like to talk about how those spaces can be used to move toward honor and excellence. First, we need to ground ourselves in the past. At UP, and in Diliman particularly, we tend to look back, pat ourselves on the back, and declare, “Ang galing galing natin.” Well and good but let us not rest on our laurels. We need a more active pride in place, “place” here not just being geographical, but of the mind as well. My vision acknowledges that our rich past is present. But we often forget that there are still many aspects of our heritage that we do not know of, waiting to be unearthed, rediscovered. UPD plays a lead role here through archaeology, history, anthropology and linguistics, the arts and humanities. Other units are translating the rhetoric into action, tapping into and applying indigenous concepts for various endeavors, for example, in architecture. Second, while our past roots us, as Filipinos, we need to move forward. We often hear that as a nation of islands, we tend to become insular and parochial, certainly an issue that has plagued us in Diliman, where we have become like an archipelago. But I would like to think, too, that as a nation of islands, we have boldness Turntopage22 UP Diliman: resources and challenges UP Diliman (UPD) is the largest CU (constituent university) of the UP System. The following facts and figures (as of 2nd semester AY 2013-2014) can be interpreted as resources, as well as challenges, of Diliman. ACADEMIC PROGRAMS: 376 Pre-Baccalaureate Certificate/Diploma 20 Baccalaureate 120 Post-Baccalaureate Certificate/Diploma 12 Masters 152 Doctorate 71 Juris Doctor 1 FACULTY 2,192 Full Professors 211 Associate Professors 269 Assistant Professors 623 Instructors 399 Lecturers 690 Visiting professors 32 Faculty with Masters degrees 619 Faculty with Doctoral degrees 456 Professors Emeriti 15 STUDENTS 23, 757 Undergraduate 16,672 Masters 5,896 Doctoral 1,189 Faculty to student ratio 1 : 11 approx. Graduate to undergraduate ratio 1 : 2 approx. Male to female ratio International students 10 : 13 257 Dr.MichaelL.TanaffirmshispositionasChancellorofUPDilimanbeforeUPPresident AlfredoE.PascualonFeb.28,2014.Tanwasappointed10thchancellorofUPDbytheUP Board of Regents on Feb. 27. He serves a 3-year term from Mar. 1 to Mar. 2, 2017. Research, Extension and Professional Staff: 421 (as of Dec. 31, 2013) Administrative staff: 1,397 (as of Dec. 31, 2013), not including project-based contractual staff and outsourced personnel for security and utilities Campus area: 493 hectares, including eight barangays. This figure does not include extension programs in Clark and Olongapo. Also not included are research stations of the Marine Science Institute in Bolinao, Pangasinan and Puerto Galera, Mindoro. Academic buildings: 138 with nine under construction Informal settlers living on campus: 70,000 (estimate) Total Internal Operating Budget/IOB (Appropriated) for 2014: P2,858,981,000, of which P2.1 billion is for personnel services (salaries and benefits), P437 million is for maintenance and other operating expenses and P317 million is for capital outlays.u UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 5 CHI A. IBAY image LEONARDO A. REYES Re-engineering academics: Dr. Benito M. Pacheco For one with a lot on his plate, Dr. Benito M. Pacheco seems largely undaunted. A ppointed Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs by the Board of Regents effective May 1, he is tasked to roll out bolder, even bigger initiatives to make, and keep UP Diliman’s (UPD) academic programs at par with that of other higher education institutions (HEI) in the ASEAN region, if not the world. This herculean task, of course, has been a constant challenge to all incumbents to the position since UPD was formally established as a constituent university in 1985. Today, however, it has become the university’s urgent, all-compelling goal, given the new UP Charter, global and regional trends and the impending ASEAN Economic Cooperation 2015 (AEC 2015). The AEC 2015 seeks to transform the 10 member countries of the ASEAN into: a) a single market; b) a highly competitive economic region; c) a region of equitable economic development, and d) a region fully integrated into the global economy, notes ASEAN.org. For UP, the task is “to produce graduates who can compete in 6 the global market and undertake researches that can contribute to the growth and development of communities,” explained Dr. Rhodora Azanza, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs of the UP System (UPS) in the article “Symbiosis”/”Mutualism” and the University of the Philippines’ Enhanced and Strategic Internationalization Agenda posted Feb. 21 in the UPS website. Not only academics but many professionals are gearing up for cross-border practice. Perhaps by coincidence, perhaps not, Pacheco, a Professional Regulation Commission licensed civilstructural engineer is also an accredited ASEAN Engineer and an APEC Engineer. Making it work. “I feel a great deal of pressure from the academic calendar shift, internationalization and K-to-12,” he said. “These are three different and overlapping issues but these are the front issues for academic affairs,” Pacheco said of the challenges he faces. On Mar. 24, the UPD University Council voted at a special meeting to move the start of the academic UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 calendar from Jun. to Aug., effective academic year 2014-2015. The shift, according to UP President Alfredo E. Pascual as reported in the UPS website, “is part of the continuing efforts of UP to develop into a regional and global university and to maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global educational partnerships.” Meanwhile, the K-to-12 Program of the Department of Education adds kindergarten and extends primary and secondary education to 12 years to “provide sufficient time for mastery of concept and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment and entrepreneurship,” according to the the “Official Gazette.” Internationalization, Pacheco is quick to add, is in fact much more than shifting the academic calendar and adding years to the total schooling of bachelor graduates to keep them at par with foreign graduates. Internationalization is “balancing the needs of the Philippine nation with the needs of the world’s community of nations.” He points out further that, “in a sense, UP has always been international with its roots from the founding by the Americans in 1908: UP has worked very hard to earn its mandate to be the national university of the Philippines under its new charter in 2008. Now, UP is facing, like many other Philippine universities, a new wave of internationalization that is less US-centric.” Given the circumstances, Pacheco is resolute. “As engineers, we always find the means to make it work,” he said. A civil engineer with a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Tokyo, he is seriously mulling his priorities and feels strongly about four key areas: the academic curriculum, graduate programs, faculty development and the learning commons. Curriculum and benchmarking. “With curriculum, we are implying the undergraduate curriculum that will interface with the K-to-12 and benchmark with ASEAN,” he said. “Curricular review is going to be more important than ever,” he said, since the review looks at whether or not a 4 or 5-year curriculum is still up-to-date. He also considers program review an equally important task since it looks at the enrollment, graduation and employment rates, among others. He however notes that program review usually plays a backseat to curricular review, but presently, the UPS is encouraging the former, for which Pacheco intends to seek additional resources. The General Education (GE) part of undergraduate programs is in itself a major area of concern. In the medium and long term, Pacheco says, UP and other HEIs are going to move to so-called universal courses that are not very specific to domains such as Math, Science and Technology (MST), or Arts and Humanities (AH), or Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP). It so happens that Pacheco is codeveloper and co-teacher of a new GE course called Civil Engineering 10 – Disaster Mitigation, Adaptation and Preparedness Strategies or DMAPS. Qualified as both MST and SSP domains, the new course has been taken by over 240 undergraduate students from all colleges and units of Diliman and DMAPS is being considered by all UP constituent universities, as well. It is also being revised to qualify as a super GE, including the AH domain. Another challenge is to benchmark more of UPD’s academic programs with that of other ASEAN HEIs. This, Pacheco says, is of course without prejudice to programs that are uniquely needed by the Philippines and UP, as the national university, is uniquely mandated to handle. As of the end of Jun. 2014, the Institute of Civil Engineering’s (ICE) BS Civil Engineering (BSCE) is the sole UPD program evaluated by the ASEAN Quality Assurance Program (QAP) as having passed its standards. The ASEAN QAP undertook the evaluation in July last year; the certification came later in the year. Pacheco has been strongly involved in the review and revision of the BSCE program, said Dr. Karl Vegel, Deputy Director for Academic Programs of the ICE. Graduate programs. “In many departments and institutes, we are lagging behind because we are too focused on the undergraduate professional degrees,” Pacheco noted. He is looking at encouraging more students to pursue a Masters, if not doctoral degrees. What is the graduate school for? Is the graduate school to develop people for government and industry? Or is the graduate school mainly to reinvigorate the academe and faculty?” Pacheco,withhiswifeElizabethPazPacheco,secondfromleft,aclinicalassociateprofessoratUPManila-PGH,together with their children, Mark Benjamin and Isabelle Corinne. He believes there is no single formula Turn to page 22 UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 7 BINO C. GAMBA, images LEONARDO A. REYES, JEFFERSON VILLACRUZ Strengthening the culture of research: Dr. Fidel R. Nemenzo The new UP Diliman (UPD) Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (VCRD) is Prof. Fidel R. Nemenzo from the Institute of Mathematics (IM) of the College of Science. A graduate of UPD’s BS Mathematics program, Nemenzo obtained his MS and Doctor of Science degrees from Sophia University, Japan. N ow at the helm of UPD’s main policymaking and support body for research and development,Nemenzo is not new to the challenge of transforming a field into something more palatable and even intellectually exciting to various sectors, academic and public. As a mathematics professor, Nemenzo maintains that teachers of math should be able to communicate that mathematics is “not just about formulas and symbols, it is about patterns and order. It is a way to looking at and making sense of the world, a language that is both precise and powerful. Its practical applications pervade almost every aspect of our lives.” In the same spirit, according to Nemenzo, we should also learn and find ways to effectively disseminate the research and creative work in UP. Coming into the VCRD position, Nemenzo shares his thoughts on his new charge. “As a national research university, UP’s role is to advance knowledge and produce multidisciplinary solutions to our country’s complex problems. My 8 office will continue and build on the laudable programs initiated by my predecessors to encourage and support UPD research activities, and to disseminate and communicate the insights and results of research within our academic community, and to government, policy makers, the private sector, and the general public,” he says. His first order of business is to dialogue with the different sectors in the UPD research community. This is vital given that the OVCRD formulates policies and guidelines on research and development (R&D) and provides resource assistance to support R&D thrusts, coordinates with offices, agencies and institutions from diverse fields for its various activities as well as its regular information campaigns. “I need to have consultations and conversations with colleagues from different disciplines in UPD and learn about the broad range of research areas and concerns. This variety and multiplicity of disciplines, perspectives and practices is what makes our community exciting and dynamic and it is my hope that we can UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 find and further institutionalize mechanisms that will support our research activities and creative work, in all their diversity,” Nemenzo said. Among his priorities for the OVCRD are: to promote trans-disciplinary research on our country’s problems, help shape policies and find solutions to the many challenges we face as a nation. Thus, one of Nemenzo’s goals is to see an increase in the number of cross-disciplinary collaboration in research. He states, “There are many questions and problems out there and oftentimes the best solutions and answers are multidisciplinary in nature. We need to continue efforts to build a culture of research and innovation, across disciplines. That’s where one of the big challenges lie— to find the messages, mechanisms and metrics that will truly capture and reflect the breadth and diversity of research practices in UP.” Central to creating a culture of research in UP is inspiring critical thinking. Nemenzo, who is also a member of the UP System General Education (GE) Council, affirms that GE is an indispensible component of a UP education and is designed to develop critical thinking and provide UP student a ‘well-rounded’ education by exposing her/him to the broadest range of ideas and perspectives. “I have heard some people describe critical thinking as criticizing. This is wrong. Critical thinking is a facility and habit of mind that enables one to analyze, read between lines and think outof-the-box, distinguish between substance and form/rhetoric, and appreciate and understand connections as well as differences between the many things we study, and how these impact on society,” said Nemenzo. Nemenzo adds that we should also remember that UP is not only a research university but also a public service university. “We owe it to those who pay for our salaries and our students’ education- the peopleto give back and put our knowledge, skills and talents in the service of our communities and country.” and Cristina Garcia Centennial Professorial Chair in Mathematics. In 2013, he was conferred the Achievement Award for Mathematical Sciences by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), cited for “pioneering the development of research in algebraic number theory, the theory of elliptic curves, and applications to algebraic coding theory in the country.” In 2005, he was awarded by the University with the Gawad Chanselor para sa Pinakamahusay na Guro. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Science, and was the head of its Science and Society Program. He has also held research and teaching fellowships in Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam, Munich and Phnom Penh. According to Nemenzo, his decision to stay in UP was a lifestyle choice. “More than corporate life or life abroad, I was attracted to the rewards of living the life of the mind, mentoring students, sharing ideas and ideals you feel passionate about. Comfort zone din—I grew up in UP, went to school in UP (from nursery), became an activist in UP, met my wife in UP.” As a student activist in UP during martial law, Nemenzo was shot during a demonstration. The doctors said that what helped him survive the M-16 bullet was his good physical shape—he was a marathon runner then— and his anger, which kept his heart pumping as he lay bleeding. Asked how his new administrative post has affected his career and personal life, he says, “I am learning to adjust to the heavier schedules and the demands of the job, as well as to balance this with self and family. I guess keeping healthy and spending quality time with family is more important now, if only to deal with and survive the stress of more hectic schedules. But I find my new work exciting and challenging, and it is my hope that OVCRD can help further dynamize the research and creative work in our academic community and share these with the different sectors of society with a view to making a difference.”u He also plans to enhance the OVCRD databases and procedures to facilitate and support UPD research activities and to optimize the office’s use of the internet, print, social and other media to disseminate research results. For his scholarly work and valuable contributions in mathematics, Nemenzo has received numerous awards. Among these are several UP international publication awards (IPA) and the Crisostomo Today,duringhisdowntime,Nemenzolikestoread,listentojazz,playtheguitarwithhisson,occasionallythrowfrisbee and go biking with his family. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 9 MARIAMME D. JADLOC, image LEONARDO A. REYES Improved efficiency: Prof. Virginia C. Yap “Improved efficiency.” These are the buzzwords of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration (OVCA) in the second term of Prof. Virginia C. Yap. Y ap identified her top three priorities for OVCA as: 1. streamline and codify administrative processes and procedures; 2. professionalize administrative service through staff development and mentoring; and 3. increase revenues from the University’s resource-generation assets. Addressing the need to improve the efficiency of the OVCA on her second term, Yap said, “no system is perfect,” hence, “the OVCA will continuously review and evaluate the operations of the offices under it and undertake appropriate measures to improve efficiency.” A trooper, she added, “we will always be open to feedback, negative or positive.” The administration vice chancellor plans to improve her office’s efficiency through the conduct of regular orientation or updating on personnel, procurement and financial processes and documentary requirements review of existing practices to identify areas for improvements; and documentation to enhance procedure predictability and requirements. Yap is the only vice chancellor from the previous leadership retained in the same position and the only woman vice chancellor in Dr. Michael L. Tan’s administration. Also included in OVCA’s plans and programs are: a review of OVCA’s organizational structure, including its office staffing complement and pattern; a review of the incentive/reward system for administrative personnel, existing committee work compensation and propose corresponding recommendations.Also included are identifying qualified and competent personnel in the OVCA units and prepare the line of succession; and improving the physical work environment. 10 Recalling how she was approached to serve for another term, the mother of three grown sons, said, “The Chancellor was very straightforward in telling me that he is reappointing me to the same position, but was very candid in laying down his expectations particularly with respect to full transparency and accountability in carrying out the office mandate.” Yap does not deny the VCA post, much like the other vice chancellor posts, is very demanding. “Administrative responsibilities are heavy and require the devotion of substantial time,” she said. In fact, offices at the Quezon Hall were on a 4-day work-week UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 schedule in May, save for the OVCA and its offices. A fairly recent event that demanded extra working hours from the Human Resources Development Office (HRDO), an office under OVCA, was the preparation of documents for the elusive productivity-based bonus. At the time of the UPDIO pictorial in Yap’s office, the HRDO staff members were rushing papers, trading decent sleep with manhours at the office, all to meet the “deadliest” deadline set by “upper management.” “Sa totoo lang, ang dami talaga naming ginagawa,” she said. The Vice Chancellor said as a vital support-to-operations office, OVCA constantly faces administrative concerns, as evident from the large volume of papers to process, meetings to go to and people to see. OVCA is currently gearing for the influx of demands by the academic units for additional classrooms and amenities as an outcome of UPD’s decision to shift the start of the academic calendar to August. has also prepped her for the demands of her present job. “The Diliman Budget Office (an OVCA office) has been alerted to identifying the possible fund sources for the requirements of the various colleges with respect to additional classroom amenities,” Yap said. “Metikuloso si Ma’am lalo na pagdating sa mga papeles. Okay s’ya (makisama) pero pagdating sa trabaho, trabaho kung trabaho,” Cenon Esguerra, Officer-in-Charge of the SPMO Procurement Section described Yap as SPMO director. Right now, OVCA is “awaiting the submission of requests for the needed items.” Given that the university now veers toward pride of place and boldness of vision, how does Yap align OVCA to this direction? With her reappointment, Yap looks back at her first term as a “learning period on the legal and institutional policy framework relative to personnel and fiscal administration.” Nevertheless, these experiences “have provided me varying perspectives, skills and wisdom on how to handle different situations,” she said. The provision of Saloma’s “enabling and nurturing environment” contributes to “one’s feeling of pride of place,” Yap said. It was at the SPMO where her attention to detail was put to much use. As such, “There may be no major realignment of the OVCA offices’ operations since their main functions remain (which are) to provide support services to the various UPD academic and nonacademic units,” she added. For the opportunity to continue her service as administrative vice chancellor, Yap said, “Anyone in my place will feel honored by the trust and confidence that the new chancellor has given me. “The Chancellor, for me, regardless of the person, represents the university. Hence, there will be no significant difference in how the OVCA will be administered. The only difference will be in the major thrusts and priorities that Chancellor Tan may choose to undertake. As I have expressed to Chancellor Tan, I will serve his administration with the same dedication and faithfulness that I rendered Chancellor (Caesar) Saloma. To me, they both represent This, notwithstanding, is the consciousness that with the extension of such trust and confidence is the challenge of not failing the appointing authority.” Image courtesy of Prof. Virginia C. Yap Her 6-year stint as director of the Supply and Property Management Office (SPMO) from 2006 to 2011 the UP Diliman,” Yap said. Yap with two of her sons and grandson. Not in photo is her other son who currently resides in Pampanga. Yap is assistant professor 7 handling Economics subjects at the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP). Prior to her stint as administration vice chancellor, she has held various administrative posts in UPD, the most recent of which was as SPMO director and before that, UPDEPP Deputy Director from 2003 to 2006. Yap has worked in and with private and government agencies, one of which is including the Department of Labor and Employment; and taught in universities such as Ateneo de Manila University and Silliman University. She earned her MA in Economics from UP in 1982 majoring in Economics of Human Resource and has PhD units in Public Administration from the UPD National College of Public Administration and Governance. She graduated magna cum laude in 1972 at the Silliman University with the degree of BS in Business Administration major in Economicsu UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 11 The Diliman Information Office staff asked the new chancellor for a no-holds barred tell-all interview and he They will make their choices on diet, religion and everything else when the time comes. agreed to this, one afternoon after a photo shoot with his DIO: What part of the day do you new administration. We present edited excerpts. About himself DIO: Any relation to Lucio Tan? CMLT: No, no relation. He does have a son who is also named Michael Tan. The other Michael Tan, the actor. . .when people ask I answer, without trying to laugh, “Anak ko.” May naniniwala naman kasi daw magkamukha. I wish. DIO: Do you play any sports? CMLT: I am the most un-athletic person but I do swim and walk a lot. I intend to give health and fitness a lot of emphasis. As chancellor, one of the first colleges I visited was the College of Human Kinetics. Athletes have their own world that has to be recognized. When I was dean, the varsity football team came to see me. I asked one player what his major was. “Sports Science lang,” he said. I said you must never say “lang” since Sports Science is a science and you should be very proud of it. We have produced lawyers from football and Judo players.We even have a varsity football player who graduated summa cum laude, BS Physics, Mikhail Solon. DIO: What made you decide to be a veterinarian? CMLT: I grew up with dogs in the house. When I was in the College of Veterinary Medicine, I realized that our dogs and cats had a better life than most people. Vet Med was still in Diliman then and I was assigned to the small animal clinic. One time, a 12 Mercedes Benz with a doña and her little poodle drove up. Next to the Mercedes was a boy pushing his little brother inside a kariton. It just hit me that the dog probably ate better than the boy in the kariton. The Vet Med experience radicalized me in many ways because when we went out to the rural areas, I realized that to a veterinarian, there is a whole different world out there: the farmer and his carabao, the pigs, and you have to learn to run after the pigs and the chickens. DIO: What province are you from? CMLT: My father is from Davao, so I used to spend some summers there. My mother is from Manila but we had concessions in Cagayan in the north, in Claveria. I would spend summers either in Claveria or Davao. DIO: We heard you are a vegetarian: is it a lifestyle thing? CMLT: It is an ethical decision. It is not for health, nor for religious reasons. DIO: Have you been a vegetarian for a long time? CMLT: Since 1990, but I take fish sometimes, because in the Philippines, you will starve to death if you are a vegetarian. Pure vegetarian food is not always available. DIO: Are you raising your kids as vegetarians? CMLT: No, I am giving them choices. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 look forward to? CMLT: I like early mornings because I do not have free time after that. I wake up really early, around 4 to 4:30 usually, because that is the only quiet time for reflection. I meditate everyday, I am a Zen practitioner and we call it “Sitting,” but it is not meditation. “Sitting” really helps to center your energies for the day. DIO: What time do you sleep? CMLT: Pretty early. If the kids are with me, later, around midnight. If the kids are not there, sometimes as early as 8 p.m., but normally, 9 or 10 since I am already wiped out from UP. Memory lane DIO: When did you decide to be an anthropologist? CMLT: When I was doing my master’s in Texas, my course was called Range Science and the specialization was raising cattle. After one year and when I was about to complete the program, I said I am not going home with this degree. So I searched for another department to transfer to. I chose anthrolopogy since I had been exposed to the discipline here at UP when I finished my Vet Med degree. I was involved in rural work along with medical, nursing and anthropology students. DIO: Where were you during Martial Law? CMLT: I entered UP in 1971, when the Writ of Habeas Corpus was suspended. The following year, Martial Law was declared so right away I was caught up in the ferment of the times. DIO: What were your most significant memories of UP? CMLT: Coming from Jesuit schools, UP was a different world. I graduated from high school in 1969 and was accepted to both Ateneo and UP but my parents would not let me come here for the usual reasons: the radicals, sex maniacs (which is not true), and atheists. So I said okay, I will enroll in Ateneo. In my second year, I was sent to the University of San Francisco, another Jesuit school, to escape the activism. Then, they finally agreed to let me come home so I enrolled in UP. On my first day in UP, I wanted to go back to Ateneo. The toilets were dirty, the students did not speak English and I was made fun of because I was “burgis.” To top it all, I was in Vet Med, where the students were mostly “cowboys” (laughs). DIO: How long did it take you to like UP? CMLT: A few weeks. Deep down I really wanted to be in UP. UP grows on you and it continues to grow on me because I have strong egalitarian instincts. Recently I was in the swimming pool: it was the first time I enrolled my children in swimming classes at UP. A man approached me and said he was a security guard. He said his child is now a faculty member of a college at UP: this can only happen in UP. DIO: How different was UP in the 1970s to the UP now? CMLT: Now, the students are better off but I feel there is still a crosssection of the economic brackets. DIO: What about student values? CMLT: You hear remarks like this is the “I, me and myself” generation, more materialistic. I sometimes agree and the anti-littering campaign is an example. There is just so much resistance from the students to assume responsibility. They argue, “but what are janitors for?” I challenged the new freshman class to change this. . .I’m hopeful the students don’t just demand, but also take up responsibilities. That’s what pride of place should be. DIO: Where were the student hangouts in your time? CMLT: In my time the AS steps and a canteen in the AS basement were popular. But UP being UP, you created your own hang-out. The other day I was checking out our IC (International Center) and when I passed by the roof, which is very avant-garde, almost reaching the ground, it all came back to me. There was this Filipino-American, I’m trying to remember where we met, parang UPSCA (UP Student Catholic Action) and our hang-out was that IC roof. It was cleaner then. We’d sit and talk deep into the night about life and all that, holding hands (laughs), looking at the stars. Ayan, he went back to the States. Story of my life. My friends joked, “hanggang airport ka lang” and I answer, “excuse me, hindi ko nga hinatid.” Anyway, when I started teaching in the 1980s, and into the 1990s, I was still comfortable on campus, even at night. I’d stay late at the Faculty Center. It was only in the late 1990s when I began to feel the campus was no longer safe. DIO: Is it because in your time there were fewer informal settlers? CMLT: We’ve always had informal settlers. Just recently I was with one of our barangay captains, Isabelita Gravides, close to Pook Dagohoy and I told her I wanted to look up friends there. I walked into the community, which was one of my hang-outs as a student. The residents were shocked, but pleased with the unannounced visit. I’ve visited, very quietly and unrecognized, many of our informal settlers, including Village C. I actually feel safer in these areas, even at night, than walking around the oval. The UP Diliman barangay captain tells me many of our peace and order problems involve outsiders, the street children for example come from as far as Novaliches. I agree with her. There’s a lot of self-policing among our own informal settlers, although of course I’d like to see more of that self-regulation, especially in terms of sanitation, and noise control. Ideolocator DIO: Your views on same-sex marriage and the Reproductive Health (RH) bill CMLT: I am a gender rights activist. I have been very outspoken about women’s issues and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) issues. I am not a supporter of same-sex marriage, more because I think that Turntopage24 UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 13 HAIDEE C. PINEDA, image LEONARDO A. REYES Bibingka leadership: Dr. Neil Martial R. Santillan Barely a week in office, Dr. Neil Martial R. Santillan, the new Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA), already hit the ground running and delivered his first speech— the welcome remarks at the opening of the Freshman Orientation Program (FOP) on May 6. A mong his first initiatives were new inputs to the FOP. For the first time, the OVCSA organized the program in partnership with the University Student Council (USC) and local college councils; the UP Rayadillo joined the FOP to open and close the program; and parents and students are now asked to submit a written evaluation at the end of the FOP. Bibingka leadership. At the helm of the OVCSA, he plans to hold constant dialogues and consultations with the students to involve them in decision-making. Santillan said “Bibingka leadership” will be his strategy in handling his job as vice chancellor. “Ang bibingka ay isang kakaning niluluto sa ilalim at niluluto rin sa itaas. Bilang paghahalintulad ng nabanggit na kakanin sa isang uri ng liderato, taglay nito ang kaparaanan na makipag-ugnayan sa itaas na nagbaba ng mga patakaran at ang kakayahang makinig sa ibaba na nagsusulong ng mga prosesong demokratiko. In UP, there should be a meeting of minds to strike 14 a balance between top down and bottom up approaches of leadership,” he explained. Top three priorities. Santillan said the top three priorities for the office are: 1) codify existing student policies and guidelines, 2) find ways to effectively disseminate information, and 3) optimize student services by providing new interventions. First, he plans to revive the student guide created during the term of Prof. Barbara Wong-Fernandez from 1996 to 1999 while waiting for the approval of the UPD Student Code of Conduct by the Board of Regents. In addition to the existing University student policies, Santillan plans to include Philippine laws pertinent to rights and welfare of students. Second, he said there is a need to find ways on how to effectively disseminate information. “We need to explore, aside from the usual memos and Facebook, other ways that we can maximize the visibility of the OVCSA and its line offices. With information, we would be able to access lots of students and we can get potential donors UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 to support [our] program like the Adopt-a-Student,” he said. Third, Santillan said it is necessary to optimize student services “by creating or by providing new interventions.” “There is a need to make a modernization plan for UPD residence halls that highlights building development and enhanced student services such as the creation of dorm-based study centers that will be handled by the house councils in cooperation with the Diliman Learning Resource Center (DLRC),” he said. In addition, Santillan plans a university-wide implementation of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) initiative wherein the College organizes an open house for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) passers who have chosen courses under CSSP or who have yet to decide which course to take. He explained that the College coordinates with the Office of the University Registrar to invite students to attend the CSSP’s open house. book donation drive to benefit underprivileged students. would know about the cutting-edge innovative ideas of the students. Articulating the Chancellor’s mission/vision. Santillan Moving minds. Meanwhile, Santillan seeks to address the students’ low civic awareness with the help of the USC and local college councils. He also plans to discuss with student political parties ways to improve voters’ turnout during student elections. Moreover, he said he would like to consult the students about their needs. Moving hearts. Santillan plans Place-making domain. He said “Mahalaga ang papel na ginampanan ng UP sa pagbubuo ng bansa. Bunsod nito, marapat lamang na malaman at mapahalagahan ng ating mga estudyante ang iba’t ibang anyo ng paglilingkod sa Bayan ng mga tagaUP noon at ngayon.” He proposed that students should be involved in commemorative activities concerning historical events such as the First Quarter Storm. However, he said “Ang problema, negatibo ang tingin sa aktibismo. Very negative. Halimbawa, pag sasabihin (ng mga magulang), ayokong maging aktibista ang anak ko, parang disturbed ako kasi feeling ko, sa UP, makulay ang aktibismo.” Moving ideas and information. Santillan said there should be a venue for students to share ideas, research outputs and extension works through activities like an annual research and extension colloquium or ideas fair. “Gusto kong malaman, ano’ng ginagawa ng organizations about extension? What are the different forms of social services that they provide? So, may mapping na gagawin...We need to document it then, compile and publish. Ito ‘yung ginagawa ng organizations,” he said. That way, the industry, government sector and other stakeholders “Binansagan ang kasalukuyang kabataan bilang ‘I, me, myself’ generation o ‘selfie generation’. Sa ganitong konteksto, magiging malaking hamon ito na isulong ang dakilang adhikain ng civic awareness at social engagement sa ating mga estudyante. Makabuluhang papel ang gagampanan ng OVCSA na ipabatid at isabuhay na may pananagutang panlipunan ang bawat iskolar ng bayan,” he said. Santillan believes that the extension colloquium is one of the solutions to this issue. Santillan earned his bachelor’s degree in History, magna cum laude in 1993, and MA (1998) and PhD in History (2009) all at UPD. He was a recipient of the UP Presidential Scholarship and UP Modernization Program’s Local Faculty Fellowship in 1998 and 2009, respectivelyu Image courtesy of Dr. Neil Santillan enumerated five parts of his plans to articulate the Chancellor’s mission/vision: 1) Place-making domain, 2) Moving bodies, 3) Moving minds, 4) Moving ideas and information; and 5) Moving hearts. to tap NSTP (National Service Training Program) to help OVCSA address the issue on the students’ low civic awareness. Before the student election in the second semester, he plans to organize a convocation allowing student leaders to have a serious discussion on activism. Moving bodies. Santillan emphasized the need to support the students’ wellness and medical needs, especially when information about malnourished students in UPD reached him. “Maaaring tumugon ang pamantasan tulad ng pagbigayng meal stubs sa mga apektadong estudyante,” he said. Aside from meal support, Santillan wants to organize a Santillan with his wife Bevil Lynn and two children Zoie Neala and Lean Emmanuel. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 15 ANNA REGIDOR, image LEONARDO A. REYES Creating vibrant spaces: Dr. Nestor T. Castro Two minutes have passed inside the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA). The assistant confides that he’s very hands-on, taking the time to get to know and understand each office under the OVCCA well. T he door opens and in a flurry of activity, the man himself appears, sporting a blue shirt, jeans, matching blue rubber shoes and bright eyes. Nestor T. Castro cuts an imposing figure at first glance, with a booming voice that matches his physical presence. But as soon as he starts speaking, it is apparent that this is a man with a big heart and high energy levels. He’s going to need that energy to look after the 493 hectares, eight barangays and more than 25,000 students, 1,500 faculty and some 70,000 residents that live in UP Diliman (UPD). The riddle of the OVCCA. Managing such a diverse and dynamic community as UPD requires considerable skill, and Castro is the first to say that at first he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount and variety of things he has to keep track of and keep in mind but he’s decided to take an academic approach to the problem. “I would consider this as a social science research problem.…[I] t’s a challenge for us to study UP itself as a very complex community composed of different stakeholders 16 and apply social science theories and methods in dealing with the problems,” he explained. While he admits that barely two weeks in office he still had no complete, fleshed-out strategy on how to improve things in the OVCCA, three priorities became clear. Security. First is improving security on campus, not through enforcement, but by engaging the community to be proactive. “Tingin ko isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit nagkakaroon ng failure sa peace and order ay dahil may attitude ang ilan na ‘trabaho yan ng pulis, trabaho yan ng Security Service Brigade (SSB)’. Lahat ay may stake na protektahan ang Unibersidad,” he said. Security at UPD, including command of the UPD Police, SSB and the security agencies, is formally under the Chief Security Officer who, in the previous administration, reported directly to the UPD Chancellor. Presently, security matters have been reverted back to OVCCA and Castro is quick to say that the OVCCA will do its best. One of the ways that he sees this happening is by empowering the local community associations and identifying hotspots with a high incidence of criminal activity. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 “Pagkakaroon ng ilang aktibidad sa loob ng unibersidad, maaring cultural acitivities, na dahil sa may mga ganitong buhay na aktibidad ay maitabi yung ilang mga tiwangwang na lugar na pwedeng nakakaattract ng ilang elemento na hindi karapatdapat,” Castro said. The local government. His second priority is to establish better relations with local government units (LGUs) to avoid redundancy of functions and lessen the strain on the University’s limited resources. As an example, Castro cited the fund used in the emission testing activities of the Office of Community Relations’ traffic management group, saying that there might be a way to tap the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Quezon City government’s resources to conduct the said testing instead of using UPD funds. “We don’t intend to duplicate kung ano ang ginagawa ng gobyerno. At para magawa ito, kailangan ng good relationship with the local government,” he said. One of the ways he thinks UPD can reciprocate the LGUs is to grant them access to the think tanks inside UPD, especially in the training of LGU personnel. OVCCA services . Castro adds that improved relationships with LGUs is also a driving force for his third priority, improving the services provided by the offices under the OVCCA. “…[D]ito pumapasok ang mabuting pakikipagrelasyon sa labas para makatulong sa loob. Hanapan ng budget dito where ang UP ay kulang sa budget. Hanapan ng sponsors dito where walang kayang sponsoran ang UP,” he said. his strategies is to create vibrant, regulated spaces where people can do the things that they want like skateboarding and karaoke, provided these activities do not clash with the goal of creating that healthy environment. Advantages. If all the preceding paragraphs sound like a lot of careful handshaking, Castro is equipped for the job, bringing with him years of experience as a community organizer starting from his days as a youth activist at UPD. Shared responsibility. Key to his programs is the idea of shared responsibility. Everyone, he said, has a stake in developing and protecting the integrity of UPD. Castro stressed that under his term, no sector will be favored or left out, pointing out that the alumni is an important sector of the UPD community. of these initiatives are geared towards creating a healthy environment for the academic community. “They’re very much a big stakeholder group kasi kapansin-pansin [na] marami sa Facebook ang may interest sa kapakanan ng UP ay ang alumni. Lagi silang nagko-comment: ‘bakit ganyan ang UP, yang UP ng panahon namin ganito.’ So I think stakeholder sila and therefore all of them should be tapped in making the UP community a success story,” he said. “This is a university: huwag nating kalimutan ‘yun,” he said. One of Castro spoke of some alumni associations who are more than Castro graduated with a degree in AB Anthropology, cum laude, (1980) and has master’s (1994) and PhD (2005) in Anthropology, all from UPD. He became an active member of the Alyansa Ng Nagkakaisang Kabataan sa Komunidad from 1984 through the EDSA Revolution and well into 1987. Before being appointed as VCCA, Castro was Chair of the Department of Anthropology since 2010. Image courtesy of Dr. Nestor T. Castro Creating spaces. Castro said that all willing to lend their time and resources to benefit UPD, many of them for free. Castro with his sister Norma and her daughter Kristine Anne. Castro says that his background as an anthropologist and social scientist is of great help in understanding and navigating the various UPD communities. He adds that he also is fortunate to have worked with Tan for a long time. “…We know each other very well. [We know each other’s] working styles, so I think this is very important in helping the chancellor because you know the chancellor’s work ethic; where you would intervene; where you will just wait for his own opinion. So ang learning curve ko na lang is dealing with the UP community,” he said. Castro was a community organizer as a young man, and considers his new job as a continuation of his past. “In the past it was mainly advocacy for community rights and welfare, addressed to the state. Pero now I’m part of the administration, so the challenge is hindi na rah rah rah kundi get things done,” he saidu UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 17 TERESA PAULA DE LUNA, image LEONARDO A. REYES Rediscovering naiveté “Never lose your naiveté.” T his was the advice offered by Dr. Michael Lim Tan, my first professor in the Anthropology PhD program. These four words profoundly changed my perception of myself as a member of the UP academic community and in an instant, expunged my long-held, preconceived notions of becoming UP, breathing top academic air and bleeding maroon. We are, after all, teachers and learners in what is still the finest university in the country. Immediately, the future UP Diliman (UPD) chancellor’s retort brought me to a realization of embarrassing self–importance and then onto a rediscovery of innocence and un-sophistication—naiveté. There are always expectations from people in power or from those who have ascendancy over others. As academicians, we have the power to choose the types of “knowledge” to impart directly to our students and indirectly to society. Appended to that power is our capability to influence students on how to make sense of hard science and/or abstract philosophies, and how to employ knowledge and learning gained from UP. More often than not, we find ourselves entangled in the webs of these socially constructed, predetermined notions that we forget to be learners. We in the academe are life-long learners, eternal students regardless of how spotless we still are or how jaded we have become. Being a student must Teresa Paula De Luna is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts of the College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman and the current coordinator of the UP Diliman Office of Anti-sexual Harassment. 18 be the most important role that all academicians should fulfill, yet it is the easiest to neglect and forget. Easy, unless we heed Dr. Tan to never lose our naiveté. It is a ringing wake up call and powerful reminder of every academician’s most basic task. To me, this reminder couldn’t have come from a more credible source: Chancellor Tan, an educator, mentor and humble professor. In the many years I have spent in the university both as a student and as a faculty member, I have had the opportunity and the honor to meet and work with the best educators and mentors in the country. Dr. Tan stands out as the humblest of them all despite his accomplishments, prominence and the numerous accolades attached to his name. I distinctly remember the moment I finally made up my mind to make a go for the PhD program of the Department of Anthropology at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP). It was a decision made with the valued prodding, recommendation and suggestion of colleagues. This decision was not an easy one; it was filled with apprehension mainly because I come from the Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts (DSCTA), which is in the College of Arts and Letters (CAL). At that point in my academic existence, I wanted to do something more, something different, as clichéd as it may sound. In the same breath and even more clichéd, I sought to accomplish something current, relevant and tangible to my profession as a speech communication teacher, as well as to the community which nurtured, shaped and accepted me. I felt I needed to take up another academic discipline to help me find what I was looking for and the field of anthropology was spot on in guiding me to start my plans. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 As I was submitting the requirements to the CSSP graduate office, my insecurities crept in. Is it truly possible for me to survive the challenges of the PhD program, reputedly tough as it is, and the daunting professors, reputedly even tougher than the program itself? Would I even last a year? I was entering a new community, about to embark in new experiences. I was also mindful of entering and joining a crowd who will eventually become aware that I was not just a graduate student, but also a faculty member in the same university. With zero background in anthropology, I can still imagine the one word in the minds of my PhD professors when we first met: “Seriously?” Chancellor Tan, then Chair of the Department of Anthropology, opened the door to attain my dreams. He believed that a person with a background in speech communication may and can have a chance in a vastly different field. I learned that he was going to be my teacher in my first subject in the program, Anthropology 292 Seminar in Anthropological Theory. It was nerve-wracking. I did not know what to expect of the subject, even less so of the professor. Tan’s reputation is formidable. He is considered one of the best and more influential professors in the field; he was then the current chairperson of the department when it was recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center for Excellence in Anthropology. In addition, Tan is of course the known “Pinoy Kasi” columnist at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I was drowning in my apprehensions. I could be eaten alive in this field! Honestly, how could a newcomer like me make an impression on a professor who must be used to interacting with seasoned and wellhoned scholars in anthropology? The most feared first day came. My classmates were brilliant. I was in awe. They seemed to know what they were talking about; they seemed to be experts in the field. They were talking about their field works, critiquing anthropological concepts that I knew nothing about. I thought again to myself, what am I doing here, am I out of my mind? How do I explain the appeal and connection of the anthropological field to my area of interest in the field of speech communication? How can my area of interest—technology-mediated, virtual field with no tangible physical space—ever be called a field of study? All I could think of at that time was: everything is related to humanity. Since humans are the main agents of creation and interaction in the virtual community, there surely must be a connection. Well, well and surprise, surprise. The first class meeting was not so bad after all. I already knew beforehand that my teacher would know about my topic. I was not all surprised to know that Tan had an awareness of cyber communities within an academic context. What worried me was his possible reception to my topic, which, based on my assessment from what I overheard in the discussions of my classmates, seemed to be “unanthropological.” I was taken aback though by Tan’s obvious interest in and genuine welcome of my research area; that my research topic could be examined and viewed through an anthropological lens. It was a defining moment for me. Tan’s acceptance of my topic revealed his inclusive nature, his comprehension of humanity’s diversity and the inescapable interconnectedness of every aspect of human life. Furthermore, Tan has been a mentor’s deep understanding of that humanity develops alongside change. He impresses to his students that all manifestations of the changes experienced in the society are always worth looking into. be too busy to have enough time for mentorship. He proved us wrong by continuing to guide and support his students’ academic pursuits. As I undertake the last leg of my PhD program, I am thankful and honored to have been educated under the brilliant professors in the department. I am even more lucky, and grateful for having the rare privileged of having the university’s current Chancellor as my dissertation adviser. His willingness to continue to guide students like me is testament that first and foremost, he is a teacher, a mentor. I know I will accomplish this academic undertaking with a mentor that has been a guide, a perfect example of who I also want to become someday. After my first class, I took more subjects under him. Each class was handled differently. There was always freshness in his teaching style. He would always conclude his subjects by ensuring that his students had a lot more information, knowledge and discernment than before they came to class. I went through all my coursework and my comprehensive examinations guided with the basic principle Tan instilled in his students: “Never lose your naiveté.” “Never lose your naiveté,” although verbal, is my mental picture of Tan as a great mentor. These words put everything into its proper perspective (it really works for me). It makes me see things clearly, that even and especially as we grow older and the experience of learning is felt more deeply, we should always remind ourselves that it is through learning that we are able to teach. I continually realize that as teachers, we exist and thrive in the academic community because of our thirst to learn. We are rewarded and find fulfillment when we are able to share what we have learned with our students. There is definitely a bonus when we see their faces light up (which, hopefully, means they got our point) followed by priceless facial expressions as they process and make sense of what was given to them. It should be easier to attain this academic nirvana if we follow Tan’s example and adhere to his principle of never losing our naiveté, by making a conscious effort to listen to everyone and anyone, and by determinedly not allowing our personal predispositions interfere with our learning and discoveries. Chairperson Tan became Dean Tan. With his increased responsibilities, I thought and expected that he would So hello there again, naiveté, old friend. And thank you, Chancellor Tan, for this re-introductionu Tan’s reaction to my field of interest is a reflection of a great mentor who guides students to a path of their own, and not one who molds mentees to be exactly the same as their mentors. I believe this to be the strongest and most admirable quality of Chancellor Tan as a mentor. This mentoring style is not only beneficial for the mentee, it is also significant for the generation of new bodies of knowledge hinged on and not alienated from already wellestablished theoretical perspectives. I realized then that I could finish the program. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 19 SOLEDAD NATALIA M. DALISAY, image JEFFERSON VILLACRUZ Academician, public servant, administrator Dr. Michael Lim Tan’s appointment as 10th Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) is a milestone: he was the first from the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP). T his did not come as a surprise though, as Sir Mike, as he is fondly called by younger colleagues and staff at the CSSP, served the UPD administration as Chair of the Anthropology Department for nine years and as CSSP dean for 3 1/2 more years. Sir Mike has a degree in Veterinary Medicine but it was in anthropology that he found his life’s passion. His career as an anthropologist spans three decades to date and covers teaching, research and extension, shifting his priority among the three areas at different times. In recent years however, this academician had chosen to focus on serving the UP he always loved as administrator. My encounters with Sir Mike had mostly been on a professional level. Such occasions, however, had given me opportunities to glimpse the person behind his multifaceted persona as academician, administrator and public servant. Academician. Sir Mike joined CSSP’s Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay is an Associate Professor and current Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy at UP Diliman. 20 Department of Anthropology in 1985. He obtained a Master’s in Anthropology from the Texas A&M University in 1982 and in 1996, earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands . As an academic, he teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses. At one time, he was Field School Director for a batch of undergraduate students. His relaxed pedagogic style made him a favorite among students. In a university where there are still teachers of the old school who teach in an atmosphere of strictness and fear of failure, Sir Mike, by veering away with this mold, made teachers more approachable. Not a few students were inspired by and eventually drawn to the discipline by his attitude. By injecting interesting vignettes and life stories into his lectures, students were introduced to the notion of anthropology as a relevant discipline, and not one that confines practitioners to musty museums or isolates them in far flung cultural communities. He perhaps is the only one who can teach a serious course like Anthropological Theory and Methods in a way that allows students to realize their potential applications to their academic interests as well as their career goals. UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 It is no wonder that his classes are almost always fully packed, with 20 or more students per class at the graduate level. He is also a most sought-after thesis and dissertation adviser. Students know that with his mentoring style, they can produce a thesis or a dissertation worthy of the respect of their peers. He is not the adviser for everyone, though, since he demands from his advisees output that conforms to the standard he has set for himself. One of his contributions to the academe is the development of MA Medical Anthropology Program of the College of Medicine at UP Manila. Through such efforts, he successfully brought together social science and medical perspectives. The roles of teaching and research are never separate. His research interests cover a wide range of topics but are mostly in the areas of medical anthropology and gender, sexuality and reproductive health. He is widely recognized as a world class researcher, as proven by his numerous publications in international referred journals and books. He sits on the editorial board of several international journals and is a member of various research consortia involving universities outside the country, notably the Southeast Asian Consortium on Gender, Sexuality and Health (SECGSH), where he sits as a founding member and advisor. As a senior researcher at the SECGSH, Sir Mike emphasized the need for mentoring and developing the potentials of junior researchers and second—liners in the Consortium Advisory Board. He was elected National Academician by the National Academy of Science and Technology in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in research, teaching, advocacy and development work in traditional medicine, HIV, rational drug use and sexual and reproductive health. His election had been notable, considering that the body of National Academicians had been dominated by those in the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering. In fact, he is the only National Academician in the field of anthropology. tower and be involved in relevant social issues of the time. Through Sir Mike’s column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Pinoy Kasi” and his occasional television guestings, he voices out his opinions on burning issues. Through his column, he shapes public opinion on vital topics in Philippine culture and society. Administrator. It is very rare for a He has also been actively involved with groups advancing the policies and issues he supports. department chair to serve three terms: Sir Mike is one of this lot. As an administrator, he is as approachable to the faculty and staff as he is to his students. At the office of the Department of Anthropology, people say they perform better because they enjoy an atmosphere where they can show their best. One staff said he strove for excellence because he did not want to let Sir Mike down. He is not the type of supervisor who constantly looks over their shoulders and monitors their work. Through his management style, the staff said they bloomed. They learned from their mistakes and devised solutions to the challenges they encountered. However, there were a few times when Sir Mike “gently” called their attention to certain matters or met with them to improve on their work. He is a popular choice as a resource person in conferences and training programs not only locally but abroad as well, speaking to advance the cause of children, women, as well as health concerns. For his advocacy work, numerous trophies and plaques of appreciation are currently stored on top of two steel filing cabinets in the department office. These citations include: Outstanding Columnist on Children Award from Unicef for two consecutive years (2004 to 2005); one recognizing his contributions to the National Formulary Committee from the Department of Health; a plaque from CSSP for being a Reproductive Health Champion; and from the Unicef Press Institute, a Special Award on Children. An academician, administrator and an anthropologist for the general public: these make one seamless whole in the person of Sir Mike. In all his roles in life, Sir Mike will always strive to extend to everyone his vision for UPD of working side by side with people as their “kasama, kaibigan and kapanalig.”u As the head of office, he was viewed with awe and admiration by the staff and treated with respect by everyone. His relationship with the staff was that of equal partnership and not one marked by a separation of the Chair and the staff. Even as Chair, his leadership already had the traits of the “servant leadership” with which he envisions to guide his chancellorship. As CSSP dean, he always tried to accommodate requests for meetings and invitations from faculty members, students and visitors from outside the college or the university. Anthropologist for the people. Once in a while, one encounters an academic who is willing to step down from the proverbial ivory UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 21 From page 7 Re-engineering . . . for all the graduate programs. “The professional courses, those that have licensure examinations, put a certain value on graduate school. Meanwhile, those that do not require licensure exams give another value to graduate school. We can come up with two or several models and who knows, we may even localize the approach by the nature of the discipline per academic cluster,” he said. Faculty complement and development. Gaps in the succession line in the academic units is a source of concern for Pacheco. “There are departments and institutes with gaps in age groups,” he noted. To compound the situation, faculty welfare and development are additional challenges. He explains that in many departments, some PhDs, mostly full professors, are approaching retirement age and the next group of faculty members are much lower in rank. To address the issue, he is looking at accelerating the awarding of PhD study grants and faculty promotion, rank-wise. From page 4 Pride of place . . . waiting to be tapped. People who live in islands look out to the sea and wonder what’s beyond the horizon, eventually daring to set out to find out. That combination of curiosity and courage must characterize our own quest for, and journey to the future. Given this perspective, ASEAN 2015 and K-to-12 2016 should not be do-ordie deadlines, but horizons. 22 Learning Commons. Pacheco says another key area is the paradigm itself of learning and teaching, or teaching and learning. He says that it may be paradoxical that while we need graduate studies and specializations, we also need stronger general education on lifelong learning. Pacheco points out that “in this modern age of information, every educated person must see the difference between information and knowledge, between knowledge and wisdom, between wisdom and experience.” Pacheco says it is a real operational challenge to the University how to reinvent, recreate or reengineer the many forms of the so-called learning commons. The UPS has also assured UPD of funds to operationalize the academic calendar shift, he said. Since Diliman was the last campus to approve the academic calendar shift, it is still in the process of detailing the resource requirements it will need from the UPS. Perhaps a fitting complement to internationalization, the renewed implementation of UP’s language policy is also Pacheco’s hope. “Payamanin at gamitin pa nating lalo ang wikang Filipino sa loob ng Pilipinas. Maging sa labas ng Pilipinas, kontribusyon din natin to sa mundo.” Silver lining. Internationalization, as He earned his undergraduate (cum laude) and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from UPD in 1980 and 1984, respectively. In 1987, he obtained a PhD in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering) from the University of Tokyo. His research interests include bridges, buildings, earthquake, wind, fire, vibration and disaster risk management. “While the UPS has articulated a direction, it is up to us to translate the general directions at the operational levels.” He is also one of UPD’s only two Registered Patent Agents, having passed the Patent Agent Qualifying Examination administered by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines as announced in Feb. this yearu He says we have to continually modernize and diversify our libraries, computer centers, laboratories and studios, and venues for performances and exhibitions. the center-piece of the current UPS administration, does come with a lot of support and Pacheco is optimistic. That challenge of the horizon is perhaps more daunting for UP because we have the advantage of being able to stand on the shoulders of the many wise women and men of UP who came before us. We see more, and therefore must dare more, of the future. Horizons allow us to be more outward-looking. My vision is of a UP that takes its place as the national university, a place to nurture not just brightness but diversity. UPD must show the way in transdisciplinary initiatives in teaching, our graduates grounded in the liberal arts, able UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 to see and appreciate the poetry in mathematics, as well as the mathematics in poetry. They should also be students who understand how the liberal arts come together to shape the “liber,” the free, so vital in UP’s history of defending freedom. We must respond to the accusations of Diliman imperialism, which often becomes empty arrogance. We can still take a lead role in many areas, but must prove ourselves by being able to work with other units in system projects. We must take up the challenges of but of looking for ways to identify promising students from public schools even when they are still in high school, and to find ways to mentor them, and to support them if and when they enter Diliman. Finally, academic citizenship must be ethical. UP, especially UPD, has always shunned hard rules and regulations, sanctions and threats. We need to remind ourselves ethics is, in the simplest terms, a respect for each other and for ourselves. This is why I emphasize spaces so much: how can we tell the world we excel, when our Diliman spaces are the way they are? being the national university, starting with our backyard, able to work with local government, from the barangay to the city hall, before we talk of building and transforming the nation. It is not enough to be bold. We must be wise too, navigating rough and treacherous waters with tools that I have referred to earlier. The transdisciplinary perspective will yield insights and solutions, not just guiding policies but allowing us to constantly monitor and evaluate projects and programs so we do not repeat our mistakes, and instead move forward using good practices. Academic Citizenship. As we build spaces and our pride of place, as we tap into the past for the future, we need now to look at how we might embark on our long journey toward a transformed UP. I use the term academic citizenship to refer to the way we need to work together. First, we must give meaning to collegiality, which is often confused with parochialism. I am a fierce defender of autonomy and independence, of departments and colleges, precisely because I dislike parochialism. If we are secure in what we believe in, we will be ready to talk to each other – within and across departments, within and across colleges and institutes, within and across UP campus units. Collegiality’s foundation is consultation, but there too we need reforms. We have had too much of endless talking and debate. Consultations must lead to consensus building, based on respect for each other’s views, and a willingness to sacrifice one’s own self interests for the common good. Second, justice and fairness must guide us in all we do. That starts with institutionalizing a meritocracy, where we are evaluated by what we do and accomplish not by our connections. But justice and fairness must not stop there. Our campus must set the pace fighting discrimination in all forms, whether based on gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. And class. I look to a future where UPD can take in more students, especially from lower-income households and disadvantaged regions. It is not just a matter of expanding quotas, Ethics, too, boils down to kindness. There should be no room in UPD for faculty, students or staff who bully their colleagues. We must rid ourselves of the notion that kindness is a sign of weakness;in fact, our tradition of activism springs out of compassion and caring for others, of taking a tough stand, being firm, maybe even raising one’s voice when the unkind and the unjust need to be chastised. Let me summarize my vision paper: I envision UPD in terms of safe, nurturing, shared, connected and sustainable spaces. I envision UPD moving toward honor and excellence in those spaces, rooted in the past while looking to the future with boldness, guided by transdisciplinary tools of navigation. Finally, I envision a UP in terms of a shared culture of academic citizenship built on collegiality, a sense of justice and fairness, and ethics. Let me say, too, by way of ending, that I am a firm believer in servant leadership, one who does not lead by walking ahead of others. It is in this spirit that I extend you my vision, someone ready to work with you side by side, as kasama, kaibigan, kapanaligu UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 23 From page 13 marriage is a problematic institution: do you really need it? But I accept that people recognize marriage as important. What is more important to me is that same-sex couples enjoy the same rights as straight couples. Playtime DIO: Is gray your favorite color? CMLT: No. I like black a lot. I like turquoise. I wanted to use a turquiose sign pen but for contracts it is not allowed. DIO: In addition to English and Filipino, what other languages are you fluent in? CMLT: Chinese—Mandarin and Fukien. I do a smattering of many other languages since I make it a point that whenever I am in a new place, I learn the basic phrases. It is also important to learn our own languages. I worked in Davao after graduation and I went around Mindanao so I picked up Cebuano. I also worked in the Cordilleras, so I understand Ilocano. DIO: Favorite place in the Philippines? CMLT: The Cordilleras. DIO: Favorite place in the world? CMLT: I have a lot of favorite places, but since I took my PhD in Holland, The Netherlands is my favorite. It is not very scenic but it has a charm of its own. I also like China because of my ethnic roots. DIO: Generally how’s life been as chancellor? CMLT: The day after I was appointed I woke up and asked myself, “What did I get into?” I’m an accidental chancellor. People began to approach me in 2013 to run as chancellor and I’d laugh them off, crazy me as chancellor? During the Christmas break, I thought I had come to a firm decision to serve out my second term as CSSP dean into 2016, 24 then go back to being a regular faculty member and retiring in 2017, fading into the background and living happily ever after with my kids. When the new year came in, the pressure to run returned, from different groups. I’d meet with each of them more to explain why I didn’t want to run, but they were quite persistent. Work on your vision paper, they said, and I did, while attending meetings and conferences. I filed (my acceptance of the nomination) 15 minutes before the deadline. I was running against the incumbent chancellor, an ex-chancellor and two people who had run before. They all wanted to be chancellor. I’m just not the type who turns my back on duty. When you’re called to serve, you serve. It does sound like being conscripted into the military, right? DIO: Greatest challenge as chancellor? CMLT: Family life. I’m a solo parent, not easy. My son’s with me because he has special needs and I’m homeschooling him but my daughters are in Nuvali, a move I made in 2013 because I wanted a greener environment for my kids. I live now in the Diliman campus because of all the work but I have to visit my parents, who are in their 90s, in San Juan twice a week. Saturdays I actually market as in palengke because the supermarkets are full of junk. My daughters come here on weekends or I go and visit them in Nuvali, sometimes pop in to surprise them middle of the week. They’re very independent, but I wish I could give them more time. They were here during the summer break and the UP house came alive. The day they had to go back to Nuvali because school was starting, the van was going down the driveway and they were all waving goodbye. I returned to the house, a quiet empty nest and I did wonder why I agreed to the chancellorship. Soapbox opera ba? DIO: Is it tough handling our large student body? CMLT: What we are in UP for if not for the students? They do UPdate News Magazine l March-August 2014 have many needs; the dorms are in dismal state, terribly neglected. The University Health Service told me we have malnourished students and I worry that even those who are not malnourished will end up that way given the terrible food we have on campus. When students have to worry about getting a good meal, a good night’s rest, or safely walking through a dark campus, you can’t talk to them about boldness of vision. Sometimes though it’s tough explaining priorities. Like there are student groups who want a completely subsidized education but there is no country in the world – not even the socialist ones – who offer that. Then there are those who say we should have uniform tuition, P800 a semester was one proposal. That would be patently unfair because right now, the majority of our students are from the upper classes, products of private schools and the science high schools. We would end up subsidizing the rich and the middle class, especially here in Diliman. We’re already doing that, spending more than P100,000 per student. What we need is to democratize access, help more students from lower-income families to get into UP. I’d like to see the students help put up mentoring programs in public high schools to prepare bright juniors and seniors for UPCAT. Once they get into UP we need to have strong support for them, financially and through more mentoring and psychosocial support. Closing remarks: This administration should not be about the chancellor but about UP, about the community. I would like to think that I am coming in at a time when we are looking for new horizons which means new ways of looking at things. We are now over a hundred years, traditions are great and we keep the traditions but as we move to the next 100 years, we also have to be very oriented towards the future. We will be rooted in the past but we have to be bold in looking towards the futureu
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