New UP Cebu dean to nurture IT culture

CEBU, Philippines - It’s a brand new year for the University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu as a new dean was officially installed and its new UP-Cebu Professional Schools-South Road Properties (SRP) Campus was inaugurated yesterday.

Atty. Liza D. Corro was officially installed as the 9th Dean of UP-Cebu yesterday morning at the UP-Cebu Main Campus at Brgy. Lahug, Cebu City.

Corro’s vision for UP include a vibrant and dynamic institution for higher learning “with highly competent and qualified, passion-driven faculty members, assisted by a strongly motivated administration, ably supported with appropriate resources and facilities that produce excellent graduates.”

She wants to nurture IT culture in UP Cebu and said they will be coming up with an innovation lounge, wherein the students will have an IT creative hub as well as technology business incubator, a place where business ideas with IT component are incubated.

Corro said that this is also among the thrusts of UP President Alfredo Pascual. She added that UP Cebu is now moving on towards the launching of “E-UP”, an interconnection of all UP systems in the entire country. There are already seven constituents of the project and UP Cebu will be the eighth constituent of Pacual’s E-UP project.

She also supports the Innovated Technology Satellite Office (ITSO) for patent search of whatever researches that they will have.

Corro also encourages research and invention since UP is also a research and graduate university and as a research university, she’s supporting the Central Visayas Study Center.

“Through research that’s where inventions and innovations come in, through that, it’s how we get development and with development that’s how the nation progresses,” Corro said.

Corro is an alumna who had come back to serve her alma mater. She graduated A.B. Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at the UP-Diliman in 1982. She took her first year in UP College Cebu and proceeded to study Bachelor of Laws at the College of Law at the UP-Diliman and graduated in 1986. She was then admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1987.

Corro began her professional career as a Confidential Attorney at the Office of Justice Teodoro C. Padilla in 1987. She then became an associate of the Ledesma, Saludo and Associates Law Offices in Makati. In 1993, Corro was a partner in the Catipay, Corro and Associates Law Offices based in Cebu. From 2004 to date, Corro is the managing partner of the Corro, Cavada and Associates Law Offices.

Corro takes active role in professional, civic and non-government organizations. She currently serves as the president of the UP Law Alumni Cebu Foundation Inc. At present she is one of the Board of Trustees of the Legal Alternative for Women (LAW) center, Inc, for which she was also a president from 2008-2010.

Corro also sits as the Rotary Foundation Club Chapter Chair of the Rotary Club of Cebu Gloria Maris, Rotary International (R.I) District 3860 since 2007 to present, where she was president in 1997-1998 and accorded the Most Outstanding President Award for R.I. District 3860. She was also accorded the Most Outstanding Service Award for the said District in 2005 and served in the capacity of Assistant Governor.

She also served as president of Federacion Internacional De Abogadas (FIDA) Philippines, Inc., Cebu Chapter from 2003-2005.

The Board of Regents of UP during its 1284th meeting held last December 4, 2012, approved the appointment of Corro as Dean of UP Cebu effective on the said date of approval until December 3, 2015.

Among the prominent personalities present during her installation yesterday were Senator Manuel Villar and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza.

Corro’s classmates in UP Diliman College of Law Batch 86, about 14 of them, flew from Manila to Cebu in order to witness and show their full support to their exemplary classmate.

“We are very happy and proud of her, this is a new venture for her as she came from the private sector. We are here to show our support for her, she has our 101% support. Liza is a go-getter. She can do what it is that she promises,” said Professor Ma. Gisella Dizon-Reyes, the UP College Secretary and Assistant Professor of Law in the UP College of Law.

Yesterday afternoon, the new UP-Cebu Professional Schools - South Road Properties (SRP) Campus had a grand inauguration.

The one-hectare school campus is intended for graduate school students. Corro said that it will be operational by end of February.

She said that they are now processing the migration of the students from the Masters of Business Administration from the UP Cebu Main Campus and they will be transferred to the SRP Campus.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Rep. Tomas Osmeña, who were invited for the grand inauguration yesterday, did not show up. Osmeña’s wife, City Councilor Margot Osmeña, went in his behalf.

The UP Professional Schools SRP Campus was donated by the Cebu City Government under the leadership of Congressman Tomas Osmeña and through the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Senator Sergio Osmeña III. — (FREEMAN)