Structures and linkages
There is so much to be thankful for and to be proud about UP Cebu turning 100 this 3rd of May, 2018.
Starting as a Junior College of Liberal Arts in 1918, as Cebu College in UP in 1947, as UP Visayas Cebu College in 1987, and as UP Cebu College in 2010, the UP Cebu, since October 27, 2016, became the youngest and 8th constituent university of the UP System, with Liza Corro installed as chancellor.
Aside from the Lahug Campus, UP Cebu has a new 5-hectare campus, the UP Professional Schools, at Cebu City's South Road Properties.
In 1992, when we transferred from UP Diliman to teach in UP Cebu College, the campus had only few buildings: the old library, a building shared by the faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Math, and another for Business Management and Graduate School. There was the beautiful 2-story Administration Building (inaugurated in 1929 and declared a historical landmark on December 2, 2010 by the National Historical Commission). The basement of this main building was dark and prone to flooding. I remember feeling concerned about the beautiful works of art of the Humanities students that were stored there. I also noticed an electric wire resting on the shoulder of the Oblation.
Being old, the rest rooms in the main building needed improvement. A friend advised us to request Congress for funds for the improvement of the building. Dean Socorro Villalobos sent a request to then UP System president Jose Abueva and the P2-million grant was used to improve the toilets at the main building and to build the first dormitory for students inside UP Cebu College.
On another occasion, touring around UP Cebu College, a Japanese Embassy official who met with former Japanese Ministry of Education scholars in Cebu, advised us to check the Japanese Cultural Grant. UP Cebu College's Center for Environmental Studies was established, funded through this Japanese grant.
During the term of Cebu Governor Vicente de la Serna (1992-1995), after a discussion with Dean Villalobos and then UP Visayas Chancellor and noted political scientist Francisco Nemenzo (who warned us about entering into a deal "where political winds change"), the UP System approved UP Cebu College's request to allow the Cebu provincial government to construct the Performing Arts of Cebu building, and a bigger dormitory for the brightest students in Cebu at the High School grounds.
The Performing Arts of Cebu would have been an ideal place to exhibit the art works of the Humanities students and faculty, and to make local and cultural shows more accessible to Cebuanos. This never happened, sadly. The proposed student dormitory for Cebu's scholars was converted instead into faculty offices and classrooms. In retrospect, UP Cebu College, perhaps, should have heeded the warning of Nemenzo?
During Dean Enrique Avila's term, UP Cebu College became a founding member and the secretariat for the first Regional Center of Expertise on Education (RCE) for Sustainable Development in Cebu and in the Philippines, accredited by the United Nations University. At present, RCE-Cebu is among the 164 RCES worldwide. UP Cebu faculty, students and staff have attended RCE local and global events. This week, RCE-Cebu was selected to host the 2018 RCE Global Conference on December 7-9, 2018!
UP Cebu College also entered into an agreement with Toyo University of Tokyo, Japan, for an annual spring workshop on community development. UP students and faculty have also been invited to Toyo University for scholarship and exchange. This program has been going on for more than 10 years now.
At present, UP Cebu continues to build more structures and forge more local and global linkages to contribute to excellence, service, and, leadership.
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