UP Presidency Turnover Ceremonies: Vision and acceptance speech of UP president Alfredo E. Pascual

(First of two parts)

Mapagpala at mapagpala­yang umaga sa inyong lahat. Binabati ko ang mga miyembro ng Lupon ng Rehente, si Pangulong Emerlinda Roman, mga dating rehente, mga dating Pangulo ng pinakam­mahal nating unibersidad, mga dati at kasalukuyang opisyal ng UP, kaguruan, kawani, estudyante, ang aking mga kaibigan, kamag-anak at miyembro ng pamilya.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First and foremost, let me thank all those who have given me their trust and confidence. Thank you for this opportunity to serve our beloved Alma Mater. It will be an honor for me to build upon the legacy of UP’s past leaders.

My predecessors have done much in setting the stage for the second century of UP’s existence. We take note, in particular, the contributions of my immediate predecessor, the first and, so far, only woman to be at the helm of our University. President Roman pushed the envelope for research in science and technology. The other accomplishments were described in her valedictory speech and these we do recognize.

Under my administration, our plans and programs will be guided by the vision statement that accompanied my acceptance of nomination for the UP presidency. That vision will mark our path for the next six years.

What is that vision? We want to see UP as a GREAT university in the 21st century:

• A university that takes a leadership role in the development of the country, while anchored on academic excellence.

• A university that has a strong research capability, supported by an expanded graduate program, unshackled by sectarian constraints or commercial interests, and geared to addressing societal problems.

• A university that has excellent faculty and staff working in an environment which inspires outstanding performance and high productivity, and provides decent compensation and equitable benefits.

• A university that recruits students from among the best and brightest and provides them affordable tertiary education.

• A university that prepares its students for successful careers and responsible citizenship in a globalized world.

• A university that takes a quantum leap in the physical development of its campuses and their technological infrastructure for teaching, research, and administration

• A university that achieves financial sustainability by generating needed resources and managing costs efficiently, while preserving its public character.

• A university that is a model for good governance to the country it serves.

My vision for UP as a great university is anchored on the UP charter of 2008, which declares UP as the national university of the country. The new charter mandates UP to perform a leadership role in higher education and national development. UP is expected to serve and lead as a graduate university, as a research university, as a public service university, and as a regional and global university. As the first President to be elected under the 2008 charter, I intend to fully utilize the enabling provisions of the charter in realizing my vision for UP.

To help me bear the weight of the UP Presidency will be a team of accomplished UP professors who will serve as my Vice Presidents. For the record, I have not worked with, nor am I personally close to, any one of my designated Vice Presidents. But the basis of our relationship going forward is clear. I expect them to share my vision. I require their loyalty not to me as a person but to our shared vision of remaking our beloved University.

At this point let me introduce quickly the men and women who will constitute my team:

1. Vice President for Academic Affairs: Dr. Gisela Concepcion, Marine Science Institute

2. Vice President for Administration: Dr. Maragtas Amante, SOLAIR

3. Vice President for Development: Dr. Elvira Zamora, College of Business Administration

4. Vice President for Legal Affairs: Atty. Danilo Concepcion, College of Law

5. Vice President for Planning and Finance: Dr. Lisa Grace Bersales, School of Statistics

6. Vice President for Public Affairs: Dr. Prospero de Vera III, NCPAG

7. Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents: Dr. Lilian de las Llagas, College of Public Health, UP Manila

(To be continued)

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Alfredo Pascual (Fred) assumed the presidency of the University of the Philippines last Feb. 10. He is 20th president of UP and the first to have been elected under a new charter, which was signed into law in 2008 (UP’s centennial year) and which designated UP as the national university of the country. The university he will lead during the next six years is a system consisting of seven constituent universities spread over 12 campuses across the country. UP currently has over 52,000 students and close to 10,000 faculty and staff. Prior to his election, Pascual was the president of the UP Alumni Association and a member of the UP Board of Regents. He is a finance professional who made significant contributions to progress in the Asia-Pacific region as an international development banker and educator. Working at the Asian Development Bank for 19 years until 2008, he charted a successful career that brought him to senior positions in this multicultural organization. At ADB, he pursued pioneering projects and institution-building initiatives that helped the bank respond to the emerging financing needs of the region and catalyze investments in the region’s developing economies, particularly in the infrastructure and financial sectors. Before becoming an international development banker, he was an academic and an investment banker. He spent nine years devoting himself to preparing managers for Asia as professor of finance at the Asian Institute of Management. At AIM, he innovated by introducing new courses to better prepare students for careers in banking and finance. He also nurtured the Institute’s advanced bank management program that attracted many bankers from Asia back to school for skills enhancement. Very early in his career, he contributed to education by serving as an instructor at the UP Department of Chemistry for about a year. Right after his MBA, he served as a lecturer on a part-time basis for four years at the Department of Management Engineering and Department of Business in the Ateneo de Manila University. E-mail him at [email protected].