UP Baguio (UPB) held a tribute program for UP President Alfredo Pascual on January 31, more than a week before he steps down from the University leadership.
A video showing members of the UPB community thanking Pascual for supporting various projects and promoting initiatives that benefitted them was presented at the program. Pascual was also given a wooden sculpture with a citation and traditional woven fabric from the Cordilleras.
In his opening message, UPB Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos expressed gratitude to Pascual for increasing allocations and facilitating the growth and development of the constituent university—through needed infrastructure, student mobility programs, incentives for research and creative work, faculty grants for graduate and post-graduate education, staff development programs, among others.
Pascual, on the other hand, shared a presentation he had previously made to the UP Board of Regents. It highlighted his administration’s accomplishments in accordance with the UP Strategic Plan 2011-2017, as guided by the provisions of the UP Charter of 2008 or Republic Act No. 9500. He said that his administration not only continued and built upon the initiatives of his predecessors, it also instituted and implemented new initiatives that aimed to propel the University forward.
Among the achievements he mentioned were the increased budget appropriations for UP from the national government, which he credited to successful discussions with alumni and key officials in the executive and legislative branches of the government.
He also pointed out the intensified support for research and creative work, particularly those that were interdisciplinary in nature. He likewise talked of internationalization efforts and how these have increased student mobility, opportunities for visiting foreign professors and Filipino experts with PhDs from abroad, participation in and organization of international conferences, as well as how such efforts have strengthened linkages with other institutions.
Pascual pointed to the construction and perspectives of sports facilities in different campuses, aspart of meeting his sports development objective. Academic and research infrastructure across the UP System was also part of his presentation. He said that green architecture, design, and engineering were given emphasis in these construction projects as part of his Green UP initiative. All infrastructure projects are in accordance with guidelines and policies in the UP System-wide Master Development Plan, which his administration had also formulated.
As regards public service, Pascual talked of various disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) activities, the pioneering DRRM handbook soon to be released, and the Gawad Pangulo: Award for Excellence in Public Service, for which the ceremony was held just the day before at UP Diliman.
UPB’s tribute program was held after the inauguration of Museo Kordilerya, where Pascual was the guest of honor. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO)
For more photos of the event, please click through the album here.
