UP Cebu (UPC) constituents thanked outgoing UP president, Alfredo Pascual, and recognized his administration’s achievements in developing the campus, through a pasidungog or tribute held on February 2, 2017 in the Performing Arts Hall of the UPC’s Lahug, Cebu City campus.
UPC Chancellor Liza Corro led the ceremonies with a testimonial to the outgoing president. This was followed by: a visual presentation on Pascual’s life; a shadow play by students; spoken-word poetry and live music by faculty members; and, a tribute song by the Gawad Pangulo awardee choral group of the campus, the UP Serenata. Prof. Aurelio Vilbar of the College of Social Sciences was master of ceremony.
Inspired by a Kahlil Gibran poem, Corro described Pascual as “the bow that was bent with might, so that we in UP Cebu, as living arrows, will go swift and far, as manifested by UP Cebu’s elevation to a full constituent university.””You nurtured us to create, inspired us to innovate, and for all the sacrifices you have devoted and withstood for UP, truly, you are destined to serve,” Corro added.
UPC credits the Pascual administration with creating the enabling environment for and endorsement of UPC’s elevation to constituent university status. This environment featured: a “trajectory increase” in research and publications, creative works, faculty and staff development programs, exchange programs, infrastructure and facilities in the last five years.
In return, Pascual thanked the UPC community, “for [its] support and cooperation, and for pushing UP Cebu forward and upward. Padayon!”
At the commencement exercises of the campus in 2016, Pascual cited “excellent results” of UP efforts to boost the three basic functions of the campus: education, research, and public service, particularly in the UPC niche areas of: information technology, business management, industrial and products design, and environmental and cultural studies.
Thus, UPC has come to be recognized for excellence, as manifested in the local government’s support of the UP Professional Schools at the Cebu South Road Properties (UPPS-SRP), expected to enhance UPC’s role as a “high-level resource university” for the region’s growing industries; as well as its support of the advanced digital Fabrication Laboratory. The latter was launched in June 2016 by the Department of Trade and Industry, Cebu office, to boost the region’s creative industry by providing access to a range of new digital manufacturing technology.
More than 25 innovation-based business start-ups in Cebu have flocked to technology business incubation (TBI) facilities put up on campus by UPC and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). DOST has also networked with UPC’s Program for Environmental Studies to implement a groundbreaking hazard and resources mapping of Western Visayas through LiDAR (light detection and ranging).
Pascual was given presents that included a specially designed lamp or suga inspired by the local puso or leaf-wrapped rice and a coffee-table book on a local artist. ( Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc, UP MPRO)
For more photos of this event, please click through the album here.
