Members of the UP Los Baños community packed the historic Charles Fuller Baker Hall on March 6, 2018 to celebrate its 109th Foundation Day. While the celebration was an opportunity to reflect on UPLB’s vital role in research in public service, it also served as a venue to honor the administrative, research and teaching personnel who distinguished themselves through excellent service.
UP President Danilo L. Concepcion himself led the awarding ceremonies, together with UPLB officials led by Chancellor Fernando Sanchez, Jr. In his keynote speech, Concepcion highlighted UPLB’s role as a leading institution in teaching and research, particularly in agriculture, a field “central to human existence”.
So important was the UPLB’s contribution to national well-being, Concepcion said, that it remained, through its College of Agriculture, one of the rare higher education institutions that did not close during World War II. UPLB’s importance was also highlighted by the amount of resources invested by the national government to its assistance and rehabilitation in the post-war period.
“UPLB remains relevant to this day,” Concepcion noted. “In fact not just relevant, but most relevant. Not just because of its niche areas, but because it continues to adapt to the changing needs and demands of our people and the rest of humanity.”
Concepcion attributed UPLB’s continued importance to the outstanding knowledge creation and public service by its faculty, alumni and staff. He said that the most important contribution of UPLB’s graduates was public service, which included not only their service to the country and its people, but to humanity as a whole, as well.
Recipients of the Outstanding Administrative Staff Awards included: Adora De Castro of BIOTECH, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA); Divina Padua of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), OVCAA; and, Jenette Lory Tamayo-Estabillo of the OSA, OVCAA.
Recipients of the Outstanding Researcher, Extention Personnel and Program/Team Awards included: Jason Albia of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics(IMSP) College of Arts and Sciences (CAS); Eldrin DLR Arguelles of BIOTECH, OVCAA; Karen Quilloy of the College of Economics and Management (CEM); Antonio Lalusin of the College of Agricultural and Food Sciences (CAFS); Dinah Pura Depositario of the CEM; Glenn Baticados of the CEM; the Fruit and Shoot Borer Resistant Eggplant Research Team of the CAFS; and, the National Crop Protection Center Quick Response Team of the CAFS.
Recipients of the Outstanding Teacher Awards included: Michell Grace Parasa of the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM); Katrina Joy Abriol-Santos of the CAS; and, Benjamina Paula Flor of the College of Development Communication (CDC). (Andre DP Encarnacion, UP MPRO)
