Yesterday the UP Board of Regents elected the new Chancellor of UPLB in the person of CFNR Dean Rex Victor Cruz. Dean Rex will be Chancellor starting November 1, 2011 until October 31, 2014. This is the first time since 1973, when UPLB became the first autonomous campus of the UP System, that the Chancellor came from the College of Forestry. Past UPLB Chancellors came from UP Diliman (Samonte and De Guzman), College of Agriculture (Javier and Villareal), College of Arts and Sciences (Aspiras), and the College of Engineering (David). The late Dr. Domingo Lantican, former Dean of the College of Forestry, was an OIC of the Office of the Chancellor for sometime (when he was Vice Chancellor for Administration), but he was never elected and installed as Chancellor. Now, for the first time, the UPLB Chancellor comes from the College of Forestry.
Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz (right), in a huddle with Dean Domeng Angeles (left) of the UPLBCA, during their presentation of vision for UPLB during the search for chancellor.
I’m sure Incoming Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz has his plans for UPLB ready for implementation now, but I wish to make some unsolicited advice. Of course, there really is not much that one could do in a very short three-year term, but here are five things that could conceivably be done well within three years. Let me list my first five suggestions, according to priority. Please indulge me …
First, prepare and submit to the UP System Administration the first substantial proposal for a system-wide restructuring of the policies on faculty tenure and promotion as well as a career system for REPS under the UP Charter of 2008. When I was Faculty Regent in 2008, I submitted to the BOR two major initiatives, namely: a) restructuring the current system of faculty promotion and tenure [as in those who want to be tenured or promoted must apply for tenure or promotion, not just depend on what a small committee says they can or cannot do], including a new system of salary scale for the entire UP System to make it competitive with private industry; and b) put in place a career system for REPS [as in URAs should have the opportunity to someday become a Director of Extension, or perhaps Director of Health Services, etc.] to solve the perennial problem of what to do with the REPS. UP cannot exist without the REPS, so the University might as well put in place a system to provide them a sensible career path. It is rather unfortunate that there have been REPS who have retired still as URAs even after three decades of service to the university. The details are all in my proposed policy shift in 2008, the discussion of which apparently has been stalled in the various campuses. I have, however, given the current Faculty Regent, Hon. Ida Dalmacio, and Incoming Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz copies of this proposal so they can do what they wish to do with it. Under this proposal, I suggested that the campuses (UPLB, for example) need to come up with their proposals for consideration by the System, which shall collate the proposals and come up with an integrated proposal that could be submitted to the BOR for final action. The campuses need not adopt my proposal. That was meant to start the ball rolling, as it were. All it takes now is inquire from the BOR what has happened to that proposal that was officially submitted to it in 2008. That should re-start system-wide discussion of the issue until concrete proposals from the campuses are formulated and collated for BOR approval.
Second, pay particular attention to the upgrading and improvement of all laboratory classrooms and facilities. These are fundamental needs in tertiary instruction. UPLB’s laboratory classrooms are now dilapidated. This is unacceptable if UPLB intends to remain a top caliber university in this country.
Third, improve and update the UPLB Library holdings in all disciplines, particularly those that UPLB maintains curricular offerings in. No university can ever brag about its curricular programs when it doesn’t have enough library holdings to support such curricula. The updating part comprises provisions for subscription to electronic sources as well as installation of enough computers and Internet terminals in the Main UPLB Library as well as in the college-based reading rooms/libraries to provide students access to intellectual holdings worldwide at the click of a button.
Fourth, construct a centralized digital data base that contains all data in the UPLB, or at least interconnect all data bases that are now scattered all over the campus. Operations research designed for organizational efficiency and effectiveness can not be done when data cannot be accessed. For example, if you look at the research history of UPLB, you’ll find that similar research topics would appear, say, every decade, because one cannot do a complete review of the research already done at UPLB since reports are scattered all over the place and many are not even available in the Main Library. A complete data base of all the research ever done at UPLB would easily provide the information that would prevent researchers from doing research that simply duplicates what may have been done before.
Fifth, undertake a UPLB-wide curricular review with the end-in-view of refocusing the entire UPLB curricular landscape. This could mean, as well, a refocusing of the vision and mission of the university. As an HEI, UPLB needs to refine its vision and mission in order to fit into the needs of higher education in the country. Are all curricular programs still relevant to our social needs? What new curricular areas may need to be introduced?
These five general areas could serve as the cornerstones for UPLB growth and development for the next three years. That goes without saying that all other important concerns must also be attended to, but those ones, I believe, can be subsumed under these five major concerns. How may these be done? I’m sure the new Chancellor’s cabinet is already beginning to work and I hope they’ll look into these concerns.
Congratulations to Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz. And to his cabinet, Godspeed. Don’t fail to seek assistance from your colleagues. I’m sure they’re all willing and able to lend a hand for the sake of our university.
Let me keep this entry open-ended. We’ll continue to comment on what we see happening at UPLB in the next three years. Hey, it’s my Alma Mater, too.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment