Br. Ricky sets University agenda

with reports from Dana Uson

Br. Ricky Laguda FSC in the University general assembly last May 31 celebrated the heritage the University was able to leave and sustain in the last academic year 2012-2013 while setting the targets for the future.

He points to the most noteworthy changes, such as the start of the integration process. “One of the major transformations was the integration of the Science and Technology Complex (STC) to Leandro V. Locsin campus, otherwise known as Canlubang campus,” said Br. Ricky in his speech.

Br. Ricky followed up that the STC is near its completion in terms of creating an integrated school, as well as the construction of a sports and wellness zone, as well as new facilities for academics and research. However, he stressed that it would only be in need of participation from all the stakeholders of the University.

However, he also acknowledged and warned that the transformation could be both advantageous and problematic. “Transformation can be a double-edged sword in our ongoing story as a Lasallian community,” adds Br. Ricky.

Br. Ricky invited the community to wait for his presidential report, digitalized as a ‘Vook’, an online and mobile application that combines text, video, internet links, and social media in a book format.

He mentioned the importance of the University being aware of trends, given several regional and national changes in the country, including the official implementation of educational reform law K+12, and the plan of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) towards greater integration by 2015, a regional economic integration uniting ASEAN into a single market and production base.

Targets

In line with the vision and mission of the University, Br Ricky reiterated the need for the development of the Lasallian Education and Research Nexus (LEARN), an avenue for stakeholders to become active members of their research centered academic community.

Moreover, he says that the University is aiming for a higher passing percentage in licensure examinations – 100 percent for Ramon V. Rosario College of Business (RVR-COB) and recently inaugurated Brother Andrew Gonzales College of Education (BAG-COB), while trying to maintain a 90 percent passing rate for the Gokongwei College of Engineering (GCOE) and College of Science (COS).

Lastly, he reaffirmed that the University will be aiming for PAASCU Level IV accreditation level for all undergraduate programs, and the reaccreditation of graduate programs under the colleges of Science and Liberal Arts. The newly established Office of Strategic Management and Quality Assurance (OSMQA) will also continue to increase the programs accredited by the ASEAN University Network for Quality Assurance (AUN-QA).

Research

“For 10 years we have been advocating Transformative Learning towards holistic education. When we teach subjects, be it in the arts or sciences, the Lasallian Pedagogical Framework helps us become more attuned to the needs of learners and in guiding them in instilling the Expected Lasallian Graduate Attributes (ELGA),” said Br Ricky.

“The real measure of our educational mission is if we have been successful in imbibing the Lasallian core values of Faith, Service and Communion for ourselves and for our students in teaching, research and community engagement.”

As the University gets closer in becoming a learner-centered research University, Br. Ricky declares the focus on aligning DLSU’s research goals in terms of citation, H-index, and research productivity can be achieved with a 10 percent increase in citation in peer-reviewed local and international publications, a 50 percent increase in research projects in the University’s five key research themes, and get 5 major partners for colleges, centers and institutes in the University.

The challenge

Near the end, Br. Ricky also reminded the community of its mission of bridging faith and scholarship to society, especially the poor, saying that the ultimate challenge the University and how each member of the community has to transform a poverty-stricken society in the midst of our work.

Another of the acronyms, LEARN-DEEP (Daring for Enduring Engagement with the Poor) hopes to create five community engagement programs by the non-academic University units per year, one faculty or research recognized nationally and five students or student orgs recognized in the public. All programs are also targeted to have a 50 percent community engagement component.

Br. Ricky ended by citing the University’s faculty, staff and admin as the children’s midwives. “The University is like a womb, carrying 16,000 undergraduate students, 2,000 graduate students. But somehow, this journey of a University journeys on from one generation to the next. We carry these students every three or four years of their lives and we give birth every term; every three months we graduate a thousand students.

As faculty, as staff, or CAP or ASF or ASP we are like midwives taking care of the University’s womb journeying from one generation to the next and hopefully they will leap with joy when they are with us. When we journey with Mary and our Founder we will surely live our Animo, and as we navigate the transformations we want to see in the future, I hope we will give birth to good boys and good girls. And if this means painting the town green, let’s do it together.”