A FORMER head of the AB Political Science program has been appointed dean of the College of Law at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).
Prof. Reynaldo Lopez is one of 14 newly appointed deans, according to a Facebook post by the PLM Board of Regents on Aug. 5.
In an interview with the Varsitarian, Lopez said one of his priorities is to boost enrollment by encouraging more working students to enroll.
“PLM’s challenge is low enrollment. ‘Yong schedule kasi ng PLM, hindi siya conducive for working students. There is conflict with work schedules,” Lopez said.
Lopez said he would also revisit the college’s academic standards to allow some consideration to students struggling with academics.
“Meron silang two-flunk rule, dalawa binagsak mo, out ka na agad. So minsan kasi baka may problema lang ‘yung tao o may pinagdaanan, so lilipat siya ng school,” he said.
Lopez led the UST AB Political Science program from 1994 to 2003, and from 2014 to 2015.
He taught from 1993 to 2015 across several UST academic units, including the Faculty of Arts and Letters, College of Education, College of Commerce and Business Administration, Ecclesiastical Faculties, and the Faculty of Civil Law, attaining the rank of associate professor.
Lopez, a Thomasian since kindergarten, completed high school in 1977 and earned his political science degree in 1981.
During his undergraduate years, Lopez co-founded the Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC) in 1980 with Ronald Llamas and Edward Buenaflor amid the nationwide ban on all student organizations imposed by President Ferdinand Marcos following the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.
Lopez was concurrently president of Pax Romana and vice president of the ABSC.
He obtained his law degree at the Faculty of Civil Law in 1985 and completed his master of laws at the UST Graduate School in 1989.
The ABSC became the first faculty-wide student council of its kind in the country to exercise autonomy and executive powers.
For his service, he received numerous accolades such as the Pope Leo XIII Community Development Award, an award conferred upon students for active involvement in community development programs, in 1981 and 1983, and the Gold Leadership Award in 1981.
Prior to his appointment as PLM dean, he was vice dean and chair of the academic council of Arellano University School of Law.
He served as acting dean in 2016 and concurrently chaired the Department of Political Law of Arellano University. With reports from Carlo Jose H. Ruga
