INSPIRED by a mentor, former Graduate School and Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) dean Prof. Marilu Rañosa Madrunio spent nearly four decades of her teaching career serving not only as an educator but also as a parent figure to her students.
Madrunio traced her dedication to linguistics to Professor Emerita Ma. Lourdes Bautista, a De La Salle University linguist whom she considers her mentor.
“She is my academic mom. And she would always tell me, ‘Do to your students what I have done to you,’ and this is exactly what I do now,” she told the Varsitarian.
Madrunio brings those lessons to her new role as dean of the Higher Education Unit of Miriam College, a position she assumed on Aug. 1.
She was among the 49 retirees honored during the testimonial ceremony for Academic Year 2025-2026 on July 17.
A staunch advocate for language and linguistics, Madrunio said the discipline extends beyond the University’s walls and remains relevant to society.
“Language varies across social groups, and since we are all human beings, the discipline is important not only to the Thomasian community but to everyone else,” she added.
Madrunio began teaching at the University in 1987, handling general education courses for students from various academic units.
She taught English courses across disciplines, including technical, expository, and business writing, and helped select and train the Varsitarian staff.
What began as an interest in the subject developed into a lifelong passion that sustained her nearly four decades in the academe.
Madrunio was later appointed chair of the Department of Languages, where she restructured the University’s general education English courses so they could be taken across academic units.
“It alleviated the problems students faced when shifting to another program in another academic unit at the University,” she said.
In 2007, Madrunio joined the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) technical panel for English, which reviewed and certified undergraduate and postgraduate English programs nationwide.
The experience inspired her to establish the English Language Studies (ELS) program in Artlets.
The existing graduate English program complemented the proposed undergraduate degree and helped make its establishment more feasible.
With CHEd approval, Madrunio piloted the ELS program in 2011, reviving the college’s defunct bachelor’s program in English.
After her term as department chair, Madrunio served as dean of the Graduate School from 2013 to 2019. She later led Artlets from 2019 to 2022, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Madrunio described her tenure at the Graduate School as long and fulfilling. Despite the challenges, the unit established niche programs and off-site courses across the country, developments she counted among her happiest experiences at UST.
“I love the staff. I remember many instances when we were physically exhausted, yet everyone was still happy,” she said.
Her term as Artlets dean began shortly before the abrupt shift to remote learning during the pandemic, allowing her to witness the difficulties brought by the new mode of education.
“Sometimes I felt so helpless, especially when I learned that students and faculty were getting sick, and I could not even visit them,” she said. “That was really tough, considering that Arts and Letters is a big academic unit with more than 200 faculty, 4,000 students, and 20 support staff.”
Despite the sudden transition, Madrunio continued to guide students and faculty, seeking opportunities to support them beyond her academic duties.
“So every time we met virtually, we always had the ‘check-in’ sessions, and this kamustahan worked well for us. Everyone was able to ventilate their anxieties during this part of the meeting,” she said.
Madrunio said she hoped to be remembered not only as a teacher but also as a “second mother” who influenced students beyond the lessons discussed in class.
“I then realized that teaching is a reciprocal relationship and a form of parenting. They learn from me, and I learn a lot from their ‘stories,’” she said.
“I want to be remembered by my students not just as their English teacher, but as someone who taught them to think, built their confidence, and treated them with empathy.” P.E.B. Pua
