THE UNIVERSITY honored exemplary faculty members at the 13th Dangal ng UST Awards last March 19.
Then Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. led the rites and applauded the academic employees for their outstanding qualities. De la Rosa resigned last March 31, a month before the end of his term to give way to the process of selecting the next rector.
“Ako’y natutuwa sapagkat ang ating Pamantasan ay hindi pinamumugaran ng mga walang hiya at mga tamad. Dito sa UST, ang mga guro at manggagawa ay mga taong marangal at mga taong may hiya,” De la Rosa said. “Sa pamamagitan ng katagang [Dangal ng UST], naipapakita n’yo sa buong daigdig na kayo ang nagdadala ng dignidad at karangalan sa UST.”
The Gawad Santo Tomas for outstanding teaching performance was awarded to professors Chin Uy of the College of Commerce and Business Administration (most outstanding full professor), Camilla Vizconde of the College of Education (most outstanding associate professor), Anna Cherylle Ramos of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy (most outstanding assistant professor), Fleurdeliz Albela of the Faculty of Arts and Letters (most outstanding instructor), and Hanilet Banzuelo of UST High School (most outstanding high school teacher).
“Ang pagiging guro ay isang bokasyon. Kapag ikaw ay may bokasyon, hindi ka pwede mag-resign, mag-retire, o mag-vacation leave sapagkat ito ay nakadamit sa iyong pagkatao … at kahit hindi na kayo aktibo, sa mata ng lahat lalo na sa Diyos, kayo ay isang guro,” De la Rosa said.
Conservatory of Music professor Gloria Coronel, who has served UST for 45 years, led this year’s 108 recipients of the Gawad Benavides for their decades-long service to the University. The Faculty of Medicine and Surgery had the most number of honorees at 39.
Meanwhile, this year’s recipients of the Gawad San Alberto Magno for outstanding researchers and studies were College of Science professors Bernard John Tongol (most outstanding researcher) and Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro (best published research work in science and technology), Medicine’s Sandra Teresa Navarra (best published research work in the field of health science), Commerce’s Belinda De Castro (best published research work in the field of social science and education), and the College of Architecture’s Manuel Maximo Lopez del Castillo Noche (best book).
Four professors were given the Gawad San Lorenzo for their local and international achievements in the academe, namely: College of Rehabilitation Sciences professor Cheryl Peralta for being the “Outstanding Professional of the Year in Physical Therapy” and Dean Jocelyn Agcaoili for being the “Best Physical Therapist” of the Philippine Physical Therapy Association; and Arts and Letters professors Alvin Ang and Jeremiah Opiniano for winning the top prize in the Global Development Network international research competition in Colombia.
The Gawad Santo Domingo for charity and community service were given to Faculty of Engineering professor Arvin Eballo (best professor in the field of community service) and to the College of Education (best community service project with their Teacher Empowerment Program).
The Gawad Raymund Peñafort for outstanding librarians was awarded to Michelle San Gabriel of the High School Library, while the Gawad San Martin de Porres for outstanding guidance counselors was given to Monica Sophia de Leon of the UST High School.
The annual awards, jointly organized by the administration and the UST Faculty Union since 1998, recognizes faculty members, guidance counselors, and librarians who have made outstanding contributions to the University in the fields of teaching, research, and service, and in carrying out the goals of the University. D. J. Magturo with reports from D. J. B. Evite
