VERY REV. Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. will again serve as Rector of the University, after his reappointment by the head of the Dominican Order last May 27.
Fr. Dagohoy, who ended his first term last March, will serve another four-year term from 2016 to 2020.
“Humbled and grateful to all and with much trepidation. May I have the fortitude and wisdom to carry out the responsibilities entrusted upon me,” Fr. Dagohoy told the Varsitarian.
Fr. Dagohoy, a Thomasian certified public accountant, said he would prioritize finishing ongoing projects such as the K to 12 transition, flood mitigation and the opening of UST campuses in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and General Santos City.
Last April 25, the community of Dominicans in UST elected their terna or top three choices for rector, which Fr. Dagohoy topped. Acting Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. and Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P., regent of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, were also nominated.
Vice Chancellor Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, O.P., head of the Filipino Dominicans, approved the three candidates and sent the list to the Academic Senate, composed of the vice-chancellor, vice rectors, deans and secretary general; and the Board of Trustees, whose members include the vice rectors, the secretary general and other Dominican friars.
The names were then submitted to the Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadoré, O.P., who endorsed the list of candidates to the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education for final evaluation. The Master of the Order made the official appointment.
To qualify as rector, a candidate must be a Dominican, a Filipino citizen and must have a civil or an ecclesiastical doctorate degree.
Fr. Dagohoy was internal auditor and director of finance and administration of UST Hospital before assuming the rectorship in 2012. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, and head of the Association of South East and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities, an association promoting Catholic higher education in the region.
UST rectors have traditionally been re-elected to a second term, as in the case of Fr. Norberto Castillo, O.P. (1982-1986 and 1986-1990), Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. (1990-1994 and 1994-1998), and Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. (1998-2002 and 2002-2006).
