New directors have been appointed to the University’s Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd) and Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.
Asst. Prof. Jeremaiah Opiniano has been named the new director of the RCSSEd, replacing Prof. Belinda de Castro who had been director of the research center since it opened in 2017.
Opiniano, a journalism faculty member, was assistant director of the RCSSEd before his promotion.
Opiniano obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University in 1997 and is a former sports editor of the Varsitarian.
He earned his master of professional studies in development communication from the University of the Philippines Open University in 2001 and his doctorate in human geography from the University of Adelaide in Australia in 2021.
Opiniano, the president of the Overseas Filipino Workers Journalism Consortium, teaches thesis writing and reporting on global migration courses in the journalism program.
Prof. Augusto Antonio Aguila, a fictionist and literature professor at the University, was named co-director of the CCWLS.
Veteran author Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo remains the CCWLS director.
Aguila, formerly an executive assistant under the Office of the Rector, is a resident fellow in the center and author of the books “The Heart of Need and Other Stories” and “Carnival of Hate and Other Stories.”
He obtained his master’s degree in English in 2003 and doctorate degree in literature in 2012 from UST.
Asst. Prof. Maria Arriero is the new assistant director for the Office for Student Affairs.
New chairpersons for several departments of the University were also appointed, namely: Asst. Prof. Louie Ignacio (Department of Sociology), Assoc. Prof. Marella Mancenido Bolaños (Department of Philosophy), Assoc. Prof. Zendel Taruc (Department of Filipino), Asst. Prof. Karen Trinidad (Department of Psychology), and Assoc. Prof. Alan Salcedo (Department of Chemistry).
