A LONGTIME Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) professor looked back on the five-decade history of the annual St. Thomas More Lecture during its 57th edition on Feb. 24, where he also launched his book synthesizing the lectures.
Prof. Lino Baron, an Asian Studies professor who had chaired the now-defunct UST Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, delivered this year’s lecture, encapsulated in his book “Celebrating More.”
Baron, said the book is “perhaps the only one in the University written in honor of the college or the faculty’s patron saint,” the martyred lawyer and statesman regarded as the patron of political leaders.
“[This] is the documentation of the [Artlets’] struggle to remain faithful to its mission-vision to sustain an incisive, insightful, and discursive community of scholars and intellectuals inspired by its patron, St. Thomas More,” he said.
Baron had served as Artlets faculty secretary, a role that made him the “guardian of office files.” This role later became instrumental to writing his book, which features lectures from 1968 to 2019.
“The idea of getting this task in a single volume would be an intellectual legacy that the college can leave behind for future [Artlets] students,” he said. “Indeed, that was a moment of illumination, a dream that slowly began to take shape.”
Published by the UST Publishing House, the book explores More’s fundamental ideals and their lasting influence on the Filipino mind. It also examines the saint’s philosophy alongside lecturers’ insights on Philippine events.
Artlets Dean Melanie Turingan said the book further immortalizes the thought of the Artlets patron.
“As we move toward the lecture series’s centennial anniversary, we are closing the first 50 years with a book that will cover all the speeches of our invited speakers, a first of its kind,” she said. “In this way, we will forever immortalize St. Thomas More.”
Asst. Prof. Paul Castillo, deputy director of the UST Publishing House, highlighted the book’s role in preserving the history of UST and Artlets while showcasing More’s dedication to intellectual life, spirituality, and social consciousness.
“The book ‘Celebrating More’ is a time capsule of sorts. The first half-century will give its readers a glimpse of Thomasian [Artlets] history, which makes it more important as we celebrate this year the 60th founding anniversary [of Artlets],” Castillo said.
In his closing remarks, Artlets Asst. Dean John Kliatchko emphasized the need to celebrate the faculty’s rich history.
“More is perhaps beyond St. Thomas More — it represents all that we are capable of. That there is more to [Artlets] than what meets the eye,” Kliatchko said. “That if you are looking for something more, then there can be more. We cannot be satisfied with what we have, but we can still aim for more.”
In the book’s foreword, UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. described the St. Thomas More Lectures as a chronicle of history for tackling the issues significant to their period and milieu.
“This important volume provides an in-depth look at the different lectures from 1968 to 2019 which is akin to history unfolding right before our eyes since they tackle issues significant to their period and milieu as well as show how these issues continue to have a huge impact on contemporary times,” Ang wrote.
The St. Thomas More Lecture was established in 1968 by the late Artlets dean Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta and assistant dean Piedad Guinto Rosales to honor the faculty’s patron.
It has since drawn prominent speakers, including former president Diosdado Macapagal, National Artists Bienvenido Lumbero and Nick Joaquin, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, and former senators Jovito Salonga, Francisco Tatad, and Jose Lina. with reports from Carlo Jose H. Ruga and Sydney Venice V. Berba
