Picking the University of the Philippines president
Picking the University of the Philippines president
Updated 00:03am (Mla time) Oct 19, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the October 19, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines is in the process of choosing its next president. It has to choose the best candidate, for he or she will administer a university system that has a lead role in the shaping of the next generation's leaders, scholars, teachers and achievers.
It goes without saying that the next UP president has to be a scholar. The term "scholar" is derived from the Latin word “schola,” meaning school, and a scholar is a learned person, or one who has done advanced studies in a special field. But the word traces its roots further back to a Greek word whose meaning is leisure. Higher learning in Greece was based on the concept of the proper use of leisure time, or the activities of a free man aimed at the fullest appreciation of life. Thus, the term "liberal" education in contrast to "vocational" or "professional" education, which prepared people to earn a living.
The next UP president has to have a broad, liberal outlook that will favor the teaching of the liberal arts and the humanities. At the same time, considering the need of the youth to earn a living for themselves and their families, the UP president has to prepare and administer a program that will adequately equip graduates with knowledge and skills needed in the professions and vocations.
The next UP president has to have the highest integrity and a strong sense of moral and ethical values. The Romans called it “virtus” -- strength, manliness, conformity to a standard of right, moral excellence. Knowledge without morals is nothing. Intellectual brilliance counts for nothing unless used for good causes. One prime example of this is the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, who was a brilliant man but who used his God-given talents for corrupt and evil ends.
The UP president has to set a moral example for the entire university and imbue its faculty members and student body with a sense of purpose. This is especially needed at this time when the university has come under attack for supposedly producing many graduates who have been responsible for some of the graft and corruption and other wrongdoings that are being committed in government.
The next UP president also has to be a good fundraiser. The example of the late Carlos P. Romulo comes to mind. As UP president, he raised a lot of funds and constructed many buildings and facilities on the Diliman campus. The next UP president will have to replicate Romulo's accomplishment in raising funds if he is to make any headway in the efforts to regain the past glory of the state university.
One big source of funds that has not been fully tapped is the hundreds of thousands of UP alumni scattered all over the country and all over the world. We are sure many of them will contribute sizable amounts to help rehabilitate and modernize the state university.
The funds to be raised can be used to improve the physical plant and teaching facilities of the university and to pay competitive salaries to faculty members to prevent them from transferring to other universities here and abroad. Funds are also needed to strengthen ties with the leading universities of the world, expand exchange programs, stimulate research and make the university more accessible to bright students coming from the poorer sectors of the country.
In the recent past, UP ranked 32nd among Asia’s top 100 universities. In 2001, it slid down to a disappointing 48th place. Clearly, something has to be done to arrest the decline of standards at the UP and restore it to its former glory.
In the Middle Ages, the revival of higher learning in Europe was started by the organization of student corporations at the studium in Bologna and the organization of teaching masters in Paris. The word “universitas” denoted a corporation or guild; teachers and students used the model of the guild as their pattern of organization. Then, as now, the primary activity of universities was scholarly study.
But the next UP president will have to determine whether the university should be engaged only in academic or scholarly studies. "University," after all, comes from the Latin “universus,” meaning entire, whole. A university is supposed to develop not just the mind of a student but his entire being. A university is supposed to serve not just its faculty and student body but also the welfare of the nation where it functions and lives.
The next UP president faces a very big challenge. The position should look for the person and not the person for the job. Let us hope, for the sake of the nation, that the best candidate is chosen.
Updated 00:03am (Mla time) Oct 19, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the October 19, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines is in the process of choosing its next president. It has to choose the best candidate, for he or she will administer a university system that has a lead role in the shaping of the next generation's leaders, scholars, teachers and achievers.
It goes without saying that the next UP president has to be a scholar. The term "scholar" is derived from the Latin word “schola,” meaning school, and a scholar is a learned person, or one who has done advanced studies in a special field. But the word traces its roots further back to a Greek word whose meaning is leisure. Higher learning in Greece was based on the concept of the proper use of leisure time, or the activities of a free man aimed at the fullest appreciation of life. Thus, the term "liberal" education in contrast to "vocational" or "professional" education, which prepared people to earn a living.
The next UP president has to have a broad, liberal outlook that will favor the teaching of the liberal arts and the humanities. At the same time, considering the need of the youth to earn a living for themselves and their families, the UP president has to prepare and administer a program that will adequately equip graduates with knowledge and skills needed in the professions and vocations.
The next UP president has to have the highest integrity and a strong sense of moral and ethical values. The Romans called it “virtus” -- strength, manliness, conformity to a standard of right, moral excellence. Knowledge without morals is nothing. Intellectual brilliance counts for nothing unless used for good causes. One prime example of this is the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, who was a brilliant man but who used his God-given talents for corrupt and evil ends.
The UP president has to set a moral example for the entire university and imbue its faculty members and student body with a sense of purpose. This is especially needed at this time when the university has come under attack for supposedly producing many graduates who have been responsible for some of the graft and corruption and other wrongdoings that are being committed in government.
The next UP president also has to be a good fundraiser. The example of the late Carlos P. Romulo comes to mind. As UP president, he raised a lot of funds and constructed many buildings and facilities on the Diliman campus. The next UP president will have to replicate Romulo's accomplishment in raising funds if he is to make any headway in the efforts to regain the past glory of the state university.
One big source of funds that has not been fully tapped is the hundreds of thousands of UP alumni scattered all over the country and all over the world. We are sure many of them will contribute sizable amounts to help rehabilitate and modernize the state university.
The funds to be raised can be used to improve the physical plant and teaching facilities of the university and to pay competitive salaries to faculty members to prevent them from transferring to other universities here and abroad. Funds are also needed to strengthen ties with the leading universities of the world, expand exchange programs, stimulate research and make the university more accessible to bright students coming from the poorer sectors of the country.
In the recent past, UP ranked 32nd among Asia’s top 100 universities. In 2001, it slid down to a disappointing 48th place. Clearly, something has to be done to arrest the decline of standards at the UP and restore it to its former glory.
In the Middle Ages, the revival of higher learning in Europe was started by the organization of student corporations at the studium in Bologna and the organization of teaching masters in Paris. The word “universitas” denoted a corporation or guild; teachers and students used the model of the guild as their pattern of organization. Then, as now, the primary activity of universities was scholarly study.
But the next UP president will have to determine whether the university should be engaged only in academic or scholarly studies. "University," after all, comes from the Latin “universus,” meaning entire, whole. A university is supposed to develop not just the mind of a student but his entire being. A university is supposed to serve not just its faculty and student body but also the welfare of the nation where it functions and lives.
The next UP president faces a very big challenge. The position should look for the person and not the person for the job. Let us hope, for the sake of the nation, that the best candidate is chosen.
posted by Dante at 12:03 AM
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