Investiture
Address
Jonathan A Bayogan, 3rd President of Davao del Norte
State College
4:00
pm, February 12, 2014
DNSC
Gymnasium, Davao del Norte State College, New Visayas, Panabo City
Greetings
Good afternoon everyone. My warmest greetings and
acknowledgement are due to:
·
Guests
and dignitaries,
·
Members
of the Board of Trustees
·
Fellow
presidents,
·
Deans,
directors, officials, faculty, students, staff, alumni,
·
Friends
and members of the community.
I am privileged to stand here for my investiture as the third
president of Davao del Norte State College. Given DNSC’s growing reputation for service
and excellence, and the challenges that lie ahead, I am honored and humbled by
the trust and confidence placed on me to lead this institution.
I am pleased to welcome you all to the DNSC campus. I am
honored to have distinguished guests gathered here with our college community
for this occasion.
May I also recognize and thank my family members who are
here today.
My daughter, Janice, who works as process engineer in a
Korean company in Laguna, planed in this morning. My second son, Joseph, who recently joined
the Davao City branch of Globe-Telecom is also here. And so is John, the eldest, whose generous
donation of his stem cells somehow lengthened the life of our youngest child,
Yam, who passed away due to leukemia at an early age of 12 in 2008. And yes, this is one thing that makes a significant
milestone like this difficult – missing a dear loved one who can’t be around
because she has gone to the great beyond.
I am, however, happy to have our grandson, Rafael Jack, here. His mother Jennifer can’t be, as she is on
her residency at the Davao Doctors Hospital.
My granddaughter, Jamie Ingrid and her mother, Joanne, who works with
the Philippine Airlines are both in Manila today.
My special gratitude is due to our precious friends, Mr.
and Mrs. Cirunay, who are here. Kuya Roy
retired from the McDonnel-Douglas and Boeing in California, while Ate Bading
retired as the first and only Filipina school principal in the Pasadena,
California District.
Of course, I acknowledge my wife, Dr. Emma Ruth Bayogan,
who has been a pillar of strength at home and in our lifetime partnership. She accepts my sometimes insane schedule and is
gracious at my workaholism. She is in the faculty of the University of the Philippines-
Mindanao, in Davao City.
Significance
of Investiture Ceremony
The investiture ceremony is one of the oldest traditions
in academia, signifying the ceremonial vesting of the symbols of office – in
this case the DNSC presidential medallion – and the pursuit of knowledge. Typically,
it is done towards the end of the president’s first year in office. Some experts
suggested this timing to make sure the president is fully familiarized with the
work and is geared to full throttle after the ceremony. We are breaking away from this tradition as I
am now on the second month of my second term.
Of course, we celebrate today something much bigger and
greater than myself or my position. This
ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on the history and traditions of higher
education especially the Davao del Norte State College. More importantly, the occasion is an
opportunity to look ahead to the future and resolve once more to pursue our critical
roles in fulfilling the College’s vision and mission. It is a time to recommit and utilize our full
potential to cultivate achievement among the diverse students and clients in the
community. This is also why the College constituents wanted this ceremony – for
us to be reminded of our respective roles in molding the future of our youth
and our communities.
On a personal level, this investiture ceremony is for my
children and grandchildren. This will,
in the future, remind them that their father or grandfather once worked here with
a key role.
Honoring the Past
Before looking at the present and into the future, I’d
like to honor the past and recognize our institution’s visionaries and my
predecessors:
The late Mayor and Governor Gregorioo Dujali who cast the
vision to establish a fisheries school in this locality.
The late Congressman Lorenzo Sarmiento and Senator Alejandro
Almendras for authoring the law establishing the Davao del Norte School of
Fisheries, the fore-runner of this college.
Our honorable Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario who, among
the men and women of the College, has been prominent and ubiquitous in the transitions
and development of this institution from its inception as Davao del Norte School
of Fisheries to Davao Regional Institute of Fisheries Technology to Davao del Norte
State College. All through the years, until
now.
Mr. Tranquilino Benigno, the first administrator of this
institution, who toiled hard during the early years of this institution and laid
down the foundation for DNSC today;
Dr. Vicente Hermoso, president from 1995 to 2001, under
whom the college has officially became the Davao del Norte State College, and
who led the college through its transition to a higher education institution;
My immediate predecessor, Dr. Edgardo Santos, who served
as president from 2001 until 2010 and worked to ensure that DNSC transforms to
the higher education our youth deserves and who advanced excellence as a DNSC value
through overwhelming challenges;
To them, as well as the past and present members of the
College’s Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and alumni who made DNSC to what it
is today, I thank you for the vision and accomplishments. I am fortunate to inherit a resilient and robust
institution that is ready to move forward.
First Term
It has been a full term since I joined DNSC as president in
January, 2011. The last four years were spent meeting with the constituents,
building partnerships, and continuing the development of this academic
community. By next month’s commencement festivities, I will complete a full
cycle wherein freshmen who came in 2011 will graduate.
A few of our accomplishments as a College during the last
four years include:
·
Increased
enrollment, increased graduates, new programs, high passing percentage in
licensure and competency examinations, and increased equity and access to
higher education services through scholarships and grants
·
Increased
research, development and extension projects and activities
·
Improved facilities (library
facilities, administration office
facilities, faculty and other office improvement, instructional and laboratory
facilities, library books and references, information technology facilities)
·
Infrastructure improvement
(science building, information technology building)
The last four years had been busy, productive and
fulfilling years. From the multitude of activities, one can attest that DNSC is
a vibrant and enriching institution. The
institutional focus on excellence and student success will do a lot in
preparing our graduates for the challenges ahead. It is important that we continue to cultivate an
environment where people respect one another while working across traditional
divisional lines, grow and think less of ourselves and more of serving our
clientele, and work more on behalf of the institution, its students and
mission.
Building Human Capital for ASEAN 2015
– DNSC’s Current Challenge
The theme for this year’s Charter Day celebration and
this investiture is “Building Human Capital for ASEAN 2015.” This theme relates
to our students primarily and is connected to our priorities. It can be the key to our success as a public institution.
ASEAN 2015 envisions the integration of ASEAN member
countries where free flow of goods and services in an environment of peace,
stability, democracy and shared prosperity prevails. This presumes ASEAN-wide equivalence in the quality
of education and performance standards, lifelong learning and professional development,
strengthening cross-border mobility and internationalization of education. There will be greater mobility of students,
skilled workers and mutual recognition of professional qualifications and
occupational standards.
Recently, laws on education like he ladderized education
(RA 10647) and open distance education (RA 10640), were passed to address the
changing social and educational landscape.
The Philippine Qualifications Framework has been defined and will be inter-operable
with other countries’ framework and harmonized with the ASEAN Qualifications
Reference Framework (AQRF) as a common framework of qualifications across
participating ASEAN countries.
We, at DNSC, must therefore pursue the goal of making higher
education relevant to these realities even as we focus on providing students
access to all that higher education can to offer. We will continue to reach out to those who
take extraordinary efforts to the college's door, to resilient members of our
community who face exceptional challenges in life, and those who need extra
support and encouragement from caring faculty for their talents to grow. We need to enhance our capability to make DNSC
the first choice for students who are high achievers, and also ensure our youth
the best opportunity, promise and assurance to a better future.
We should offer the quality of education that is
necessary to succeed in a world that is more and more global-, knowledge-,
information-, and technology-based. Even as one of the smallest state colleges
in the country, DNSC must always embody the of access and quality, excellence
and opportunity, and serve students who reflect their community and the
diversity of Davao del Norte.
With this in mind, I ask the faculty to view their roles
as stewards of our youth, and mold them towards their dreams by unlocking their
potential to become a great teacher, a progressive entrepreneur, a renowned technologist
or scientist, a creative and ethical technology user, or a trusted civil or public
servant. When we unlock our students’ potentials and nurture their dreams, they
can “become all they can be.”
The Challenges Now and Ahead
Public higher education faces significant challenges that
lead to a sea of change in the way we conduct our business of education. We are being asked by the public and civic
leaders to be more accountable. We are
happy to do this. Employers are taking a
greater interest in how we prepare students for the kind of work environment
that changes rapidly and requires the intellectual ability to innovate, to
engage in evidence-based reasoning and problem solving, and to think critically
and globally. We must meet these challenges while still remaining true to our
mission and commitment to access and equity.
One of our priorities is to be responsive and relevant to
the locality and the region, so we plan for activities focused on our local and
regional needs. We will continue to do this
by boosting our research and extension activities even as we transform the ways
we teach and adjust to the diverse ways on how students learn.
In engaging the expertise of our faculty to address
compelling challenges and problems facing our region and country, we will involve
our students and have direct influence and impact as research and extension can
provide one of the highest forms of educational experience and mentoring. We will endeavor to provide these opportunities
to our faculty and students that should equal or surpass the experiences of our
counterparts.
We will get involved in innovative work to redesign and
enhance the academic experience while reducing costs for students. This will open
opportunities for students and their faculty a range of educational options that
will enhance the quality of experiences and learning. We will be looking for new partnerships and
creative ways to achieve our mission and engage students through innovative
pedagogy.
We will continue to actively work with the region’s
leading economic and development organizations as our ongoing commitment to share
and strengthen the college’s basic research and development program along with
its preparation of enhancing the talent of professionals aa an essential and
dynamic component of the region’s strength in the emerging global economy.
DNSC believes that innovation will play the starring role
in the future of the region’s economy. It will drive the creation of new
industries, new jobs, and an enriched quality of life for the region’s
communities. DNSC will step forward to play an active role in innovation and
commercial development.
These examples demonstrate how DNSC will remain to be a team
player in the forefront of meeting our collective challenges of development.
In Conclusion
I never imagined in my early age to be where I am
now. All I aspired for was to live a better
life than my parents who had the same aspirations for me and my siblings.
I never imagined to be an academic executive, neither to be
part of the work force in this beautiful province. All I wanted was to work
among my roots in the Cordilleras where I served the first 19 years of my
career. Life has been very good to me,
the son of a mine laborer and a housewife from an obscure town in the
Cordilleras, because of the education I received from excellent schools through
the support of government. Education,
indeed, is a great equalizer.
It is my wish for our youth in this province and its
vicinities, especially those from disadvantaged families, to have as good or
better education and better opportunities than we had. Our collective and individual work here at
DNSC must provide that kind of education and pave better opportunities for
them. Our commitment to this mission
will prepare our youth to be relevant and be significant players in our local
society and in the larger community that is the ASEAN and beyond.
May God bless us, our partners, shareholders, faculty,
staff, alumni, and trustees in our work for the success and advancement of our
students, their families, and our local and larger society.
