JAB's INVESTITURE ADDRESS

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.