Madayaw News

FFAR Awards Funding to UPSTREAM/UP Mindanao To Develop Predictive Model

Written by Rene Estremera on 24 July 2023. Posted in Madayaw News

354780644 956753168702848 5331050640510298026 n

Seated, left-right: University Researcher Marilou Montiflor, Assoc. Prof. Vladimer Kobayashi, and Assoc. Prof. Jackie Lou Tagubase, with the project staff

Adjunct Professor Luis Antonio Hualda

A US foundation awarded an UPSTREAM/ UP Mindanao team with seed funding to develop a predictive model for identifying neglected but micronutrient-rich crops. The team, led by UP Strategic Research and Management (UPSTREAM) Foundation Trustee and School of Management (SOM)-University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP Mindanao) Adjunct Faculty Luis Antonio Hualda with social scientist Marilou Montiflor (SOM), data scientist Vladimer Kobayashi and food technologist Jackie Lou Tagubase (College of Science and Mathematics), was awarded with a seed funding from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to develop a multi-criteria adoptability index for identifying and prioritizing micronutrient rich neglected and underutilized species of crops (NUS). FFAR is an independent non-profit firm funded by the US Federal Government and established by the 2014 Farm Bill of the United States.

The seed fund, amounting to US$75,650, has matching in-kind funds and support from UP Strategic Research and Management (UPSTREAM) Foundation, a partner and conduit fund manager of UP Mindanao. Mr. Hualda’s team is among the three awardees of FFAR’s Harvest for Health’s Breakthrough Crop Challenge. The purpose of the Breakthrough Crop Challenge is to develop a predictive model to determine crop potential as a source of functional ingredients. This is a global competition with a prize of US1M.

The objective of the predictive model is to select neglected and underutilized crops with high nutrient density and have a greater tendency for adoption among consumers and producers. Identifying these crops is a step towards building a common goal among stakeholders in transforming the agri-food systems into nutrition-sensitive, resilient, sustainable, and promoting food justice and food diversity. Apart from the predictive model, the UPSTREAM/UP Mindanao team will compile an open database of neglected and underutilized crops as well as an interactive platform to help decision-makers in selecting which NUS to prioritize.

To know more about the project, the rest of the team (AgriFood Systems Laboratory), and collaboration opportunities, visit https://upmin-agrianalyticslab.up.edu.ph/.

Search for Dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences

Written by Rene Estremera on 19 July 2023. Posted in Madayaw News

Call for Nominations for the Next CHSS Dean Jul2023-1

The Search Committee for the Next Dean of the UP Mindanao College of Humanities & Social Sciences has issued its Call for Nominations, Timetable, Guidelines, and Nomination Form.

Please download the Search Committee document here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bcrur7pxz_Eo20EhKuIfXvetUzTOA8d8/view?usp=drive_link

A wide dissemination of this bulletin is requested.

VIPs at the 25th Commencement Exercises

Written by Rene Estremera on 18 July 2023. Posted in Madayaw News

In UP Mindanao for the 25th Commencement Exercises on July 18, 2023, are (seated, left-right) Professor Emeritus Eufemio Rasco Jr., Regent Robert Lester Arenton, Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao, guest Speaker Mr. Ronald Daniel Mascariñas, and (standing) Prof. Larry Digal, EVP Jose Fernando Alcantara, VP Nestor Yunque, and Atty. Janis Louis Esparcia, Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s representative.

Professor Emeritus Eufemio “Dong” T. Rasco Jr. is UPMin’s first and, as yet, only professor emeritus. The title is conferred by the UP Board of Regents to retired faculty members in recognition of their exceptional achievements and service to the University. They are accorded certain privileges and may continue to serve as they wish. As such, his name remains on the faculty roster of UPMin’s Department of Biological Science and Environmental Studies. HR Chief Lynda Buenaobra accompanied Prof. Rasco to interactions with CSM OIC-Dean Junaldo Mantiquilla, OR-OIC Asst. Prof. Cyrose Silvosa, Librarian Briccio Merced, and CARIM officers Mitchiko Lopez and Michael Bonghanoy. Prof. Rasco was pleased to learn that UPMin continues to pursue the botanical garden project. He pledged to continue supplying seeds for research, landscaping, and the botanical garden, and seeds for rare palms for undergraduate theses. In addition, access to student theses and the “FLEx PHD” (Food is Life Exemplified - Planetary Health Diet) app were discussed. Prof. Rasco is looking forward to more active participation in UPMin activities.

Newly installed Alumni Regent Robert Lester F. Aranton enjoined the members of the Class of 2023 to protect and strive for the welfare of the University and to be loyal University alumni. Regent Aranton is from Davao City and is a former trustee of the UP Mindanao Foundation Inc. and a former secretary/director of the UP Alumni Association Davao Chapter. He is a former Director of the UPAA National Chapter and co-Chair of its Membership Development Committee. He is a current Board Member of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, representing the Investors/Private Sector.

Mr. Ronald Mascariñas, the commencement guest speaker, is an awardee of the UP Gawad Oblation for “extraordinary service with or in the name of the university,” which was conferred in January 2023. Mr. Mascariñas earned his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) and his master’s degree in Management from the Asian Institute of Management. He is the President and General Manager of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., owners of the Uling Roasters and Chooks-To-Go take-out chicken brands. In this capacity, during the pandemic, Mr. Mascariñas effected the provision of food to frontliners and students stranded in dormitories on various UP campuses, including UPMin students in the EBL dorm, during the lockdown period. Mr. Mascariñas is also a sports enthusiast and supporter of the UP varsity. He helped create the memorable gathering of UP constituents in the Davao Region when the UP Fighting Maroons, carrying the Uling Roasters brand, competed and won the championship in the 2017 Araw ng Dabaw Commercial Basketball Tournament. He was the UPLB Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus for Entrepreneurship and UP Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus for Entrepreneurship and Employment Creation in 2019.

UP Executive Vice President Jose Fernando T. Alcantara led the members of the Class of 2023 through the pledge to be worthy of the honor, standard, and proficiency of the University through the Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Unbersidad. “At mamamalaging nasa panig ng batas, kalayaan, at katarungan alang-alang lahat sa paglilingkod sa bayan at sangkatauhan,” he read. EVP Alcantara was with a UPMin team in Cotabato City on June 1, 2023, where he held a consultation with the Bangsamoro agencies for UP’s possible areas of additional collaboration. EVP Alcantara is an expert in business management and operations with 32 years of experience as a chief executive and part of senior management of companies in the shipping and ship-building industries, insurance and finance, mining and energy, and diversified food. (www.up.edu.ph)

Vice President for Administration Nestor G. Yunque served in this capacity from 2017 to July 2023. The Office of the Vice President for Administration is directly responsible for the UP System’s Office of Administrative Personnel Services, the Physical Plant Office, the Security Division, the Property Division, the Cash Division, the Internal Audit Division, and the Accounting Division. VP Yunque also previously served as UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Administration. He is a faculty member of the UP Visayas College of Arts and Sciences – Division of Biological Sciences.

Atty. Janis Louis Esparcia represented Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. She is a UPMin BA Social Science alumna and current Acting Assistant City Administrator.

Message of the University President

Written by Rene Estremera on 18 July 2023. Posted in Madayaw News

PAJ June 2023 by Misael BacaniCROPT

Atty. Angelo A. Jimenez is the 22nd University President. He was born and raised in Butuan, Agusan del Norte, and earned his BS in Sociology and Bachelor of Laws from UP Diliman. He is a former Chairperson of the UP Diliman University Student Council and served as UP Student Regent in 1992. He also served as a UP Regent from 2016-2021. He is the first UP president from Mindanao and the first student regent to be appointed as university president. His term is from February 2023 to January 2029.

University President Angelo A. Jimenez encouraged the Class of 2023 to create a bold new future for Filipinos and humankind using the university-acquired knowledge and skills in science, the humanities, and critical thinking. He offered this goal as a way for the graduates to create value for the Filipino people who subsidize UP. In addition, he asked the graduates to give this offering of a bold new future with kindness and compassion. All of which he conveyed through a written message below.

###

Pahalipay, University of the Philippines Mindanao Class of 2023, on your graduation!

I share in your euphoria and your sense of triumph after weathering the challenges of academia, from passing all your classes, papers, and exams to navigating all the social complexities of being a UP student. Congratulations on your hard-earned achievement, and I hope you enjoy an equally hard-earned break from all your toils before taking on the world outside UP.

I also congratulate your families and loved ones for their unwavering support throughout your academic journey in UP. Congratulations as well to your professors, administrators, and staff in UP Mindanao, who worked hard to teach you and to create a nurturing learning environment for you. Your triumph today is their triumph, too.

In the years you have spent as a student of UP Mindanao, you have gained the scientific knowledge and artistic and humanistic skills you need to excel in any profession or field you choose; the ability to adapt to any circumstances, to be resilient and resourceful in the worst situations; to analyze problems and generate innovative solutions particularly for the needs and issues of the Southern Philippines, using insights from multiple disciplines; and to study our social realities, to think critically and independently, and to stand up fearlessly for what is right. You have learned what the UP principles of honor and excellence mean and how to apply these to every aspect of your life. These foundational lessons will see you through every challenge outside UP Mindanao’s halls and green, tree-filled campus.

However, I challenge you to go beyond "honor" and "excellence" and to confront one of the great moral paradoxes of UP today: The education you received at UP is free and subsidized. We in UP have been enabled to do what we do—to study, to learn, to do research—directly by the Filipino people. Every peso that goes toward educating you, and enables you to become successful professionals and leaders in your fields, is a peso taken from somebody else: from a needy patient in a UP PGH charity ward, from families living in tents after fleeing from wars and conflicts, from our indigenous communities living on the fringes of national society.

As you walk forward into your future, I call on you to take on the moral responsibility of an Iskolar ng Bayan and to give back to the nation and the region that nurtured you. Our people expect you to uphold UP's principles of honor and excellence in every word and action. More than that, though, you must commit yourselves to UP's third principle of compassion. Be kind, UP Mindanao Class of 2023. Be humble enough to learn from others, be patient enough to understand the diversity of our needs and realities, and be empathetic to the struggles of those who are not like you, especially the voiceless and marginalized. Above all, be kind. Serve our people with kindness and courage.

Padayon, UP Mindanao Class of 2023, creates a bold, new future for our nation and humanity.

And know that we, the UP community, will always have your back.

Mabuhay kayo!

ANGELO A. JIMENEZ

President

2F North Wing, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines

| 632-89280110 or 632-89283014

Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO

UPMin holds 25th Commencement Exercises

Written by Rene Estremera on 17 July 2023. Posted in Madayaw News

[Top] University Registrar Karen Joyce Cayamanda, Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao, Exec. Vice-President Jose Fernando Alcantara;

[Middle] Summa cum laude Meluzvia Marie Amora;

[Bottom] Graduates of the Class of 2023 transfer their Sablay from the right to the left shoulder, to signify their graduation.

Officials of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) awarded diplomas to 252 graduates in its 25th Commencement Exercises held on July 18, 2023. The Class of 2023 come from ten undergraduate programs, one associate program, two diploma programs, and two graduate programs.

Ms. Meluzvia Marie Amora of the BS Food Technology program leads the UP Mindanao Class of 2023 as class valedictorian. Ms. Amora earned a Cumulative Weighted Average Grade (CWAG) of 1.1460, within the range of 1.000-1.2000, based on the highest possible grade of 1.00, earning her the Latin honor of summa cum laude.

She is UP Mindanao’s third summa cum laude and also the third from the BS Food Technology program. Her thesis was on "Ultrathin Polyelectrolyte/AgNP Film as a Potential Antibacterial Surface Coating."

The Class of 2023 also has 57 magna cum laude. Each earned a CWAG within the 1.021-1.45 range. The Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Arts program leads with 15 magna cum laude, followed by the Bachelor of Science in Food Technology with 13 magna cum laude and the Bachelor of Arts in English with nine magna cum laude.

They are followed by 99 cum laude or students who earned a CWAG within the 1.4501-1.75 range. The Bachelor of Science in Biology program leads with 25 cum laude, followed by Bachelor of Science in Architecture with 20 cum laude, and Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Arts with 15 cum laude.

The speakers at the 25th Commencement Exercises sent off the Class of 2023 with the highest hopes for nation-building in Mindanao.

In his message to the graduates, UP President Angelo Jimenez said, "I call on you to take on the moral responsibility of an Iskolar ng Bayan and to give back to the nation and the region that nurtured you. Be humble enough to learn from others, be patient enough to understand the diversity of our needs and realities, and be empathetic to the struggles of those who are not like you, especially the voiceless and marginalized."

Commencement speaker Mr. Ronald Mascariñas said, "As you embark on your respective path, strive to make a positive impact. Be the catalysts for change and progress that our country needs. Seek opportunities to bridge gaps, uplift the marginalized, and foster inclusivity."

UP Mindanao Chancellor Lyre Ani Murao, for her part, pointed to the Sablay, the garment worn over the shoulder of a UP graduate.

"Palagi nating tatandaan na ang Sablay ay isa ring biyaya, isang pribilehiyo na may kaakibat na responsibilidad upang magdulot ng kagandahan sa ating bayan at sa mundo. Higit pa sa talino ay ang inyong kapangyarihan upang makaimpluwensiya o makapagpabago ng buhay, makapaghubog ng mundo, at makapaglikha ng isang mas maliwanag na hinaharap kung saan ang lahat ay kasapi. Mabubuo ito sa tulong ng inyong kabutihan, integridad, at malasakit, bilang mga mamamayan na ang nais ay maiangat ang kapwa at hindi ang personal na ambisyon."

Summa cum laude Amora, in her valedictory speech, said, "Bilang pagtatapos, nawa’y dala dala natin na ang ating mundo ay mas malaki at mas kumplikado kaysa sa mga larangan kung saan pinili mong magtapos. Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan. Hindi lang ikaw, kundi pati mga magulang at mga guro natin. Maaaring kakailanganin ang iyong katalinuhan, pagkamalikhain, puso’t imahinasyon upang linangin ang mundong ating ginagalawan."

Chancellor Murao led the awarding of diplomas, assisted by Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Annabelle Novero and University Registrar Karen Joyce Cayamanda. Alumni Regent Robert Lester Arancon, Executive Vice President Jose Fernando Alcantara, and Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque were among the witnesses to the awarding. UP Media and Public Relations Office Director Sir Anril Tiatco and Padayon Public Service Director Cherish Aileen Brillon completed the UP System delegation.

The processional began at 6:45 a.m. led by Student Affairs Director Ma. Stella Salazar, followed by the summa cum laude. The college secretaries led their respective graduates. The UPMin faculty members, academic department chairpersons, and unit heads followed. The UPMin Mace was carried by University Registrar Karen Joyce Cayamanda, followed by Chancellor Murao. The UP System officials and the Commencement Speaker completed the personalities. The Entrance of the Color Guards completed the processional.

View the YouTube livestream here: https://tinyurl.com/UPMin-25th-Graduation

Madayaw News

More Articles...