University Christian Life Emphasis Week

Silliman University celebrates University Christian Life Emphasis Week (UCLEW) from June 15 to 21, with the theme, “Walking the Way, Seeking the Truth, Living the Life.”

The launching of UCLEW and the commissioning service is scheduled in the morning of July 15, Sunday, with University Pastor Rev. Noel Villalba as the speaker. In the afternoon, all campus organizations will gather at the Amphitheater for a worship service and for the banner making and song writing contests.

Pastor Haniel Taganas, who is heading the Campus Chaplaincy Center, said the Church hopes to encourage students to join in the different activities aimed at “character building, faith deepening, competency enhancement, and giving of undying service to their fellowmen”.

The Church this year has also invited speakers from Manila to speak at the Christian convocations. Silliman Trustee Mrs. Edna Orteza, who is the Director of the Christian Education and Nurture unit of the United Church for Christ in the Philippines, will speak at the faculty and staff Christian convocation on July 16. Another Silliman alumnus, Pastor Roberto Alguso of a church in Pasay, has also been invited to speak during the all-dormitory mid-week service on July 18.

Two faculty members of the College of Business Administration (CBA) attended seminars held last month in Lao PDR and India.

Dr. Stella Lezama of the Entrepreneurship Department attended the Business Enhancement Seminar Training (BEST) Program, under the auspices of the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, in Vientiane, Lao PDR, while Economics Department Chairperson Prof. Wilma Tejero attended the Training-Workshop in Environmental Economics at the Madras School of Economics in Chennai, India.

The Department of Trade and Industry selected Dr. Lezama as one of three representatives for the Philippines, representing Visayas. The other two represented Luzon and Mindanao. Around 40 participants joined the BEST seminar from ten ASEAN countries, including representatives from Japan and observers from the host country.

Professor Tejero, on the other hand, participated in the training seminar on environmental economic resource evaluation held in India. She joined participants from China, Indonesia and India as one of two participants from the Philippines. Her trip and the seminar were funded and organized by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia.

The Silliman University Elementary School (SUES) Library entered an agreement to lend books to an elementary school in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental.

The Memorandum of Agreement on the inter-library loan between Silliman and Sagrada Elementary School was signed in June by Silliman President Ben Malayang III and Ms Melba C. Mercado, Principal of Sagrada Elementary School.

Under the agreement, the guarantor (JRL GO Memorial Library, Inc. of Manila) deposits an amount of P10,000 to SUES and guarantees the security of the books for Sagrada Elementary School.

This agreement came after Ms. Nina Patawaran and her family, donated 131 volumes of books to the SUES outreach program for the Inter-library Loan Agreement. She earlier donated 1,100 volumes of books to SUES. Ms Patawaran, who is now based in the United States, spent some years as a student at SUES.

Overall enrolment in Silliman University for the first semester of school year 2007-2008 increased by 2.77%, from 7,877 students in the same semester last year to 8,095 students this year.

College enrolment rose by 2.2%, from 6,005 to 6,139, while enrolment at the School of Basic Education – made up by the Early Childhood, Elementary and High School departments – rose by 4.5%, from 1,872 to 1,956.

Registrar Ms. Annabelle Paa attributed the increase in enrolment to the efforts of the University to further enhance the quality of education and improve its facilities. She added that growing scholarship opportunities have also paved the way for more students to pursue studies at Silliman.

Increases in enrolment were registered in the School of Medicine (42.9%), College of Agriculture (16.7%), Divinity School (15.2%), College of Computer Studies (12.6%), College of Arts and Sciences (9.2%), College of Engineering and Design (7.9%), College of Business Administration (7.2%) and College of Law (4.3%).

Enrolment in the following academic units slightly decreased: College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, College of Education, College of Mass Communication and College of Performing Arts. The decrease, Ms Paa explained, may be due to: (1) the students shift in interest in other courses, and (2) the higher grade and admission exam results requirement of some programs.

Tipon 2007 in Canada

Alumni from around North America gathered in Toronto, Canada from June 27 to July 1 for Tipon 2007, a biennial meeting of Silliman alumni, family and friends.

Hosted by the Ontario Silliman University Alumni Association, through the leadership of the Silliman University Alumni Council of North America (SUACONA), Tipon 2007 provided a venue for old classmates, alumni and friends of Silliman to renew bonds and share their wonderful memories of life on the campus by the sea.

This year’s theme was “Making Difference: Leadership, Empowerment and Relevance.”

In her message, Tipon Silliman 2007 Committee Chair Betsy Jackson said, “this conference provides an opportunity to bring together Silliman alumni leaders and members in attaining a higher standard of leadership that will result in a sustainable change in the 21st century.”

Attending the event from Silliman were President Ben Malayang III with wife, Mrs. Gladys Malayang, Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairperson Prof. Leonor Briones, BOT Vice Chairperson Atty. Noel Tan, Trustee Mrs. Roselyn Delloso, former SU President Agustin Pulido, Alumni Affairs Director Prof. Jocelyn dela Cruz, and Silliman Alumni Association, Inc.’s National President Judge Candelario Gonzalez, Vice President Judge Cresencio Tan Jr. and Executive Secretary Yolanda Maxino.

On the opening day, President Malayang delivered his keynote address, updating the alumni of developments on campus related to its academic performance, institutional achievements, and operations. He also shared his five-year development plan for the University under his administration, and the role of the alumni in helping develop the University further.

Professor Briones, on the other hand, delivered her talk on June 30, informing the alumni of the functions of the Board in relation to the development plan of the University. One of the more important projects that she presented and discussed was the Portal West Building, a P52 million project due completion in August this year. Among others, her talk was to encourage alumni to help realize the Portal West Building through a concept of giving dubbed “Tree of Life”.

Tipon 2007 was also graced by Dr. Patricia Stranahan, President of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, an organization that takes charge of receiving donations from Silliman alumni and friends abroad. She spoke about “Alumni Giving and Communications”.

This year’s Tipon, a Cebuano term for gathering, is the fourth to be conducted, with the three hosted by different chapters: Chicago (2001), New Jersey (2003) and California (2005).

SUACONA is composed of alumni from the following areas: Alaska, Central Coast California, Chicago, Hawaii, Georgia, Houston, Las Vegas Valley, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Montreal, National Capital Region, New England, New York, New Jersey, North Central Florida, North Texas, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, San Diego Southern California, Southern Florida, Southeast Texas, Louisiana, Ontario, Washington and Washington State.

New Early Childhood Building

The new SU Early Childhood Building

A new building is home to the Silliman University Early Childhood School (SUECS), located beside the Hibbard Hall.

Finished early June, the building features four classrooms for the kindergarten and preparatory sections and an administrative office. SUECS is also partially occupying the Christian Education building, which is next to it, for its nursery classes and its library and clinic facilities. A playground will be placed soon in front of the new building.

The old SUECS building will be used by the High School Department.

VPAA Shares Expertise in Thailand

Silliman University Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Betsy Joy Tan was the resource person on the training in “Integrated Curriculum and Learning Module Development” late May at the Mekong Institute (MI), Khon Kaen University in Thailand.

The training was aimed to demonstrate the knowledge of curriculum development system / integrated curriculum principles, and in turn help review and enhance the existing integrated curricula at MI, among others. She facilitated the training through a lecture-discussion / experiential learning approach among members of the MI program and academic staff.

MI is an independent Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) organization chartered to provide specialized learning programs for key public and private sector personnel in the areas of leadership, development and regional cooperation. MI’s residential learning facility is located on the campus of Khon Kaen University in Northeast Thailand. It serves the countries of GMS: Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province of China.

The Director of MI is Dr. Suchat Katima, a Silliman alumnus who obtained his Doctor Education in Educational in Management from the University in 2005. Dr. Tan was among his mentors and his adviser for his dissertation, "Core Competencies for Riparian Officials in Developing the Mekong River: A Delphi Study Toward a Modular Training Program".

Research Dir at HK Conference

Newly-appointed Director for Research of Silliman University, Dr. Enrique Oracion, participated in the First Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning in Lingnan University in Hong Kong last month.

The conference was organized by the Office of Service-Learning of Learning University was co-sponsored by the Lingnan Foundation and the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA).

About 170 delegates from various universities and colleges in Asia and the Pacific region participated in the conference, which was divided into three parts: pre-conference workshop, conference proper and post-conference activity. The pre-conference workshop that dealt with the ethical issues and cross-cultural dimensions in service-learning was conducted by UBCHEA. The conference proper served as the venue for paper and poster presentation while the post-conference activity involved visits to the different service-learning host agencies of Lingnan University and some heritage sites in Hongkong.

During the pre-conference workshop, Dr. Oracion shared some of the ethical issues experienced by the service-learning program of Silliman University and the mitigations it had introduced. He also read a paper entitled, “Impact of Intercultural Service-Learning on Students: A Quantitative Self-Evaluation”. This paper drew lessons from the results of the International Service-Learning Model Program (ISLMP) held in Silliman University in August 2006 where 20 students from six Asian countries participated.

The participation of Dr. Oracion in the Lingnan Conference exposed him to the different service-learning programs and experiences in the Asia-Pacific regions, and provided Silliman opportunities for possible collaboration in the area of evaluative research of service-learning programs.