SU faculty members elected PSNNI trustees

Two faculty members of Silliman University (SU) will serve as trustees of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature, Inc. (PSSNI), a national organization established to provide a venue for academicians and researchers to develop strategies for the responsible utilization of nature and its amenities.

Dr. Jose Edwin Cubelo, dean of the College of Agriculture, was re-elected for a second term while Asst. Prof. Arsenio Bulfa Jr. will join the board for the first time. Their terms end in 2025.

According to Bulfa, as members of the Board of Trustees, they are responsible for setting and approving the programs and policies of the societies. He added that their being part of the board advances SU’s vision to be an institution that leads in the total development of students for the well-being of the society and the environment.

“It pays well for our university to be well represented in professional organizations that pursue research and innovations for environmental conservation,” said Bulfa.

PSSNI was organized during a national conference in Baguio in April 2000. On its website, it says that it is a non-profit, non-stock, and non-partisan organization with the following objectives:

• To provide and develop strategies towards wise and responsible use of nature;
• To ensure faithful representation of responsible thinking and sentiment regarding issues about nature;
• To establish partnership/collaboration with local government units and non-government organizations
• To establish local institutional chapters; and
• To strengthen camaraderie and cooperation among its members.

Cubelo said, “Over the years, the organization has provided a venue where professionals, researchers, policymakers, etc. can disseminate our research outputs and encourage others to pursue relevant research for environmental protection, conservation, and sustainability.”

The organization publishes research works in its official journal, Journal of Nature Studies, and conducts an annual scientific convention.