Pascual vows to transform UPLB, other U.P. colleges into green campuses

LOS BANOS, Laguna, Feb. 11 (PNA) – Newly-installed University of the Philippines president Alfredo E. Pascual has vowed to transform U.P. colleges nationwide into green campuses by taking a lead role in national concerns related to forestry and environment conservation.

The new U.P. head said his administration will follow a policy of good democratic governance that subscribes to collegiality, transparency, and accountability.

Pascual also emphasized the need to operate as one in the U.P. System and work with synergy, and to interact and collaborate with each other.

The U.P. president, who assumed office on February 10, was here Wednesday to interact with UPLB officials and attend a forum organized by the students.

Pascual met with UPLB officials led by Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco and asked them to inform him of what UPLB needs and its aspirations so that his administration can be relevant. He referred to himself as a chief academic officer to emphasize that the presidency is not a single person but is a management team.

On the initiatives that could be pursued at UPLB, Pascual said UPLB can take a lead role in national concerns that are related to forestry and conservation, citing the Makiling Forest Reserve (MFR) that can be used as an outdoor facility for natural resources, outdoor recreation, and education.

The MFR could be a center for biodiversity research in the region, and to do this, facilities must be established to make full use of the MFR, Pascual added.

In a related development, UPLB gave a tribute to Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman who concluded her term of office as U.P. president on Thursday.

The tribute program began at 4 p.m. with the launching and unveiling of the marker of the renovated Department of Agribusiness Management (DAM) Building at the College of Economics and Management (CEM) Complex.

Dr. Roman, the 19th and first woman president of U.P., allocated P6 million that was used to renovate the DAM Building.

As has been proudly and tirelessly documented, she is a daughter of Los Baños and a true blue aggie, having graduated in 1972 with the degree of BS Agribusiness when UPLB was still the U.P. College of Agriculture.

UPLB Chancellor Velasco said Dr. Roman's term had seen the build-up of the University's endowment through the U.P. Centennial Fund Campaign, the passage into law of the New U.P. Charter, and the establishment of the U.P. North Science and Technology Park along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, among many other achievements.

Velasco said Roman's term witnessed substantial progress in the University's pursuit of its science and technology thrust and equal emphasis on the strengthening of culture and the arts. She masterfully guided U.P. units to become stronger, pushing for a U.P. presence in Makati City and the autonomy of U.P. Cebu.