XAVIER UNIVERSITY (XU)-Ateneo de Cagayan President Fr. Jose Ramon “Jett” T. Villarin, SJ is set to succeed Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ as the Ateneo de Manila University President. He will assume office in April 2011.

Nebres was first appointed University President in 1993. His term was extended in 2009 to lead Ateneo during the sesquicentennial celebration.

Villarin graduated as the class valedictorian with a degree in Physics from the Ateneo de Manila in 1980. He obtained his Master’s Degree from the Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA.

He went on to earn his doctorate in Atmospheric Sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in the Loyola School of Theology.

Villarin took a major role in the development of the Manila Observatory into a research center. He also worked with the United Nations as a consultative expert on global warming for developing countries.

He has been XU President since 2005.