WITH FR. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ set to become the new University President, current University President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ wants to make sure that the transition to a new administration becomes smooth.
In line with this, several steps are being taken into account as preparation for the transition of office.
Preparations have started after the sesquicentennial celebrations, according to Nebres. Most of these preparations include the reorganization of offices, the appointment of new heads, the improvement of physical space for the Central Administration, and the organization of monthly meetings and submission of status reports to Villarin.
Villarin’s new term as the new University President will start on April 2011.
New heads, reorganized offices
Nebres said that the main focus of the Office of the President is on fixing the systems of some offices in the Central Administration, in light of the upcoming transition.
“[It] is not so much that the offices are new…they have been reorganized…and [some of] the heads are new,” he added.
Vice President for the Loyola Schools (VP LS) John Paul Vergara said that the reorganization efforts have started during former VP LS Ma. Assunta Cuyegkeng’s term.
Nebres said that some of the new appointees for the school year include Edna Franco, who has replaced Vergara as the VP for Administration and Planning, and Jose “Tito” Santos who started his term as VP for Finance and Treasurer on February of this year.
New positions have also been moved up and separated from certain offices, specifically from the Office of University Development and Research (OUDAR), now headed by Hector Guballa.
“From this the [University Communication and Public Relations Office (UCPRO)] is now headed by Sonia Araneta. It used to be under the OUDAR [but] we placed it now directly under the Office of the President,” Nebres said.
Nebres added that they have also separated Facilities Management from the Resource Management Office, both of which are under Franco. The former is now headed by Jose Arnulfo Batac and the latter under Sandra Lovenia.
Growing responsibilities
Assistant to the President Maria Rosario Banzon clarified that that all the reorganization and the said appointments are based from the research done by the Ateneo Center for Organization and Development (CORD) two years ago.
Nebres also said that “[We] aim to adjust the central system so that it is now more efficient and more focused given that the schools are bigger.”
Vergara, meanwhile, said that the reorganization stemmed from a ‘growth’ of the roles of the offices.
Stating UCPRO as an example, Vergara said that “[Communication and public relations are] getting more and more important, or the role is getting more and more visible, from projecting the university to handling crises.”
“[The reorganization of offices] stems usually from a growing responsibility, and the accountabilities become clearer,” he added.
More physical space
Aside from the organization of systems and appointments of new heads, Nebres said they are also focusing their efforts in improving the physical space of the Central Administration. He said that since the schools have grown, both the Loyola Schools and Central Administration have more staff and are in need of more offices.
“Many years ago we were wondering whether to build a new admin building, but with the building of the new Rizal Library, it has been an opportunity for us to take over the annex and use the upper floors for administration,” added Nebres.
“The second floor [of the annex] will largely be for the accounting offices which would be moving in that area. For the cashier, they will be expanding to the area where the accounting [area] is currently located. And then OUDAR, [Office of International Programs] and others will move in the annex,” said Banzon.
Strong documentation
In terms of transition for Villarin, Nebres said that aside from organizing and clustering all the different offices into one location, they are also putting everything into writing.
“We are strengthening our documentation so that the transition would be clearer…also so that they would know where the necessary documents are,” added Nebres.
“Part of the [information technology] projects is to put up this portal website where we could have the documents for ready-access, manuals, minutes of the board meetings, and other decisions that should be made throughout the transition period,” said Banzon.
“We are putting into a more accessible format all the [talks] of Nebres. All the presentations are very important because it had contributed to the people,” she added.
Monthly status reports
Banzon also said that since Villarin is taking over a big organization, they are sending him monthly status reports of the university. They are also doing a step by step procedure for him to meet each unit in the university.
“We have organized briefing sessions with him, one per month and he has actually begun meeting with the Loyola Schools deans last month,” she added. “For [September], he will meet with the Grade School [administration] and so on until he assumes the position in April.”
Vergara said that it is important for the new University President to know what is going on in the university and to know what the offices have been up to. “The next President will have his own style, but he needs to know what is going on, since he might want to create new offices.”
For more articles on Villarin’s appointment and other changes in the university, visit http://theguidon.com.
