INCUMBENT VICE President for the Loyola Schools (VPLS) John Paul Vergara, PhD, will step down from his position after serving six years as VPLS from 2010 to 2016.

School of Humanities (SOH) Dean Maria Luz Vilches, PhD will become the next VPLS for an initial three-year term starting June 2016. She was appointed by the Search Committee for the VPLS headed by Emilyn Espiritu, PhD.

University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ praised Vergara for his systematic administration, and for exponentially increasing the research output of the university.

“I appreciate what he’s done in terms of systems; he’s a systems guy, so he’s done a lot to organize the office itself, streamlining operations, but I think I would really commend him for stimulating research, which is part of the academic life of the university,” Villarin stated.

Meanwhile, Vergara said that Vilches, as the SOH Dean, would bring balance to his science-centered terms as VPLS, and would add “a more caring and personal touch,” adding that he had sought her advice for certain important decisions.

“She’s very systems-oriented and deliberate, with a caring aspect. I’d say I look forward to that kind of change,” he said.

Duties of the VPLS

Villarin noted that the main duties of the VPLS include supervising the four Loyola Schools and academic life, which covers students, programs, and faculty.

“It’s really all-encompassing, there’s a side of it that’s academic, so I have all four deans from all four schools reporting to me; on the other side of things, there’s support and formation offices,” Vergara added.

He mentioned that his job as VPLS is “almost like a nine-to-five job and beyond”, as he attends an average of six meetings a day with different areas of the Loyola Schools.

Vergara stated that being the VPLS introduced him to different fields, and allowed him to practice his discipline when managing all four Loyola Schools.

“I’m in the corner of computer science; that’s a very specific field, so because I’m on top of different schools and disciplines, it widened my perspective, also, I found out how my own discipline helps in the management of the whole school,” he explained.

Vergara hopes to slide back as a regular faculty member—he noted that teaching felt “more like his vocation” as opposed to working in the administration—and to help in developing the curricula for a data science and analytics program.

Vergara’s legacy

Vergara has made it a point to focus on four different areas, which he discusses annually on Faculty Day. These four areas include curriculum, research and creative work, formation and outreach, and internationalization.

During his Faculty Day presentation held on January 22, 2016, Vergara mentioned he planned to improve the curriculum by creating more interdisciplinary courses and new major and minor programs.

The new major programs include Data Science and Analytics under the School of Science and Engineering, Design and Innovation under the School of Humanities (SOH), Sustainability under the John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM), and Area Studies under the School of Social Sciences (SOSS).

Meanwhile, the new minor programs include Enterprise Systems, Data Science and Analytics, and Interactive Multimedia, all under the Department of Information Systems; Computer Science and Enterprise Development under JGSOM; and Korean Studies, under SOH or SOSS.

“I promoted interdisciplinarity more, in terms of making departments cooperate, coming up with innovative courses, courses that involve multiple departments, and the number of additional new courses that we’ve created,” Vergara said.

With regard to research, Vergara doubled the research output in the university from 2010 to 2016, which Villarin commended.

“I salute him, it’s one of our goals, to double the research output, and that’s what he’s done,” he said.

As for formation, Vergara was able to integrate more discipline-based community service activities with the Loyola Schools Integrated Ateneo Formation during his terms as VPLS, which allowed half of the undergraduate students to participate in community service activities aligned with their specific disciplines.

“The principle there is you’d like it to be a little more connected to what you do, or what you like doing, so there’s a better chance that you’ll be doing it even when you’ve graduated,” he added.

While the Ateneo has been excelling in different student exchange programs, Vergara also planned to work towards faculty exchange, in order to improve the Loyola Schools’ internationalization.

Funds for inbound visiting faculty were allocated starting SY 2013-2014 and, before the end of each academic year, the deans are expected to coordinate with their department chairs or program directors to determine which departments will be hiring visiting faculty.

The visiting faculty are hired with the assistance of the Office of the Vice President for University and Global Relations.

Inbound visiting faculty include teachers from several countries who will temporarily become part of the Modern Languages Department, the English Department, the Philosophy Department, the Political Science Department, the Japanese Studies Department, the Environmental Sciences Department, the History Department, the Psychology Department, and the Sociology and Anthropology Department.

Funds for outbound visiting faculty were allocated starting SY 2015-2016; the program is expected to take off in the coming years.

Vilches steps up

Vilches anticipated finishing the work Vergara has begun, and admitted he was “a hard act to follow, given all his milestones.”

“What I want to do is build on what he has already worked on—make things sustainable so that we can reap the fruits of hard labor better. Building on what he has started is already a lot,” she said.

Vergara and Villarin agreed that appointing Vilches would help strengthen the liberal arts foundation and interdisciplinary culture of the Ateneo education.

“I look forward to what she’ll contribute, being the dean of the School of Humanities, like with the Arête going up around that time for her term, so development and reinforcing the art and humanities again, but at the same time, interdisciplinary. It’s kind of what an Ateneo education is all about, and I think she’s the perfect person for the job,” Vergara stated.

Villarin also mentioned that Vilches could contribute in helping develop more programs that will be invented at the Arête.

“I thought it’s timely, we have someone like Dr. Vilches, who comes from the humanities with a vision as well,” he said.

Villarin added that he hoped Vilches would shepherd the implementation of the revised core curriculum in 2018, and Vergara added that he hoped she would “continue the work that needs to be done.”

“We had [the new core curriculum] approved already, but I can sense there’s a little bit of hesitation, we have to sell it a little more, because it’s a very new thing, and that’s one of the things that Dr. Vilches can address,” Vergara stated.

In line with the revised core curriculum, Vilches plans to engage the faculty in all efforts, in order to show members of the faculty that they may also benefit from the revised core curriculum.

Vilches also looks forward to facing the challenges ahead of her as the next VPLS, to receiving support from the different schools and offices, and to serving the Loyola Schools.

“More importantly, I trust in the spirit of collaboration and generosity that have always been the mark of this community. All is a call to service and mine is just one form of response to it,” she added.