Academic Convocation Address June 22, 2006 LSU Gymnatorium Paciencia P. Milan President Leyte State University My warmest greetings to all members of the LSU Administrative and Academic Councils, the faculty and staff of the LSU Main Campus, satellite campuses and their respective Deans and guests.  Let me likewise welcome all students, composed of 991 college freshmen and transferees; 2,496 students in the higher academic ladder; around 100 graduate students; and close to 500 high school students. Annually we set aside one day for this Academic Convocation not only for the purpose of welcoming the students, both new and returning and other members of this academic community, but also to orient especially our new students and faculty what we have done as the Zonal Agricultural University for the Visayas, and to provide direction on what we need to do to realize our goals for the years ahead and especially this school year 2006-2007. Let me congratulate our new students for making the right decision to study at LSU.  Inspite of its geographic and perhaps “far from the city” setting, this University is truly committed and capable to mold you to become highly competent professionals and future leaders of our country.  It aims to develop you to become the person you dream to be and can be.   Let me assure you, then, that if you will seriously perform your responsibilities as students, you will obtain the best educational experience and excellent preparation for your personal development and professional growth.  I am sure the faculty members share the same enthusiasm as you do in performing these tasks. We are proud of LSU not only because of its unique landscape and natural beauty -- but also more because of its achievements and its highly competent faculty and staff, making the University one of the best universities in the country today.  LSU has earned the reputation for its programs and remarkable achievements in instruction, research, and extension despite enormous constraints brought about by reduced subsidy from the national government. The Commission on Higher Education has named the University as the Center of Excellence in Agriculture, Center of Excellence in Agricultural Engineering, and Center of Excellence in Forestry.  For the past few years we enjoyed these recognitions as a result of the performance of its graduates in board or licensure examinations.  Last year, for example, our Agricultural Engineering graduates obtained the 1st, 5th, and 7th places in the Board Examination for Agricultural Engineers; our Forestry graduates got 1st and 2nd places; and our Veterinary Medicine graduates secured 3rd and 7th places in their respective board exams.  In last year’s Agriculturist Board Examination, four of our Agriculture graduates likewise got into the 9th, 13th, 16th, and 20th places.   For obtaining high institutional passing percentage in the 2005 Chemist Licensure Examination, LSU ranked the 7th best performing school in chemistry out of 48 schools.  Furthermore, the first batch of our Bachelor in Secondary Education and Bachelor in Elementary Education graduates earned for the University an institutional passing percentage of 75% and 70.76%, respectively, in the Licensure Examination for Teachers, which were way above the national passing percentages of 25.89% and 25.50% in the said examinations. LSU’s faculty and research staff continued to prove their excellence and competence by winning numerous local, national, and international awards for their research and development pursuits.  Other researchers and scientists also proved their worth by reaping awards for their research projects and obtaining fund support for their research endeavors.  Just lately, our very own Director for Instruction and Curriculum Development, has been awarded the Regional Gawad-Saka Outstanding Agricultural Scientist Award. Also, last year, four out of five LSU researches presented during the DA-BAR National R&D Symposium garnered awards. Because of its strong reputation in agricultural research and development, the University established collaborations and has gained support from local and international institutions for its programs. Through these partnerships and collaborations, we obtained the added benefit of developing our staff through involvement in novel researches, training and advanced studies abroad and improving our facilities and research equipment.  These include, among others, LSU’s recent partnership with the Vietnam National University for academic exchange and research collaboration; with the University of Hohenheim, EURONATUR, DaimlerChrysler, German Investment and Development Company through the Private-Public Partnership-Abaca Project; and PPP-Plant Oil Stove Project with the Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate (BSH).    Indeed, LSU has established a commendable track record that all of us in the LSU main and satellite campuses must strive to uphold.  We must further prove its high reputation for academic and research excellence, and sustain its momentum for further growth and development despite the prevailing socio-economic difficulties.  Together we must push LSU to greater heights as a Paradise for Learning and Instrument for National Development. What is the INSTITUTIONAL AGENDA or scenario for 2006? Along this line, allow me to share with you our institutional agenda for this school year. In the face of the continuously declining government subsidy and decreasing support from external sources, LSU must continue to prove its relevance, excellence and must be willing to adapt to the changing situation.  Thus, in 2006 we shall push for:    1) Offering of new curricular programs.  2) Ladderization of selected LSU programs, 3) Upgrading and development of new facilities, 4) Widening faculty and staff development, 5) Fostering stronger partnership with the Alumni, 6) Strengthening campus security, and 7) Intensifying linkaging and resource generation. 1. Offering of new curricular programs In order to serve education needs especially in the western side of Leyte and in order to survive in the normative financing mode that is implemented by CHED and DBM on State Colleges and Universities wherein size of enrollment is the most crucial budget determinant, LSU will expand its program offerings. I have directed the Vice President for Academic Affairs to organize, as soon as possible, committees to prepare the curricula for BS Nursing, BS Criminology, BS on Business Management and other business related degrees and Diploma on Engineering Technology. Offering of Bachelor of Law will commence in the 1st semester of 2007. 2. Ladderization of selected LSU programs LSU shall seriously consider the challenge of no less than CHED Commissioner Nona S. Ricafort for us to offer courses that are attuned to the needs of the country and employers abroad.  Hence, we shall venture into curricula that allow the development of skills and competence at every level or year in college.  We shall adopt the ladderization of our curriculum to provide employment opportunity to our students even before completing a degree.  Efforts are on going towards ladderizing HRTM, Engineering and Computer Science courses in LSU main and Isabel campuses, and Fishery in LSU Tolosa campus.  Animal Science, Agronomy and Horticulture, even Nursing that we envisage will be laderrized. In partnership with TESDA, we will look into the offering of short courses with national certification awarded to participants.  With these certifications, successful participants can be marketed worldwide. 3. Upgrading and development of new facilities             Opening new programs or curriculum offerings necessitates the upgrading and developing of new facilities. We cannot allow our graduates to be treated as half-baked or second-class citizen by anyone and anywhere. Thus, in programs we have newly offered, LSU will strive to provide among others adequate and quality facilities needed for training our students. The implementation of our BSHRTM has paved the improvement of our Hostel, Guest House and Pavilion facilities. We have also established the LSU Beach Garden and are now on the second phase of the development to include construction of a swimming pool. These facilities will serve as laboratories to our HRTM students, preparatory to their fielding as practicum students.  Moreover, LSU, which has been identified by the Baybay Town Council as an ecotourism destination, needs to enhance its natural ecosystem as an added attraction aside from our forest and academic programs. We shall also continue to develop our newly established Ecology Park at the Molave Hill which shall likewise serve as our instructional and research resource.  The Ecology Park shall serve as a common site for showcasing our sustainable agricultural technologies like integrated and organic farming, rainforestation, integrated pest management, and contour farming.  To improve its features as an important attraction for visitors and excursionists, we shall accentuate the Ecology Park with a butterfly garden, a view deck, and camping amenities.  The construction of IT building is also continuing and we are hopeful to receive funding from CHED to complete the construction of the building and equip the building with training facilities for call center operators, medical transcriptionists and training for other business outsourcing programs. Preparatory to offering of BS Nursing, we will also upgrade our University Infirmary. 4. Aggressive faculty recruitment and development While continuing to enhance our facilities, we shall also enhance the core competence of our faculty by allowing them to pursue graduate courses.  We shall grant items for deserving faculty especially in support of our new offerings and those who have completed degree programs in needed disciplines. 5. Fostering stronger partnership with the Alumni The LSU Alumni in recent years has immensely contributed to realizing LSU’s plans and programs. Its assistance includes joint publication with the university, providing funds to strengthen our Local Area Network, improving our web page and improvement of Balay Alumni. The association has also started to fund scholars and expand the number of scholars it is supporting. God willing, next year and beyond the alumni scholarship program will expand and the realization of its new Balay Alumni. In this, the university will be an active partner. This will surely augment the Legacy Fund that shall be used for this worthy project of which the President can authorize its use. 6. Strengthening campus security Recent spots of thief and vandalism have been found to be committed by out-of-school youth from our neighboring barangays. These incidents has become common and frequent. The university shall have a two-prong approach in dealing with this problem. First, our extension activities shall be focused on this marginalized sector of our society and try to bring them to the mainstream of reforming their lifestyle and habits as well as explore ways of having them engaged in some livelihood. Hopefully this can help solve this problem. Second, the university will complete the establishment of gates that will allow us to better monitor persons and vehicles that enter and exit the campus. Fencing the lower and upper campuses, closing some of the entrances to the campus, and implementing a strict ID system for students, faculty, staff, laborers and even visitors of LSU will complement this.  I hope you are ready to toe with us on this. One cannot be complacent when it comes to security. 7. Intensifying linkaging and resource generation In realizing our thrusts, the administration plays a crucial role.  For effective internal governance, the administration shall strive to provide a favorable working environment and mechanism for staff productivity, creativity, and professional advancement.  Administration shall likewise give emphasis on better control of resources to dish out top-quality services and outputs with the least cost.   It shall pursue optimization of functions and manpower resources towards achieving the desired institutional growth.  The recent streamlining of offices to create the Office of the Vice President for Development and External Affairs (OVPDEA) is a decisive step towards this end.  OVPDEA shall spearhead and coordinate initiatives to explore and establish linkages, partnerships, and tie-ups for resource generation, collaborative research, faculty and student exchange, scholarship and fellowship opportunities, and the like.  In tandem with the Offices of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President for Administration and Finance, OVPDEA shall likewise intensify promotion of LSU’s programs, services, and achievements as a premier agricultural university. We shall endeavor to make our research agenda not only to enhance our knowledge and science but to make it more aggressive and applicable.  We have tangible results in our new plant oil stove, the PROTOS, the vacuum fried jackfruit and our macapuno varieties.  Let us push for their commercialization. I encourage our Research Centers to effect complementation, optimize use of resources and optimize research results. Just last week, the university signed a memorandum of agreement with Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for a Php 3,000,000.00 grant/investment for researches on the production of biofuels from Jatropha (tuba-tuba) and cassava. LSU is in its 82nd year as an agricultural institution and fifth year as a university.  As our tribute to its years of existence and service to the whole Visayas region, we shall strive to obtain our desired name for the university- the Visayas State University.  Visayas State University as its name reflects our service area and scope of influence that even go beyond the Visayas region since the birth of this school.   Let us therefore support and rally behind this drive as we uphold our zeal for top-quality services and academic excellence. God bless everyone and good day.