“A Century of Excellence” coffee table book now in the works for VSU’s 100th year

In 2024, Visayas State University will embark on a significant milestone as it will be celebrating its 100th founding anniversary. And to mark VSU’s centenary, the university will be launching a coffee table book entitled "VSU at 100: A Century of Excellence" capturing the major accomplishments of the university as it pivots to become a global institution of higher learning.

As part of the public consultation in the creation of this important historical material, VSU President Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin spearheaded a writeshop to gather local writers and collaborate on the content of the centennial book. This two-day activity was held last week at Jyn’s Hotel in Inopacan, Leyte. 

The event was attended by VSU officials, component campus chancellors, college deans, research unit and office heads, and student council members including former university administrators.

In his opening message, Dr. Tulin emphasized the relevance of documenting how a rural provincial high school metamorphosed into becoming one of the country’s top-performing universities. 

"We are doing this activity today to show our stakeholders how VSU has evolved to become the excellent institution that it is today. The work we are doing here now will serve as a legacy that we will be leaving for the rest of the Viscan community not just for our centennial year but even for the next centuries to come," the President stated.

Dr. Tulin also laid out the university's blueprint as it approaches its centennial year. He as well led the critiquing of the proposed contents pitched in by the participants of the workshop.

VSU Web Team and Printing Press Head Mr. Jed Asaph Cortes, the lead organizer of the workshop and one of the editors, said that the activity aims to produce significant content for the book. 

"These officials are very busy so we wanted to capture their time and attention so we can finally write the different chapters and stories of the book," he said. 

Cortes added that former administrators were invited to the program to help brainstorm stories and share personal accounts of their experiences as Viscans. In this way, content production for the book becomes more inclusive and participatory.

"There are assigned writers for each chapter. We even invited retired officials like VP Oscar Posas, Dr. Buboy Dargantes, and Atty. Susan Guinocor because they possess 'institutional memories' that are superior to just the facts recorded in documents," the lead organizer revealed.

According to him, a rough draft will be produced following the workshop and will be polished over the next few months to develop the VSU Centennial coffee table book.

The VSU Centennial Book 

The VSU Centennial Book will feature notable events and significant topics that highlight the growth and development of the university. These will cover key contents like an updated university history, a feature on how VSU’s symbiosis with the Baybay City government provided a conducive space for the university to grow including major development challenges that were experienced by the university brought about by many disruptions like the war, occurrence of natural disasters, the pandemic and many others.

One of the major segments of the book will also be about the achievements of the current administration under Dr. Tulin. Dubbed the "Creation of Pathways for Globalization", the chapter authors that includes Director for Research Prof. Rosa Ophelia Velarde, DLABS Faculty Dr. Maria Vanessa Gabunada, and former VP for Instruction Prof. Oscar Posas will describe in this section how the present leadership pushed for internationalization and greater global recognition.

"[In this period under Dr. Tulin] VSU has started to expand its reach to a wider scope, especially on an international scale. The university has opened up to many global opportunities like sending our faculty members and students abroad, accepting foreign students, and forging many international partnerships and linkages. These are just some achievements of VSU that we have enumerated for this chapter," former VP Posas explained.

Prof. Posas affirmed that VSU has come a long way in its internationalization program through the initiatives of the present administration, saying that the university is on the right track and will ultimately be at par with big institutions in Luzon in terms of globalizing its curricular offerings and other programs.

Atty. Susan Guinocor, former legal counsel of the university and one of the writers for the chapter on VSU's history, shared her excitement to be a part of the development of this book. 

"I felt honored and elated to be asked to be a part of this project. It was a mixed feeling at first. I even questioned myself if I could deliver or if I would be able to write it well since it is a really crucial chapter. But when I started reading the materials, I was satisfied and fulfilled to learn more about the history of VSU and most importantly in knowing that I can contribute to the successful production of this centennial book," she ecstatically shared.

Atty. Guinocor added that the short feature writing discussion by Development Communication Professor Dr. Editha Cagasan was very helpful in organizing her thoughts.

"I'm looking forward not for us to come up with a perfect book but with the best centennial book that we can produce wherein our readers can truly understand VSU, what it is as an institution, how it has started, and what it is now. Equally important for them to know is what the university has done through the years, the challenges, and the successes it has achieved over the century," she said.

VSU Brand Book to be launched soon

Still, in line with VSU’s countdown to its centennial year, the VSU Brand Book Task Force chaired by Mr. Jed Cortes officially released the provisions on centennial branding that includes streamlining and unifying the university's unit logos and names. The guidelines were presented to the university officials, units and offices, and other stakeholders along with the salient contents of the recently approved VSU Brand Book last March 01, 2023.

In 2019, the centennial logo was unveiled to the public during the 95th founding anniversary of VSU. The logo was patterned after Mt. Pangasugan and the VSU Obelisks which was conceptualized by Mr. Renante Tomas who was also the brain behind some of the prominent unit logos of the university.

The VSU Brand Book’s creation is also an important input to the completion of the centennial coffee table book as it provides a style guide that helps VSU content creators to communicate a consistent message to their target audience.

The VSU Centennial coffee table book is expected to be published and mass-produced in April 2024 with its soft launch slated for October this year.

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