Sunday, July 06, 2008 New USC president to focus on research, better facilities
THE University of San Carlos (USC), the oldest university in Cebu which is run and managed by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), installed its 10th President yesterday.
USC’s Fr. Dionisio Marcelo Miranda, SVD, who was born on April 8, 1947 in Baguio City, will bring to the USC presidency a wealth of experience as a scholar, educator and pastor.
He will replace Fr. Roderick Salazar, SVD. Salazar will remain part of the USC community and will be assigned to the Office of Planning and Development.
A USC president serves a three-year term.
In a press statement, Miranda said the happiest years of his life were lived at the grassroots level, working in a parish, building a school from scratch and spending for nails and a toilet.
Miranda was referring to his assignment as a parish priest in Hernanderias, a town of Alto, Paraguay, close to the famous dam of Itaipu at the border with Brazil.
Improvements
As USC president, Fr. Miranda said that he will focus on improving and developing facilities and laboratories for scientists, engineers and technologists, saying they contribute greatly to nation building.
“We would like to see more research development especially that a lot of our own scientists have been complaining that we don’t have enough researchers. It’s very difficult to research and it requires a lot of resources,” Fr. Miranda said.
Focus
“My hope is if we could emphasize research and ensure certain capabilities and valid reasons, then we might attract some funding agencies to give us resources,” he said.
The new USC president said it’s hard to use funds out of tuition because 70 percent of it goes to salaries and allowances of staff and faculty members.
He said he accepted the USC presidency to help the university and reaffirm the contribution of educators.
A press statement distributed during a recent press conference said Fr. Miranda has told the administrators of the year-end evaluation and planning conference of USC: “I will keep on asking questions.”
He impressed on the administrators the need to know the historical and present context of their units and to assess the future of the school. (EOB)
