THE interview of the selection committee for the two nominees for chancellor of the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu was met with protest last Monday, Nov. 12.

Students and some members of the faculty, armed with placards, called on the university not to renew the term of incumbent chancellor, lawyer Liza Corro.

They questioned her credentials, her academic record and her qualification, and criticized her for being “anti-students.”

Corro is up against Dr. Rolando Tolentino, a professor at UP Diliman.

UP president Alfredo Pascual handpicked Corro to be chancellor of UP Cebu. She joined UP Cebu as a dean in 2012, and became chancellor in 2016.

UP Cebu professor Phoebe Sanchez said they wondered how Corro became a level 7 assistant professor when she only has one publication and had only been dean for three years, while others, who have been teaching for 15 to 20 years, could not attain the same level.

Ligaya Rabago, coordinator of arts and culture and a UP Cebu professor for close to 35 years, also complained about her group being asked to pay P12,000 to use the Performing Arts Hall to stage a play in 2016, the same rate the university charges outsiders.

Corro, for her part, explained that she doesn’t have that many publications and has not conducted much research because she’s new to the academe. But that doesn’t mean she is not qualified to be an academic leader, she said.

She also clarified that they only charge non-academic organizations and non-academic activities for using university facilities.

The new chancellor will be announced on Nov. 29. (from SCG of SuperBalita Cebu)