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The Alumni as Stakeholders:
Sharing in the University’s Vision Today, Living a Legacy
by
Dr. Amelou
Benitez Reyes, PWU-PWC President
at the PWUAA Induction Ceremony, July 18, 2007 |
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GREETINGS AND
INTRODUCTION |
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Our beloved Chair, Dr Helena Z Benitez, my dear fellow alumni, University
officials, faculty and administrators, students, ladies and gentlemen—
On behalf of
the entire PWU Community, we welcome you to Alma Mater. It is heartening to
again be with you, our loving alumni; this show of support and love for Alma
Mater is indeed invigorating.
It
has been almost
a year since we
had our 2nd
Alumni Global
Congress in
Davao City,
hosted by the
Philippine
Women’s College.
We were so happy
that time to
have you to
celebrate our
achievements
together; seeing
this growing
commitment to
Alma Mater,
especially from
our overseas
alumni; and
meeting with us
on how we can
proceed and
chart the future
of both PWU and
PWC. It is
great to know
that there are
true and loyal
Philwomenians
whom we can
count on through
thick and thin,
and who remain
dedicated and
committed to
participate in
charting the
University’s
future.
Rekindling
this spirit of volunteerism as a form of service to Alma Matter is the hallmark
of a true Philwomenian. With this, I congratulate
most heartily our outgoing PWU Alumni Association Board led by Ms. Olivia
Montecillo Villafuerte, and wish the newly elected PWU Alumni Association Board
all the best. I heartily thank all the officers—both of
the previous and incoming Board—for their fortitude and steadfast dedication to
the University.
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The
Role
of
the
Alumni
in
the
University’s
Collective
Vision |
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Now in my mid-term as President, we
have attended to our educational product to ensure delivery of outcomes—students
and graduates equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills in their chosen
fields, and the values, virtues and attitudes they need as ethical
professionals
in a globalizing economy.
Under my presidency, this VISION
WITH A HEART
to build a faith community aims to reach the kind of
spirituality that empowers people to be
the best they can become. From the legacy bestowed upon us by our founders, we rekindled anew
the Philwomenian spirit in PWU’s brand
of education. This
emphasizes spirituality, cultural heritage and ethical professionalism. Over the past three years, my administration has been
committed to building a faith community, with the vision of transformative
leadership. We remain in our conviction that academic standards must continue to
equip students with moral, social and civic values, virtues and attitudes to
enable them to survive and become successful in a globalized economy.
The challenge to us alumni, therefore, is
to gain perspective, and work not just towards finding success, but also towards
significance through service to others. By harnessing the capacities of us
alumni, we hope that, as transformed leaders, we can synergize and collaborate
towards the collective dream of our University. It is now, more than ever, that
we need our alumni to help the University meet national and global challenges. |
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Thoughts
on
Innovation,
Collaboration,
Transformation:
Clustering |
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Through the concerted efforts of university administration and faculty, the PWU
continues its commitment to educational innovation by offering marketable
ladderized courses, delivery online instruction that can be accessed in school
and in workplaces, thus responding to industry-based and market-driven training
demands. By integrating programs of both degree and non-degree courses, we have
reorganized the different professional schools to collaborate
through Clusters. To enumerate, these are: 1) The Cluster of Music, Fine
Arts and Culture; 2) The Cluster of Education, Liberal Arts and Social Work; 3)
The Cluster of Business Entrepreneurship, Environment and Information
Technology; 4) The Cluster of Hospitality Management and Food Science; and 5)
The Cluster of Health Sciences.
So the move is toward creating that synergy within areas of study: breaking down
programmatic boundaries, ensuring all critical ingredients, collaborating to
create new and improved knowledge and processes, something innovative that
ensures not just personal growth but deeper transformation, hopefully not just
in ourselves in our work, but also in our higher calling toward our homes and
community, country and humanity, as a whole. |
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Apart from my
personal call to
deepen our
spirituality,
this year’s
theme also
encourages the
community to
achieve a
culture of
quality for
transformative
leadership.
Quality is a
multi-faceted
concept. Our
University is
now into this
new
enculturation
program of
always looking
for quality,
making it a part
of our
day-to-day
practice at
work. So, ever
mindful of this,
we make note of
ways to satisfy
our students and
parents as
customers,
alumni as
stakeholders,
with the service
and education
they are
obtaining from
the University. |
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These seven dimension of quality are as
follows:
- Quality as Fitness for/of Purpose
- Quality as Compliance (with accreditation requirements)
- Quality as
Customer Satisfaction
- Quality
as
Excellence
(for PWU to
become a
Center of
Excellence,
Autonomous
status)
- Quality as
Value for Money
- Quality as
Transformation
- Quality as
Enhancement
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We are sharing this new paradigm of service with you because
you are now part of this. Really, this
call to achieving a culture of quality is one that involves all of us alumni as
stakeholders in the University. In our evaluation of our programs and further
planning, we want to consult you, being part of PWU… What are your plans and how
can we put together all our efforts to help PWU? |
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We are also in the midst of planning a roadmap for e-PWU. To keep up with the
fast-paced development of ICT, we have fast-tracked our online courses in both
undergraduate and graduate level. We are attending to the “internationalization”
of the curriculum so that we can expand our registration for online courses
overseas. We have signed several MOAs with different foreign institutions for
student and faculty exchange.
eAlumni is an area to address. How can we carry out this project
together. More and more alumni are using e-technology. This is one medium we can
harness to increase linkage and to help each other grow and learn together with
PWU.
In an nutshell, I would encourage the new
board to continue or strengthen the following:
-
updated
alumni
directory
-
communication
mechanisms
to reach out
and link for
information
-
uploading
alumni plans
for
exchange,
mobilizations
and feedback
-
collective
contributions
of PWU
alumni as
resource
persons,
donors,
project
endorsers,
etc.
-
PWU alumni
mentoring
program for
students and
faculty
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PWU will go
international; this we strongly envision.
This is the direction of
our linkages and partnerships. We have linked up on work-integrated
learning and cooperative education with the World Association on
Cooperative (WACE). We have a growing number of foreign students, the
largest group coming from Korea. |
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Collectively
Creating
the
University's
Future
today |
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As the University strives for academic excellence and competitiveness in a
borderless world, the call for spirituality in education becomes more
imperative. That is why I am reiterating today this institutional direction that
needs to be further elaborated, disseminated and sustained.
So, the
CORE of
the PWU Brand of
education is
this:
Education with a
heart, which
means harnessing
the potentials
of young women
and men to be
the best they
can become. To
concretize the
vision, we have
identified the
following
institutional
thrusts for SY
2007-2008: |
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- Moving
towards
institutional
accreditation
and
autonomous
status
-
Instituting
outcomes-based
Quality
Assurance
Management
-
Undertaking
relevant
research
for
development
-
Institutionalizing
best
practices
in all
programs,
projects
-
Realigning
institutional
goals to
national
goals
-
Developing
Centers
of
Excellence
-
Strengthening
Management
and
Governance
- Strengthening organizational viability by rightsizing and cross-functional teams
-
Streamlining
systems
and
procedures
-
Strengthening
monitoring
and
evaluation
of
individual
performance
-
Monitoring
and
evaluating
programs
and
projects;
performance
of the
different
offices
and
academic
units
-
Effective
financial
management
and
prudent
use of
resources
-
Effective
records
management
-
Building
and
strengthening
networks
-
Expansion
and
upgrading
of
physical
facilities
-
Strengthening
Resource
Management
- We also have, in our collective wish list, the formation of the following
programs/ schools for the university:
-
School
of
International
Diplomacy
-
School
of
Sports
Programs
-
Integrative
Health
Care
Programs
-
Women’s
Empowerment
and
Leadership
-
Women in
Science
and
Technology
Programs
-
Academy
of
Culture,
Arts and
Music
-
Continuing
Professional
Development
-
School
of
International
Hospitality
Management
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Through our
combined efforts
and the power of
prayer, we are
moving the
University to
institute a
learning
environment
towards
harnessing the
best we can
become.
With God’s
assistance and
the steadfast
support of the
university
community, the
PWU continues to
develop,
improve, and
upgrade both
instructional
facilities and
human resources.
Reassessing our
institutional
strengths and
weaknesses is an
ongoing process
to concretize
our desire to
keep abreast of
international
standards for
educating
world-class
Filipino
professionals.
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The
PWU
Alumni
Make
a
Difference
in
Today's
World |
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With faith and
trust in the
Almighty, I know
that I have your
full support of
the PWU
Community and
its friends in
shaping the
University’s
role in the new
millennium. I am
particularly
counting on you
– my dear alumni
– to share and
realize our
dreams. |
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- Let us
continue building a stronger Faith community;
- Let
us
continue
our
advocacy
for
peace
and
gender
equality
and
maintain
our role
as a
premier
University
for
women;
and
- Let
us
continue
in
preparing
the
young
for
transformative
leadership.
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As Philwomenians,
we know that our
PWU legacy is a
gift and a
responsibility.
Just as we
benefited from
our PWU
education, we
need to treasure
this gift and
accept the
responsibility
passed on to us.
We need to bear
the major
burden,
demonstrate the
key convictions,
value ourselves,
dedicate our
lives to service
and nurture our
faith and trust
in God.
I am inviting
each one of you
to “come home”
and be one with
us in realizing
our dream to
shape a better
tomorrow today.
We ask you to
actively
participate in
our academic
circles, share
your ideas, and
influence our
policies. Engage
yourselves with
us in
cooperative
ventures and
partnerships,
curriculum and
materials
development,
faculty and
student exchange
programs, joint
accreditation of
courses both
here and abroad.
We invite you
also who are in
industry and
business to help
us make our
curriculum
relevant, to
provide job
opportunities
for students in
a
work-integrated
learning
program, or
extend
scholarships and
educational
resources.
Come home as
resource persons
to our faculty
and students, to
join our faculty
or come as
students in our
continuing
education
program. Be our
friend and
supporter, and
most of all, be
role models and
our living
legacy.
Together, let us
continuously
strive to make a
discernible
difference in
today’s world
and improve the
quality of life
of our students,
our families and
each other. Let
us continue
enriching each
other’s lives
and make our
dreams a
reality.
Thank you for
your continued
support and God
bless! |
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