New SLSU President Zoleta-Nantes visits CAS, challenges faculty

Post date: 02-Oct-2019 14:06:03

Newly-installed SLSU President, Dr. Doracie Zoleta-Nantes, visited the College of Arts and Sciences for a first meeting with the College's faculty and staff as part of her day-long meeting with the different Colleges and personnel of SLSU as a way to be acquainted with the academic landscape of the University, CAS Faculty Lounge, October 2, 2019.

CAS Faculty and Staff with the new SLSU President, Dr. Doracie Zoleta-Nantes

Dean Mari Jane A. Lee first presented the profile of the College focusing on its curricular offerings and accreditation level, performance in licensure examinations, faculty profile, engagements in research and extension, linkages, facilities, and perceived strengths, weaknesses, areas needing improvement and other concerns.

Dean Mari Jane Lee talks about the profile of CAS

Among other things, Dr. Lee emphasized the College's strengths particularly in relation to research and extension services that include annual Inter-disciplinary Research Competitions, faculty and students presenting and publishing studies, and winning in research competitions, here and abroad - the evidence of which is the fact that 70% of studies from SLSU that are indexed in Scopus are from CAS. She also noted the collaborative practices of faculty and students in research and extension services that led to the continued publication and widest dissemination of TILAMSIK: The Southern Luzon Journal of Arts and Sciences, as well as the implementation of various community development programs.

President Doracie Zoleta-Nantes responds to CAS Faculty's concerns

Responding to the concerns raised in the report, the President emphasized that her administration will do its very best to address the concerns as long as budget warrants, it is equitable, and it is in line with pertinent rules and laws.

To address the concern on faculty and staff promotions, Dr. Zoleta-Nantes stated that she has instructed the Human Resource Office to expedite the release of the notice of vacant positions for the 70 unfilled plantilla positions, noting further that funds will also be sourced and allocated for the promotion of the administrative staff.

Recognizing the importance of research productivity, the President stressed that priority will be given to those who have a proven track record of doing research. She mentioned that her administration will be strongly supportive of those who wish to pursue their graduate studies so as to upgrade the University's research capability.

To make the promotion system fair, she instructed the Dean and chairpersons to convene to develop a tool that could be used to assess who among the College's personnel deserves to be recommended for promotion. She noted that this will have to be different across all other Colleges because there are activities and qualifications from other Colleges or disciplines that may not necessarily be applicable to another College or discipline.

Having experienced partnering with various institutions and organizations throughout her career and during her time as President of the Aurora State College of Technology, Dr. Zoleta-Nantes challenged the faculty to be ready for more linkages that could upgrade the University's teaching and research capacity, especially when tapping potential international partners.

In relation to the service vehicles of the University, the President mentioned that there are processes that may need to be relaxed for the greater benefit of the faculty, staff, and the administration. Lightheartedly, she expressed dismay about the tight procedure in securing a service vehicle for University-based activities that she herself experienced causing delays in her trip to the College of Agriculture for the first faculty meeting.

As to the upgrading of laboratories, the President said that the proposed Science and Technology Laboratory upgrade may have to wait for another two years due to procedures related to securing the budget for the said upgrade. In addition, she suggested that instead of requesting a Speech Laboratory, a Language Laboratory may have more functionality especially since the University will also aim at attracting foreign students to study in SLSU.

The President admitted that she is a workaholic and that she hopes for the best effort from the faculty in support of her administration's goal for the University to be an international academic hub. And this, according to her, can only be achieved with the collective, cordial, and collaborative effort of the administration, faculty, and administrative staff. // CAS Web Development Team