Bidding Farewell to a Champion of JRU Education…

Over the last several days, you might have seen or heard of a hearse and a casket inside the campus, specifically in our newly constructed gym. It was our way of welcoming home and bidding farewell to our 5th President and President Emeritus, Dr. Jose Dacanay Baltazar (1930–2008). Although finishing law school at 20 years old, being 9th placer in the Bar Exams when he took it, and having an illustrious career in the industry of finance for ten years, he decided to be with JRU as faculty from 1960-1976. In 1974, he gradually rose to become the Dean of the Graduate School of Business, and Dean of the College from1976-1981. He served as Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1981-1992 before becoming President from 1993 to 2003. He was also president of various national organizations such as PACU and the Center for Educational Management, board member of the Private Educational Retirement Annuity Association, and had been Chairman of the Board of San Beda College. He contributed significantly to the improvement of education in the Philippines. Tito “Chit” as I called him was my mentor and sacrificed a lot for the betterment not only of JRU, but the entire Philippine educational system as well. After his retirement in 2003, he was declared by the Board as the 1st President Emeritus of JRU. His legacy will forever be remembered.

… While We Remember Our Past School Year …

Last school year, as part of our multi-year Campus Development Plan, we were able to complete our environmentally designed state-of-the-art gym, a facility now being used as an example in various engineering and architecture courses in other universities in Metro Manila, impressing even foreign coaches who visited recently. The new HRM lab has been completed and operational, now twice the capacity of the previous labs. This shows the continuous commitment of JRU to upgrade its facilities and remain competitive among the top schools in the NCR.

Our Basic Education Division has been doing very well, both in their academic performance and extra curricular activities. Our elementary has been able to produce very good graduates allowing them to be admitted in JRU and other prestigious high schools in the NCR. Our High School has been very active in interschool competitions, allowing our selected 3rd and 4th years HS students to reach the final rounds of Metro Manila wide competitions in the SLASH IT Quiz Bee in Ateneo de Manila University last year. We also continue to reap division and nationwide awards in our Girl Scouts of the Philippines. I’m also proud to tell you that more teachers in the elementary and high school divisions are finishing their Masters and Doctorate degrees as part of our Basic Education Faculty Development Program.

We were able to launch our Retention Program for the college students, and the results were very impressive. We’ve had an average of about 70% of students over the last two semesters who have been helped by this program. The drop out rate in college on a national average is about 60%, so by itself, this program is an achievement for our college students and the university.

The Department of Education has identified JRU as a partner in their Teacher Education Development Program, a program designed to improve overall pupil learning. This distinction has only been given only to the top 100 Teacher Education Institutions in the country. Our partnership with the Business Process Outsourcing company e-PLDT Ventus in offering the Advanced English Proficiency Training (ADEPT), has been identified by the Presidential Task Force on Education as a national model for industry-academe linkages. Among fresh graduates, 50% of those who pass this training are hired immediately, in direct contrast to the 6% industry average immediately hired without the training.

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