2009 Special Academic Convocation

Two honorary degrees, eight university awards to be presented at July 14 Special Academic Convocation

 

On July 14, 2009, as part of the Ateneo de Manila’s sesquicentennial celebration, two honorary degrees and eight university awards will be conferred on distinguished individuals at the Special Academic Convocation.  This year’s convocation is also a momentous occasion because of the presence of Father General Adolfo Nicolas, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, as special guest.

 

The ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Rev. Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights campus.

 

The awardees for this year are the following:

 

 

 

The award is in recognition of his vision and mission, through the Assisi Development Foundation (ADF), to empower the poor and the marginalized to attain their full human development, in the quest for justice and peace. In its 33 years of witnessing, ADF reached 47 provinces providing interventions for the education of indigenous people, promotion of peace, environment and resource management, institutional grants, youth formation, nutrition and Marian devotion.

 

 

 

The award is in recognition of her contributions in preserving Filipino culture, particularly 'the study of indigenous knowledge and oral tradition of the Palawan people.' Her interdisciplinary study of the epics encompasses language, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnomedicine, music and poetry, astronomy, perception and way of life. Her life-long work has made the materials available for our local scholars as well as those in Asia and the UNESCO.

 

 

The award is in recognition of his outstanding and unique dedication as an educator at the Ateneo for over 50 years. His various endeavors in the Grade School, High School, Ateneo Teacher Center, Education Department of the Loyola Schools Graduate School, and his initiatives at the Ateneo Grade School Educational Media Center, all bear out the level of excellence and passion he has shown in developing and forming teachers and students. The Award acknowledges his contributions as one of the early lay collaborators of Jesuit education.

 

 

 

The award is in recognition of his pioneering work in creating four hundred (400) Munting Sambayanang Kristiyano (MSK) or Basic Ecclessial Communities (BEC). As a priest and trailblazer of the 'Church of the poor,' he asked to be with the poor at the most remote places where he could serve God and God's people. He organized communities and taught the Gospel by immersing himself with the people and passionately caring for their spiritual and corporal development.

 

 

The award is in recognition of his commitment to the cause of the urban poor and advocacy for social transformation in his various capacities as a community organizer at the Institute of Social Order in the '60s, Philippine Ecumenical Committee for Community Organization in the '70s, Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences between the '70s and '80s, and the Urban Poor Associates since 1991.

 

 

 

 

He will receive the award for instituting Community Based Programs of the Elderly (CBPE) that support and care for our elderly for them to remain empowered and productive members of society and a continuing source of wisdom especially to our youth. COSE has grown to include 45 CBPEs in urban poor areas in Metro Manila, Baguio, Bicol, Negros, Davao, Cavite and Pampanga engaged in home care, gerontology, counseling, fund raising, education, health care, income generation, advocacies and social activities for the elderly.

 

 

The award is in recognition of his multi-awarded short stories and essays on individuals and middle class families and their attendant problems. The Award also acknowledges his reputation as a Catholic writer as evidenced in the religious orientation of his stories.

 

 

 

The award is in recognition of his works as a poet, freelance journalist, editor, translator, screenwriter and lecturer on journalism and literature. In the '70s up to the '90s, his poetry served as a tool to overcome political issues.

 

 

 

The award is in recognition of his scholarly work primarily on Philippine theater and cinema, such as 'Kasaysayan at Estetika ng Sinakulo at Ibang Dulang Panrelihiyon sa Malolos,' the ten-volume CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, and other creative and cultural work in the form of plays, librettos and sarswelas with nationalist orientation.

 

 

 

The award is in recognition for his work at the Bureau of Prisons (1949-1959 & 1991-1993), particularly his humane and Christian treatment of prisoners neglected and spurned by society, thus extending to them human dignity while in prison.