Darwin
Yu honored as an Outstanding Teacher for 2005
Mr. Darwin Yu, Assistant Professor – Finance and Accounting Department of the John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM), was honored as this year's Outstanding Junior Teacher by the Ateneo Schools Parents Council (ASPAC) in its annual Parangal at Pasasalamat held last February 18 at the Escaler Hall.
A distinguished and prolific career
Mr.
Yu graduated cum laude from the Ateneo in 1983 with a degree in
Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering. He then worked with the
National Economic Development Authority as a Senior Economic Development
Researcher until 1985. He went to the US the following year to pursue his
Masters in Private and Public Management at the Yale School of
Organization and Management. In 1987, he started working with the Merill
Lynch and Company in New York where he became Finance and Project Manager
of the Sector Finance and Advanced Office Systems Group respectively.
He went back to the country and started teaching at the Ateneo in 1991. Since then, Mr. Yu has become an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Management Engineering Department (College of Arts and Sciences) and Finance and Accounting Department (John Gokongwei School of Management). He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines – Diliman.
In
his various work, teaching, and consulting experiences over the past 22
years, he has been engaged in the following types of assignments: design
for performance measurement systems, design and implementation of
financial planning and control measures, management of information systems
planning and design, operations review for efficiency and control, health
financing, project feasibility studies, and corporate valuation. He has
also been part of a team of JGSOM teachers who train and prepare students
for various competitions.
Praises from the Dean
Mr. Rudy Ang, Dean of the John Gokongwei School of Management, praises his long-time friend and colleague:
If
teachers could be compared to the clothes in our closets, Darwin would
best be described as your favorite t-shirt and faded jeans--- yes, the
ones that you really should stop wearing because you've already worn
them out, but you keep wearing anyway because they're just so darn
comfortable and you need them on when you want to get some serious work
done. He isn't the flashy tuxedo or coat and tie, not the loud
Hawaiian shirt, and definitely not the skimpy running shorts and
half-shirt. He can sometimes be the serious business suit or barong,
but usually, he is simply the comfortable t-shirt and faded jeans.
Most
people are afraid of numbers. Darwin revels in them. He's
the one who voluntarily chose Financial Accounting as his area of
specialization. He's sometimes known as Mr. Budget Model.
When most people hear the term ABC they think of kindergarten and language
class. Darwin's immediate word association is "Activity Based
Costing."
Most
students are scared of accounting, and by extension, their accounting
teachers. Not Darwin's students. He ably shares his passion
for accounting with his students, and he brings the subject to life by
asking them to work on actual projects for NGOs or SMEs as part of the
class. He is one of that rare breed of accounting teachers whose
class the students actually look forward to.
But
Darwin's contributions to the Ateneo are not restricted to his teaching
excellence. He was one of the main movers that helped to make the
School of Management a reality, and continues to be one of the pillars on
which the school stands.
He
is a reliable professional who is always punctual for everything and
forever well-prepared. He is the dependable go-to guy who never lets
you down when you need someone to go over the numbers for a university
project or an NGO. He is the calm and steady one--- a teacher
who never loses his temper, is always collected and in control. The
efficient, disciplined and oh-so-organized one who is completing his PhD
at breakneck speed.
Darwin
is a valued member of the JGSOM administrative team because of his clarity
of thinking and balanced views, a valued faculty member and former chair
of the Finance and Accounting Department because of his commitment to
quality education and his genuine concern for the Ateneo and for the
students under his care, a valued friend because of reasons too many to
enumerate.
Tuxedos
spend most of their time mothballed in our closets. Hawaiian shirts
and trendy athletic gear quickly go out of fashion. A favorite
T-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans? We bring them around with
us wherever we go because they mean something to us. They never go
out of style. The warm and secure feeling they bring us when we put
them on? Priceless.
Other winners this year
Dr. Norman Quimpo, Professor – Department of Mathematics of the School of Sciences and Engineering (SOSE), and Mr. Walfredo Belen, Lecturer – Department of Economics of the School of Social Sciences (SOSS), were also honored as Outstanding Senior and Part-time Teachers respectively.