Congratulations and Many Thanks! (OVPLS Memo)

To:                   Loyola Schools Community

From:               [Sgd.] Maria Luz C. Vilches

                        Vice President

RE:                  CONGRATULATIONS AND MANY THANKS!

When we do a good turn, we say ‘many congratulations’ many times!  We also say ‘thank you’ over and over again.  That’s the way of grace. 

And this time, I’m talking about the 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings where we soared up to the 101-200 bracket from the 201-300 bracket in 2021.  The rank is related to what we have done in view of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. For the individual SDGs, we ranked as follows:

• SDG 6   - Clean Water and Sanitation: 48
• SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities: 77
• SDG 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: 101-200
• SDG 17 - Partnership for the Goals: 101-200

How we got to where we are now has been the work of many in our community. It is true, indeed, that it takes a community to raise us up where we are and to sustain that momentum and do better.

In this community, the Loyola Schools forms a large part. Different offices have contributed the necessary data to provide evidence for our narratives.  We are grateful for them all.  But I would like to mention specific offices and people here.

Thanks to the Loyola Schools Quality Assurance (LSQA) office team headed by Dr. Ixie Alejo who also gave the blessings to Dr. Alma Salvador to take on the tedious process of data gathering. Alma systematically addressed the details of data-gathering and patiently followed up submissions.  The support came from the all-ladies LSQA team too: Kaye Agustin, Lorie Capili, and Nicole Vivas.

Thanks also to the Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Creative Work (OADRCW) team, headed by Dr. Ninette De las Peñas who is always vigilant in encouraging research that addresses the SDGs and who assiduously makes sure that research counts much in the accumulated data. The work towards accomplishing the THE Impact Rankings submissions also benefitted from the support of Dr. Jun Aguilar, former University Research Council (URC) Chair; Dr. Jayeel Cornelio, forthcoming ADRCW; Mr. Tony Soza, statistician; the office team:  Pia Valencia, DJ Andres, and Ian Bondoc.

In the LS schools, we thank the deans for their support and leadership in making sure that the SDGs are considered in planning research and teaching activities: Dr. Jonathan Chua (SOH), Dr. Louie Dumlao (JGSOM), Dr. Bopeep Akpedonu (SOSS), Dr. Paeng Guerrero (SOSE), Fr. Johnny Go, SJ (GBSEALD).

We owe a lot to the pillars of the Central Administration team for their dedication and sustained leadership through all this: The Strategy and Quality Management Office (SQMO) led by its former Director Ms. Tere Santos, the Office of the Vice President for Social Development (OVPSD) led by Mr. Lino Rivera with the support of Ms. Milet Tendero and Ms. Michelle de Guzman, the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability (AIS) led by Dr. Kendra Gotangco-Gonzales. The Higher Education Impact Rankings Committee headed by Fr. Joey Cruz SJ, with a membership that included Dr. Randy Tuaño, likewise gave valuable support.

Being at the top is both a great adventure and a humbling responsibility!  The work that we have done, so far, has created good impact on the greater society.  Let us continue to do better – always for the sake of the common good.