Text by Martin R. Racza

Photo by Charmaine A. Lingdas

Congratulatory post for Prof. De Guzman from UP Manila.

Professor Ma. Teresa Guanzon-De Guzman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) has been chosen by the Board of Regents as the college’s next dean during the 1395th Meeting held on Nov. 28, 2024.

As she takes over the helm of CAS on Jan. 27, 2025, Prof. De Guzman plans to “pursue a bold and ambitious endeavor” for the college called the LEAD FORWARD PhD with IGNITE flagship program. The new dean aims to transform CAS into a leader in interdisciplinary education, innovative research, and impactful community engagement.

Prof. De Guzman characterizes the two synergistic frameworks LEAD FORWARD PhD and IGNITE (the LEAD FORWARD Program) as something which underpins the college’s leadership, innovation, and societal empowerment work.

The LEAD FORWARD PhD Framework entails:

• Equipping students, faculty, and staff to practice ethical, transformative leadership that calls for action and collaboration, which includes facilitating programs for student council leaders, faculty members, and the head of the department
• Empowerment: Ensure all CAS members can access opportunities like mentorship programs, scholarships, and leadership workshops, aiming to remove systemic obstacles and promote fairness in academic and professional pursuits
• Improvement: Restructuring CAS programs to satisfy global expectations and ready graduates for future industries such as forensic science, planetary health, and disaster risk management.

According to the new dean, the vision involves crafting a collective vision that inspires

ambition and goals for academic achievement, personal development, and community goods, while also providing every constituent with a cry for action and a path.

The IGNITE Strategic Framework’s six intertwined pillars guarantee the program’s sustainability and impact:

• Shaping the Future: Creating transformative research initiatives and educational programs to tackle pressing global challenges like climate change, AI-enabled healthcare improvements, and mental health disorders
• Grow: Offering lifelong learning to educators, from professional development workshops to graduate education
• It is also important to network—access, strengthen, and reform the local industry, government institutions, NGOs, and international universities— to create a dynamic local ecosystem for knowledge sharing and problem-solving
• Integrity: Commitment to ethical principles and transparency in governance, research, and teaching, as well as maintaining trust and accountability across all CAS activities
• Transition: Make institutional adjustments to CAS’s technology, curricula, and research strengths to move away from outdated thinking
• Empowerment: Advising, mentoring, and lifting the voices of marginalized and underserved communities of nature through inclusive programs and creating interfaces for every stakeholder to contribute meaningfully.

Under the sigil of the core values of heart or puso, excellence or husay, and honor or dangal, the program will not only develop the minds of those in CAS, but will also uplift their hands and hearts to respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing academic and social context, while promoting inclusive and ethical leadership throughout.

With LEAD FORWARD PhD with IGNITE, the incoming dean provides a systematic road map for CAS students, faculty, staff, and community stakeholders to achieve their full potential, while driving transformative change in Philippine society. Prof. De Guzman aims to forge a path toward a brighter, empowered future for CAS and the communities it serves through collective action and collaboration. #