Center to produce more professionals in Iloilo
More Ilonggo workers and
professionals will have the chance to further their education in a short time
through the professional development center that will soon rise in the campus
of the University of San Agustin, Iloilo City.
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| Fr. Frederick Comendador |
“Dr. Edgar ‘Injap’ Sia II has
donated a building to the university to house the professional development
center,” said Fr. Frederick Comendador, OSA, university president.
Sia is a young Ilonggo
businessman who founded Mang Inasal, Deco’s and Injap Land, among others. He is
known for his philanthropic acts such as donating school buildings in Iloilo
City and donating to victims of typhoon Yolanda, among others. He recently
received the 2013 BizNewsAsia Management Excellence Award along with Jose Sio,
another USA alumnus.
Sia is among the 63 graduates
of the school who were conferred with the Alumni Achievement Award and
Distinguished Alumni Award during a program that followed the memorandum
agreement signing for the said building last February 28, 2014.
“The building is for
educational use. We will offer short courses, programs and training to enhance
the capability of professionals in Iloilo,” Fr. Comendador added.
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Dr. Edgar ‘Injap’ Sia II
and Efrain Pedregosa
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Fr. Comendador said that
before he became president of the USA, Sia’s intention to give the gift was
already in the plan.
“The university was
founded for a specific mission. It is non-stock and non-profit. It aims to help
transform the society and develop the potentials of young people. This vocation
does not rely on the fees of the students. So, we are grateful for alumni like
Dr. Sia. This is the biggest donation so far that the university has received,”
he said.
The center will be called
the Dr. Edgar ‘Injap’ Sia II Center for Continuing Education.
Meanwhile Dr. Sia said, “This
is the embodiment of my advocacy for entrepreneurship and continuing education.
This will be the training ground for Ilonggos in the coming years.”
“I want to assure you that construction
of the building will start in 1 ½ months. I will personally oversee it,” he
added.
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| Dr. Asuncion Faro, Fr. Frederick Comendador, Rev. Fr. Eusebio Berdon and Fr. Williener Jack Luna |
In fact, even without the
building yet, the university has created the Center for Culinary Studies, an
arm of the professional development center. It currently trains restaurateurs,
chefs and frontliners for the ministerial meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation will be held in Iloilo City in 2015.
“The university was tapped
by Iloilo Business Club, through the Canadian government, to provide training
to hotel owners, chefs, waiters, managers, taxi drivers, barangay captains,
etc. in preparation for APEC,” said Prof. Jigger Latoza, presidential chief of
staff of the university.
PHILANTHROPIC OFFICE
Fr. Comendador also
announced that they have created the Philanthropic Office in order to find
sources of funds that the university will use to support its seven advocacies.
“These advocacies capture
the mission of the university,” Fr. Comendador said. They are:
1. Research. “We are
tapping big foundations to support our research agenda,” Fr. Comendador said.
2. Augustinian Catholic
Identity Promotion. “We want to produce students who are not just skilled but
are guided by ethics; they have morals,” he added.
3. Faculty development
4. Physical development.
“We want the university to be conducive to learning development. We have an an ambitious plan to put up a modern library,” he explained.
5. Culture and arts
6. Sports
7. Scholarships
The Philanthropic Office
is headed by Fr. Williener Jack Luna.
“We have started with the
modern classrooms already. The alumni donated the classrooms. This is just the
beginning,” Fr. Luna said.
LEARNING
Meanwhile, Rev. Fr. Eusebio
Berdon, OSA, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said that in learning, virtue
and science go hand in hand. “The mind can’t be productive unless the heart is
there. Love and do what you can. Let your mind guide .you but put your heart in
there,” he concluded./
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Prof. Jigger Latoza and Henry Chuseuy, USA. FB Photo
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