As I stand before you this afternoon, my mind goes back to the humble beginnings of the Mariano Marcos State University. The farm school established in the early 1900s is now an institution of higher learning and engaged in science and technology generation and promotion, that every faculty, student, parent, and Ilocos Norte resident, as well as the whole Ilocos Region can truly be proud of.
I feel greatly privileged to have come to lead MMSU at a time when we can now proclaim with utmost confidence and humility that it has already reached the apex of academic excellence. Indeed, my predecessors did a monumental task of developing this university into one that everybody can consider as an institution where nothing but excellence is acceptable.

Truly, I am deeply honored by the presence of two great predecessors who will and should always be remembered by every MMSU constituent for their unselfish efforts in developing our institution into what it is today. Thank you, Sirs, for gracing this occasion. Your presence gives added significance and meaning to my investiture. Thank you to both of you.

I would like to specifically mention, first of all, Dr. Santiago Rigonan Obien who, in a span of two years from 1985 to 1987, did a colossal job of consolidating and strengthening MMSU into an institution that other people in the academic and science communities want to observe and emulate. He made MMSU rise from a shameful position of being No. 2 from the bottom among research institutions in the country to what it is today.

Equally significant is Dr. Saturnino Matutino Ocampo Jr., my immediate predecessor, who lifted this university further to fame and glory. As we all know, Dr. Ocampo did a lot of innovations and led the university to become a center of excellence in agricultural engineering, a center of development in ceramic engineering, and a special center of development in agriculture. The university as a center of excellence in teacher education was also maintained.

My friends, we are all witnesses to the transformation this university has undergone during the past 27 years. All of us, you and I, should be proud that we have played our role in that transformation no matter how insignificant it may have been. Let me hasten to add, however, that we cannot and should not rest on our laurels. We should not be complacent and just be contented with our current stature; otherwise, we will be overtaken by a fast changing world, what with the fast development of innovations in education, science, and technology.
Even as we have already achieved so much to be proud of, we can and should still move MMSU further into an institution where only excellence is acceptable. There are still much room for us to create a better future for the generations that will come after we are gone.

My friends, allow me to reiterate what I said when I was still aspiring for the presidency of MMSU. I envision MMSU as a leading institution in providing highly qualified manpower in a globally competitive job market. I also envision the university as a leading institution that demonstrates research and technology promotion competencies for sustainable development and positively responds to the challenges of a fast changing world.
As an institution of higher learning, therefore, MMSU shall provide quality education that is accessible to everybody through effective learning modalities. At the same time, MMSU shall be a source of new information, innovations, and technologies that will help intensify productivity and agri-industrialization.

In my capacity as the sixth president of MMSU, I shall endeavor to lead in continuing and innovating on the programs of my predecessors. However, since it is extremely impossible for me to be able to do everything, I urge everybody to be an active and performing member of my team.

Offering of additional programs
Truly, we need to offer additional degree programs that would cater to the emerging needs of the time. Furthermore, we will endeavor to review the relevance of our present curricular offerings to make them more responsive to current and future needs.
At the same time, we must conduct short-term courses that would equip our students with the much-needed knowledge and skills that would make them entrepreneurs. It is very unfortunate that our educational system has always developed manpower for employment and not as generators of employment. There is a pressing need for the latter, as we now find an increasing number of college graduates who find themselves without a profitable employment.

Provision of quality education in various modalities
Indeed, the university must provide quality education in various modalities. This could be done, among other means, through enrichment of curricular materials as well as the use of information technology for classroom instruction. We have to explore numerous possibilities. With the fast pace of technological advancement, it is possible to offer programs, particularly in the graduate school, that could be carried out through distance mode of delivery like the internet or e-learning and modularized instruction.

Strengthening of faculty and staff competencies
While we can already proclaim with confidence that our faculty and non-teaching staff are already competent, there is a continuing need to strengthen their competencies through graduate studies and attendance in trainings, seminars, and workshops. The university has to look for funding agencies which can provide scholarships that would enable them to pursue this goal.

Establishment of more
centers of excellence/development
With two centers of excellence and two centers of development in the university, we have to have more and more programs recognized as such. And so we have got to give priority to accreditation.

Conduct of review classes
As we all take pride in the performance of MMSU graduates in the licensure examinations, we can still improve our performance by conducting institutional review classes in the various fields. At the same time, there is an emerging need to conduct review classes for the National Medical Admission Test as well as proficiency exams in technology and English language to enable our graduates to pass these exams.

Provision of state-of-the- art facilities
The university must also source out funds for the provision of state-of-the-art instructional facilities for our students. We can not allow our faculty and students to be left behind, most especially on the use of sophisticated and modern equipment. Our goal is to meet world-class standards and, hence, we will endeavor to continuously upgrade such facilities.
However, since procurement of additional equipment is very expensive, we also have to conduct periodic maintenance, servicing and repair of existing facilities, service rooms, and equipment.

Strengthening of library linkages
Since the heart of the university is its library system, we have to strengthen our linkages with the US Embassy through the American Studies Resource Center so that we can have more books, journals, and other reference materials. The library must be made more conducive for learning. For instance, service areas must be provided with ventilation and more air-conditioned reading rooms need to be established.

Upgrading of ICT facilities
As the process of globalization is both technological and human, upgrading facilities of the ICT, particularly on internetworking of the different colleges in the main campus, must be done. At the same time, internet access for the campuses in Dingras, Currimao, and Paoay has to be provided.

Beefing up of sports and cultural groups
We will also endeavor to beef up our team sports and cultural groups at all levels through more aggressive recruitment and evaluation. Indeed, we have to discover and develop more talents in the socio-cultural arts. Likewise, existing structures like playing courts, oval, fitness centers, and performance venues need to be improved.

Provision of incentives to researchers
My friends, through the years the university has always been in the frontline of responsive, relevant, and scholarly research and development activities. We have to continue that tradition of excellence. This could be done by providing incentives to researchers who could publish research articles in refereed journals; those who have developed workable technologies and modalities that have been widely adopted; and those who get recognitions and awards at the regional and national levels. At the same time, the university must come up with a sustainable research journal for the dissemination and publication of our research outputs.

Expansion of extension services and resource sharing
Moreover, our extension services and resource sharing for development and academic programs must be expanded. We have got to actively participate in community outreach activities such as intensified promotion and dissemination of new information and technologies to our target clienteles. In like manner, to strengthen the extension services of the various colleges as well as our linkages with the local government units, non-governmental organizations, civil societies, private institutions, and other stakeholders.

Intensification of resource mobilization
Furthermore, we have to intensify our resource mobilization through partnership with other agencies and institutions, as well as strengthen our income generating projects. We can also link with other universities in the Philippines and other countries for the upgrading of the competencies of our faculty through faculty exchange programs. In much the same vein, we will look for benevolent donors and tap our successful alumni to provide funds to improve our facilities and provide more scholarship grants to our students.

Intensification of farm development
Hand in hand, we’ve got to intensify farm development, and agricultural and marine fish production. We will also optimize the rental of existing facilities and equipment including idle lands.

Establishment of centers
These are easier said than done, but steps must be undertaken for the establishment of centers that would add more prominence to MMSU such as the revival of the Iloko Research and Information Center. The university could be a Regional LET Review Center, a Regional Center for Early Childhood Education, a Center for Continuing Education, and a Regional Engineering Center for the Ilocos.

Review of existing policies
All of these could be achieved with an enhanced efficiency of administration; thus, we must review existing policies on the granting of incentives. We must also strengthen the functions of the grievance committees in the colleges and various units for a speedy resolution of conflicts. Above all, the university’s present status of clean bill of health and unqualified opinion by the Commission on Audit must continue by condemning or not allowing graft and corruption.

To all MMSU constituents, the future of the university depends on all of us … not only on me. Let’s all work together to develop MMSU further into an institution where only excellence is acceptable.