By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

With its groundbreaking achievements in the past years, even during the pandemic, Mariano Marcos State University should strive to achieve more because many state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country are now looking up at MMSU for inspiration and guidance.

This was the challenge posed by Commission on Higher Education Chairperson J. Prospero E. De Vera III to the MMSU community during the PRAISE Awards ceremony held at the Teatro Ilocandia yesterday, March 22. 

“Alongside the people and SUCs looking up to you, you must recognize that growing inspiration is now a function that the university must take seriously,” urged De Vera, who is also the new chairperson of the MMSU Board of Regents. 

He reminded university constituents that people have raised their bar of expectations of MMSU. “More are expected from you now, and I am fully confident that you will deliver as you have a well-driven leadership.” 

De Vera commended MMSU particularly for ensuring the continuation of learning at the university amid the pandemic and its COVID-19 response initiatives for the past two years. “MMSU indeed stepped up in times of dire need,” he added. He also congratulated the university obtaining the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) Level II - Bronze Award this year. 

“There are many more things we should be proud of as a university, I am happy because, as a new chair of BOR, I can now be part of your [next] achievements,” he beamed. 

De Vera is currently here at the university today (March 23) to grace the ceremonial signing of memorandum of agreement between MMSU, BauerTek Corporation, and the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Agricultural Research; and the groundbreaking of the Herbal Processing Facility at Sitio Lubbot, San Pedro, City of Batac. 

He also met with the 400 student-grantees of the CHED’s Tertiary Education Subsidy program at the university covered court.

He is joined by presidents of SUCs belonging to the Association of State Colleges and Universities – Solid North (ASCU-SN). They will talk about the country’s education agenda, particularly on how they can build upon their present achievements. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)