By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

Embodying honor and excellence in educational management, research, and public service. 

This has made MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis as one of the Distinguished Alumni of the University of the Philippines - Los Baños’ College of Arts and Sciences (UPLB-CAS) this year. 

Dr. Agrupis, who finished Master of Science in Botany in UPLB in 1992, is one of the four alumni awardees from the Institute of Biological Sciences. 

The UPLB Alumni Association, Inc. selected the awardees based on their accomplishments in their fields and on how they made a great impact in their communities. 

Dr. Agrupis, a seasoned and published researcher, led the establishment of the National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center (NBERIC) at MMSU, which spearheads multi-agency and multidisciplinary research and development projects that promote energy self-sufficiency on a national scale.

Through the NBERIC, MMSU produced and distributed 'Nipahol' (an ethyl alcohol made from nipa sap) and personal protective equipment to communities, local government units, and agencies in northern Luzon, and COVID-19 centers in the country during the pandemic. 

Dr. Agrupis also pioneered the establishment of a world-class center for flexible learning in the University to address the academic needs of its stakeholders, and simultaneously provided for technological tools to students for their online classes.

She also leads a dynamic research team for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical work under the Tuklas Lunas Development Center (TLDC) program of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. 

Under her leadership, the MMSU steered itself toward international recognition by obtaining the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 3 Stars rating and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certification. Also, the university achieved the Level III Institutional Accreditation by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP); passed the Institutional Sustainability Assessment by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and maintained its status as Level IV State University.

She received the award in a virtual ceremony which coincided with the 103rd UPLB Loyalty Day and Grand Alumni Reunion last October 10, with the theme “Bigkisang UPLB at Alumni para sa Matagumpay na Pagbangon Mula sa Pandemya.”

The university president thanked the UPLB-CAS for the award, saying that “UPLB truly kindled my zeal to honor and excellence to achieve quality higher education, dedicated public service, and a God-centered family life.”

Dr. Agrupis has also obtained several awards in various national, regional, and local levels in the past. She is a recipient of the William D. Dar Research Leadership Award by the Philippine Association of Research Managers; Lingkod Bayan Award by the Civil Service Commission in Region I; and became the Most Outstanding Ilocano in 2019 by the Ilocos Times, the longest running community newspaper in Ilocos Norte. 

Recently, she was named as a finalist in the Dioscoro L. Umali Outstanding Science Administrator Award from the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). (StratCom)