Inaugural Address
Roberto C Yap SJ
University President
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
15th August 2011
Dr Patricia Licuanan, Chair of the Commission on Higher Education
Mr Elpidio Paras, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Xavier University
Fr Jose Cecilio Magadia, Provincial of the Jesuit Philippine Province
Atty Casimiro Juarez Jr, President of Capitol University
Fr Antonio Moreno, Chair of the Jesuit Higher Education Commission
Fr Daniel Patrick Huang, General Counselor of the Society of Jesus
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
Gov Oscar Moreno, Governor of Misamis Oriental
Presidents of Universities and Colleges
Trustees of Xavier University
Faculty and Staff, fellow educators of Ateneo de Cagayan
Beloved Students
Dearest members of my family, especially my 86-year old Mother
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
ALLOW me to greet in a special way, the Rector of the XU Jesuit Community, in absentia, Fr Mars Tan; the Academic Vice President, Dr Lina Kwong; the University Treasurer, Ms Lennie Ong; the Director of the Center for Integrated Technologies, Engr Erwin Li. With these greetings, I would like to dispel certain rumors that have been floating around Xavier. First, there is no truth to the rumor that Mandarin will become a required language course at XU. Second, there is no truth to the rumor that Fr Bobby Yap is requiring students and staff to change their surnames to one syllable. Third, there is no truth to the rumor that Fr Cal is changing his name to Pou Lin and Fr Bob to Su Chan.
I am very blessed as a baby president. Not only my Chinoy collaborators, but also all members of my leadership team are capable and committed. The XU faculty and staff are talented and dedicated. The XU students are enthusiastic and idealistic. My dear XU community: You have given me a very warm welcome and I am truly grateful for the guidance and support you have been providing as I get to know the many good things happening here at Xavier. My first months at XU have been very pleasant because of your kindness and graciousness. I hope that my deans and administrators will forgive me for requiring you to come to this convocation dressed in hot and heavy academic robes. Pasaylo-on unta ko ninyo!
As I am truly grateful for the quality administrators, dedicated faculty and staff, and wonderful students of XU; I am deeply humbled by the legacy of leadership that I have inherited. I am simply awed by the service given by the men and women who have built Xavier University to become the outstanding institution that it is today.
I am inspired by the service that has been rendered by our lay partners. Please permit me to mention a representative list. Some have served as Academic Vice President: Dr Teresita Tumapon, Dr Alfonso Hortelano. Some have served as Dean: Dr Imelda Pagtolun-an, Ms Carolina Tandog, Engr Antonio Sevillano, Dr Anselmo Mercado, Justice Romulo Borja. Some have served as Principal: Ms Iluminada Teodoro, Ms Flerida Nery. Some have served as Registrar: Ms Aurora Gapuz. There are many, many other lay partners I can mention. And I beg your indulgence if I limit myself to a representative list because otherwise we will be closing this convocation way past our bedtimes. On behalf of the Society of Jesus, I thank all of our lay partners for sharing our mission. Xavier University stands strong today because of your commitment to the wonderful apostolate of education.
Allow me to recognize the former Xavier University Presidents who are here with us today.
Fr Ernesto Javier was president of Xavier University for 14 years from 1976-1990. During this period, the University experienced unprecedented growth in enrolment, facilities and curricular offerings. Fr Ernie set up specialized programs such as the Master of Public Administration. He revitalized the College of Engineering with its own five-storey building. He established the Center for Industrial Technology and the Dr Jose P Rizal College of Medicine, both in 1983, and the College of Nursing in 1989. After serving XU, he became President of Sacred Heart School, my K+10 alma mater, now also known as Ateneo de Cebu. Fr. Ernie, please rise and allow us to welcome you home and express our gratitude for your dynamic leadership of Ateneo de Cagayan. Daghang salamat, Fr. Ernie.
Fr. Ben Nebres was Dean when Danny Huang, Jett Villarin and I were college student leaders (not yet Jesuits) at the Ateneo de Manila during the years of Martial Law. Even though he was very busy, Fr Ben was always generous with his time and would join us during our leadership and social analysis seminars. When he was Provincial, he accepted my application to the Jesuits. Later in my formation, instead of assigning me to a high school for regency, he sent me to do a Masters in Economics in New York. He was President at the Ateneo de Manila when I returned from doctoral studies and began teaching at the Economics Department. Fr Ben served as President of Xavier University from 1990 to 1993 when he focused on the professional development of the faculty and on putting university finances in the black. He joins us today as a certified el peregrino, having recently completed the traditional pilgrimage along the 800-kilometer camino de Santiago de Compostela from France to Spain. Fr Ben, please rise and allow us to thank you for what you have done for Xavier University, for your outstanding leadership of the Jesuit education apostolate and for being a wise and kind mentor to many of us. Maraming salamat, Fr Ben.
Fr. Ting Samson accepted me to the Ateneo de Manila in 1975 and gave me a scholarship when he was Director of Admissions and Aid. After various administrative positions at Ateneo de Manila, he became University President of two Ateneos. Fr Samson retired this year as University President after serving for 25 years, 12 of them here at Xavier from 1993 to 2005. At Ateneo de Cagayan, Fr. Ting was an energetic builder. He facilitated the renovation and building of school edifices and structures such as the 12-hectare High School and Grade School campus in Pueblo de Oro, the New Library, the Commerce and Agriculture Buildings, the college covered courts. Fr Ting was also a tireless academic leader. During his watch, Xavier University reaffirmed its PAASCU accreditation status for its various programs. Some of these programs were recognized as CHED centers of excellence and development. In 2001, Xavier was granted “Full Autonomous Status” by CHED until 2006.
Dear friends, I invite you now to look around and admire the beautiful stain glass windows adorning this chapel. I think you will agree that these beautiful windows are a lasting legacy of Fr Ting to Xavier. Fr Ting, please rise and permit us to thank you for your dedicated and committed leadership of Xavier University and of Jesuit higher education. Maraming salamat, Fr. Ting.
Now, to my immediate predecessor … crush ng bayan … rock-star President. Jett and I were good friends when we were college students in the late ‘70s. We became brothers when we both entered the Society of Jesus in the early ‘80s. Here at XU, Fr Jett re-organized the university structures by forming clusters for academics, administration, mission and ministry, research and social outreach, basic and technical education. He promoted research that is socially relevant and inter-disciplinary. Fr Jett was the prime mover for the construction of the beautiful Magis Student Complex which was blessed this morning. He was instrumental in establishing with the St Paul Sisters and the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, the Maria Reyna Xavier University Hospital (MR XUH) as a base hospital for our College of Nursing and School of Medicine. Jett, please rise and receive our gratitude for all that you have done for Xavier. Daghang salamat, Jett, igsoon ug amigo.
I have inherited a thriving and healthy Xavier University from Fr Jett. He deserves great credit for his leadership in moving forward Ateneo de Cagayan so successfully. My role will be, in part, to carry on what he has started. I will certainly continue to pursue the three University Development Goals that Fr Jett articulated: Stronger Formation, Greater Societal Engagement and Better Administration.
I make my own these three University Development Goals because they are well aligned with the three-fold challenges to Jesuit mission today as mandated by the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. GC 35 calls us to a mission of reconciliation, a mission to establish right relationships: reconciliation with God, reconciliation with creation, reconciliation with one another. The Xavier University Goal of Stronger Formation is a commitment to right relationships with God; Greater Societal Engagement is a commitment to right relationships with creation; Better Administration is a commitment to right relationships with one another. The three symbols of GC 35: fire, frontier and friendship are likewise apt to the three university goals. Fire as a symbol for the goal of Stronger Formation; Frontier for the goal of Greater Social Engagement; Friendship for the goal of Better Administration.
A word on each of these university goals and their alignment with Jesuit mission challenges.
FIRE and Stronger Formation
GC 35 INVITES us to renew our inner fire. Fire refers to passion, energy and joy. Fire refers to that fundamental inner source of life and love. Our former Fr General the late Pedro Arrupe described fire this way:
“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
Clearly the love of Fr Arrupe’s life was Jesus, our Lord. His love for Jesus and Christ’s love for him were the fires that burned in Don Pedro’s heart.
The GC 35 Decree on Identity (No. 2-3), “A Fire that Kindles Other Fires,” states that “Jesus is the image at the very heart of Jesuit existence today … Jesuits know who they are by looking at Him.” We can paraphrase this as “Jesus is the image at the very heart of Ateneo’s existence today … Ateneans know who they are by looking at Him.”
This image of fire is closely linked to the mandated mission to assist our Lord as he sets right our relationship with God. GC 35 invites us to a renewed and deepened experience of reconciliation with God. What does reconciliation with God mean? One of my experiences as a Parish Priest in Lumbia has helped me enter this mystery a little bit.
Kadtong bag-o pa kong ordenang pari sa 1992, na destino ko sa parokya sa Lumbia. (Kauban nato karon ang akong mga parokyano sa Lumbia.) Adtong panahona, daghan ug baryo ang parokya, 14. Daghan usab ang kapilya, 44. Usa sa mga kapilya ang sa Sitio sa Magayad. Mga lumad ang nagapuyo sa Sitio. Layo kaayo ang Sitio. Kinahangalan mobaklay ug pipila ka oras aron mabisita ug mamisahan ang kapilya.
Usa ka buntag, ni-abot ang mga lider sa Magayad sa akong kumbento. Gibalita nila sa ako nga ang bag-ong anak sa alagad sa kapilya ilang gidala sa ospital sa siyudad. Mibaklay sila ug pipila ka kilometro aron madala ang masakitong bata sa ospital. Ni hangyo sila kanako nga ubanan sila sa ospital aron mabunyagan ang bata.
Pag-abot nako sa ospital, didto sa emergency room ang bata. Niwang ug gamay kaayo siya. Galisod sila ug tusok sa dextrose kay morag sama sa pipila ka toothpick lang ang kadak-on sa iyang mga braso. Nalooy kaayo ko sa bata nga galisod ug ginhawa.
Paghuman namo ug istorya-istorya sa mga taga-Magayad, ako silang gi-ingnan: “sige mag-ampo na kita ug ato nang bunyagan ang bata.” Nangutana ko sa ila, unsa ma’y ngalan sa bata. Ang ilang tubag, “Manuel, Pader; Manuel, Jr, pareho sa ngalan sa iyang amahan. Apan ang among angga sa bata, Pader … ‘Way-si’.
Way-si? Nahibulong ko sa ngalan. Nganong Way-si man? “Way-si, Pader kay … Walay Siguro ang bata!”
Akong gibunyagan si Way-si. Ug akong gidasig ang pamilya ni Way-si ug ang ilang mga higala nga dili sila mawad-an ug pag-salig sa atong mahigugmaon nga Ginoo. Kinahanglan lig-on ang ilang pagtuo sa kalooy sa Dios alang kang Way-si.
Mi-agi ang pipila ka bulan, ni-abot na ang piyesta sa kapilya sa Magayad. Ni-adto ko sa Magayad aron momisa, mamiyesta ug mokaon ug pancit. Pag-abot nako sa entrada sa sitio, naa’y misugat nako nga usa ka nanay, karga ang usa ka bata. Tambok ang bata. Lingin ug nawong. Bus-ok ang aping. Ni pahiyum ang nanay ug ni-ingon kanako, “Pader, si Way-si!” Buhi si Way-si! Nalooy ang Ginoo sa bata. Dili gayod biyaan sa Ginoo ang mga misalig o milaom kaniya. Dili gayod talikdan sa Dios ang iyang mga pinanggang kabos.
Good friends, we need to let the fire of faith and love burn within us so we can offer warmth and light to our friends. Achieving the University Goal of Stronger Formation means igniting the fire within, the fire that gives us the energy to strive for excellence, the fire which fuels the passion to serve.
I am very happy to say that Xavier University has a strong track record in the work of formation. In the Ateneo de Manila campus, there is a street named Seminary Road that winds down a hill toward the cluster of the three major Jesuit-administered formation houses at Loyola Heights. The Rector of San Jose Seminary is Fr Junjun Borres, XU High School Class of 1981, AB Sociology, Cum Laude, Xavier University, Class of 1985. The Rector of Arrupe International Residence is Fr Rene Repole, AB Economics, Summa Cum Laude, Xavier University, Class of 1982. The Rector of Loyola House of Studies is Fr Joe Quilongquilong, AB Sociology, Cum Laude, Xavier University, Class of 1983. Ateneo de Cagayan can rightly claim to be the formator of Rectors, the formator of formators.
Building on this illustrious track record, we will pursue vigorously our University Goal of Stronger Formation. As I begin my service as XU President, I would like to focus on two projects that will aim to keep the fire alive and burning: Deepening Ignatian Spirituality, and Preparing for K+12.
As a Jesuit university, Xavier’s primary source of inspiration is the spirituality of St Ignatius Loyola. Cura personalis, magis, spiritual freedom, Christ-centered, service of the Church, finding-God-in-all-things … these are some of the watchwords of Ignatian spirituality.
We will make sure that our Freshman Formation Program, our seminars and workshops, our recollections and retreats for students will have sessions when we study, speak and pray our Ignatian spirituality. We shall try to have as many of our academic programs follow the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm. We will conduct workshops on how we can appropriate Ignatian spirituality in our ministry of teaching. Most of all, we shall structure a program of progression where our faculty and staff will be able to undergo the various stages of prayer experiences of the Spiritual Exercises: from recollections … to live-out retreats … to retreats in daily life … to live-in three-, five- and eight-day silent retreats. And support will be given for those who are ready, willing and able to experience the full 30-day Spiritual Exercises.
Another project for the goal of Stronger Formation is the preparation for K+12. Although the legislation has not yet been passed and implementing rules and regulations are still in the drawing board, the signs are that K+12 will happen. XU needs to start to prepare for what will most likely be a major overhaul not only of Philippine basic education but tertiary education as well.
The plan so far is to have two additional years of what will be considered Senior High School. These two years will most likely be composed of two tracks: a career-bound track at the end of which the graduate joins the work force and a college-bound track whose graduate moves on to tertiary studies. As an economist, I am in favor of a basic principle guiding the design of these tracks. The supply of competencies must match the demand. The competencies that XU supplies must match the demand of the private sector, civil society, government and civil service in Northern Mindanao, the Philippines and the ASEAN region.
These extra two years will not only mean that our XU High School will have to offer two more years of pre-university college-bound training. It will likewise imply that Xavier will have to offer programs for the career-bound track. We will strengthen and align the technical and vocational courses offered by our Center for Integrated Technologies. All our colleges (engineering, agriculture, nursing, computer studies, education, arts and sciences, business and management) may have to offer 2-year ladderized programs on the career-bound track for their respective fields.
K+12 will also mean revisions of the tertiary General Education curriculum that will be offered after Senior High School. And the courses that will be offered at the junior and senior years of the tertiary level will also have to be upgraded so these become more research-oriented.
When the laws are enacted and the rules and regulations are promulgated, Xavier will rise to the challenge of K+12 and will avail creatively of the opportunities it offers for making education better. And no matter at what level, whether career- or college- bound or ladderized or upgraded university programs, Ateneo de Cagayan will make sure that all are marked by the characteristics of Jesuit education, en todo amar y servir, in all things to love and serve the Lord.
FRONTIER and Greater Social Engagement
IN HIS ADDRESS to GC 35, Pope Benedict the Sixteenth exhorted the Jesuits:
The Church needs you, counts on you, and continues to turn to you with confidence, particularly to reach the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach or find it difficult to reach …
The Pope’s encouraging words reminds Jesuits that they are always sent to the frontiers, the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach or find it difficult to reach. Frontier has become one of the favorite words that has captured the imagination of so many Jesuits and friends in mission.
Xavier University will explore the frontiers through greater social engagement. There are many frontiers that a university can strive to reach. Care for the environment is certainly one of the most crucial and most challenging. We are called urgently to restore right relationships with creation. We need to take care of creation so that creation can take care of us. At the start of my term as XU President, I will focus on two environmental stewardship projects: making the campus green and adapting to climate change.
We will pursue the mandate given to XU by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Asia Pacific to become a prototype green campus for the other Jesuit schools in the region. We will implement the plans formulated under the guidance of Fr Pedro Walpole of Environmental Science for Social Change. We will use environment-friendly cleaning agents. We shall promote a styrofoam-free campus. We will operate a Materials Recovery Facility. We shall reduce the waste volume that we dump at the city landfill. We will manage our many beautiful trees by pruning, landscaping and treating tree diseases. We shall practice composting of our yard and fruit wastes. We will set up a rainwater catchment system. We shall regularly do an energy audit and improve our energy efficiency. All of these will involve awareness and training programs so that the whole university community is mobilized to maintain a green campus. Ateneo de Cagayan will be a green campus … but … with a blue heart … a heart that appreciates the goodness of creation and discerns the active presence of God within creation.
Climate change is arguably the foremost environmental challenge of our time. The experts tell us that there are two responses to climate change, mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation involves the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, to prevent global warming from exacerbating. Adaptation means adapting to the effects of climate change that are already happening.
As a developing country, our share of global greenhouse gas emissions is small, hence our mitigation efforts will have minimal effect on global warming. However as a tropical archipelago, the impact of climate change on the Philippines will not be insignificant. Our hot seasons will become hotter and our wet seasons will get wetter. We will experience more droughts and more flooding. Typhoons affecting our country will increase in frequency and intensity. As an environmental economist, I would argue that our primary response to climate change should be adaptation. Our limited resources must be deployed to adapt to the changing climate. I cannot agree more with the vision of Xavier University’s Research and Social Outreach: a food-secure, climate change-resilient and sustainable Mindanao.
Adaptation must be a major theme of our university’s research and social outreach agenda. Our Ridges-to-Rivers-to-Reefs program or R3 will be crucial in assessing the vulnerability of our ecosystems to climate change. Disaster risk reduction and disaster management should be the concern not only of our environmental scientists who will tell us which areas would be most vulnerable but as well as our social scientists who will help communities cope with natural disasters and calamities. Our engineers will be faced with the challenge of building better irrigation, water-catchment and flood control systems. Our medical doctors and nurses with the challenge of controlling possible epidemics of flood-related and vector-borne diseases. Our agriculturists and biologists with the challenge of developing heat- or water- resistant seeds. And our efforts at adaptation must always ensure that we give special attention to the poorest of the poor who live in the margins, in ecologically-fragile areas, in the geographic frontiers.
FRIENDSHIP and Better Administration
WE GO TO the frontiers not alone by our individual selves but together as friends in the Lord. GC 35 tells us that “to live our mission in our broken world, we need fraternal and joyful communities in which we nourish and express with great intensity the sole passion that can unify our differences and bring to life our creativity.” (Decree 2, No. 27). “As servants of Christ’s mission we are invited to assist Him as He sets right our relationship with other human beings.” (Decree 2, No. 18)
Establishing right relationships with one another requires the solidarity of God’s children. Reconciliation with one another is only possible when there is compassion and concern. As University President, I will pursue the goal of Better Administration in the spirit of friendship and service. Professionalism and Community are the two hallmarks of Better Administration.
We need to develop a more professional organization at XU. Our student population has grown from 14,000 in 2002 to 16,000 today. Our undergraduate tertiary level population is the biggest among the Ateneos with the most number of schools and colleges. That is why I tell Fr Jett that he transferred from the largest Ateneo to a smaller one. We have grown from a small school in 1933 to a major university today. Dili na morag gamay nga grocery ang XU… morag shopping mall na ‘ta. Dili na puede nga inato ang atong mga pama-agi. Our systems, policies and procedures need to be of a quality that is at par with the leading national and international universities.
But as we strive to become more professional, we should not implement policies and procedures in a bureaucratic, impersonal way. We need to balance our professionalism with the cherished Ignatian value of cura personalis, personal care. As our university grows and expands, it is important that we do not lose the strong sense of community for which Ateneo de Cagayan is renowned. I hope that XU will always be a place where people find care and compassion amidst the challenges and conflicts that we face.
Dili na inato, apan ato-a kanunay. Let us be a community of professionals and friends in the Lord. Let us be companions in serving the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us.
Prayer
GOOD FRIENDS, my dream is to turn XU into the best Xavier University for the 21st century. I will do my utmost to lead Ateneo de Cagayan in becoming a flourishing Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit academic institution serving vigorously and creatively the needs of Mindanao, the Philippines and Asia-Pacific. I will do my best to serve XU’s mission of forming men and women of competence, conscience and commitment.
Today on this Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption, I entrust our hopes and aspirations to Mary, our Blessed Mother. The theologian Walter Burghardt describes Mary’s life as
“… an open-ended yes to life as it unfolds. She teaches us that our God is a God of surprises. She shows us that a life with God is an adventure with only two certainties: first, the Holy Spirit will ceaselessly surprise you and second, God will always be there. Symbol supreme of such openness is the mother of Jesus – from an angel’s surprise in Nazareth, through a ceaselessly surprising youngster in Nazareth, to a dead Christ cradled in her lap and a risen Christ leaping from the rock.” (Homily: Mother of Jesus, Mother of Jesuits?, in When Christ Meets Christ, 1993)
Moreover, this God of surprises assumed our Lady, body and soul into heaven.
If we say yes to the invitation to explore the frontiers as friends in the Lord with fire burning in our hearts, we can be certain that God will ceaselessly surprise us by carrying us on a most extraordinary adventure that would be larger than our dreams and beyond our imagining. And most amazing of all, God will always be present with us amidst all the surprises.
I invite the whole Xavier University community to serve with me as we engage the frontiers with fire and in friendship.
Daghan kaayong salamat ug maayong gabi-i kaninyong tanan!