The Oblation: The University of the Philippines Centennial Newsletter has just released its final issue (Volume 2, Issue 4) recapping the UP Centennial celebrations.

Click here to go to the Oblation page where you can download the latest edition as well as past issues of the quarterly newsletter.

By Arvin Abejo Mangohig

The University of the Philippines Press announces the release of “1908—The Way It Really Was” by Raul Rafael Ingles. Subtitled Historical Journal for the UP Centennial 1908-2008, the volume is a day-to-day chronicle of events and issues which unfolded within the year of UP’s founding.

Ingles, UP professor emeritus, conceived of the book as tribute to the University he has served faithfully for many years. It compresses 365 days into less than 400 pages, and offers an immensely interesting record of the year 1908. The events covered range from the insignificant and amusing to the momentous. The volume opens with an account of the New Year’s eve “midnight revelry” from the Manila Times and closes with the 12th anniversary of the death of Jose Rizal and an announcement of New Year celebrations in Malacañang.

The book’s foreword is by UP President Emerlinda Roman, who says of it that “every single item is fascinating,” and praises the “discerning mind, historical sense and literary flair” of the man who “had the imagination and the diligence to undertake the laborious research and writing of this extremely interesting book.”

In his short introduction, National Historical Institute chair, Ambeth Ocampo notes that “the past becomes relevant to our times, because history as he presents it sounds strangely, and sometimes painfully, familiar.” Perhaps the unintended wisdom the thinking Filipino will glean from its pages is that the more things change in the Philippines, the more they stay the same. Ocampo adds that the book is an engaging read, proving that “history is interesting and if you think otherwise, you probably have had a boring textbook or a boring teacher.”

Finally, in an afterword, National Artist for Literature and UP professor emeritus Bienvenido Lumbera observes in his postscript that the book is “both history and journalism,” adding that it “causes us to ponder the early years of the American occupation of the country and to look beyond 1908 to UP’s emergence as an intellectual center of vital relevance to the development of national consciousness of the Filipino people.”

The hardcover edition sells at P800 and is available at the UP Press Bookstore in UP Diliman.

Our University: After a Hundred Years, the UP System Centennial coffee table book, edited by Isabelita Orlina Reyes, featuring photos by Oscar Alvarez, and book design by Sigrid Aragona.

Available for purchase at the UP System Information Office, UP Press bookstores, Magnet Cafe, and Filipinas Heritage Library.

Sample pages (Click on a page to view in higher resolution):

Also available:

	UP Centennial Address Book Features works of National Artists from the UP Collections. Size: 17 cm x 18 cm x 3.5 cm P 750.00 each
	“Ang Unibersidad at ang Pilipinas: Dalawang Magkayakap na Kasaysayan” (Centennial Music Video) Features UP Performing Artists doing their numbers in different UP campuses. Format: DVD P 500.00 each
	Forming Lineage: The National Artists for Visual Arts of the University of the Philippines Edited by Profs. Ruben D.F. Defeo and Patrick C. Flores Featuring the UP National Artists in the Visual Arts and their works that are with the UP collections. Size: 16″ x 14″ x 1″ P 3000.00 each
	UP Centennial Stamp (Folder, Souvenir Sheet, First Day Cover) The 4 designs of the UP Centennial Commemorative Stamps include the Oblation, the Carillon, the UP Seal, and the Centennial Logo. These are featured in the Folder, Souvenir Sheet, and Official First Day Cover. Whole set at P 500.00 each UP Centennial Commemorative Stamps in big and small framed versions may be ordered at the OVPA. These are available for pick up 2 weeks after payment.
	100 PISO Centennial Notes Comes in 4-outs (uncut 4 pieces) of 100 peso notes with the UP Oblation printed over the watermark, placed in a folder, the back page of which contains the signatures of all UP Presidents. P 1000.00 for each 4-out

For purchases and inquiries, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Administration (OVPA) through 925-6721 or 925-0984 (look for Jovie or Billy), or e-mail at ovpa@up.edu.ph.

Or download the order form here.

VIDEO: Click here to view the Centennial Thematic lecture, “The UP and the Cultivate Filipino: In Search of a Spirit-Self in a Culture of Humanism and Aesthetic Judgment” by Prof. Ramon Santos, Ph.D. on the Diliman Interactice Learning Center Website.

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VIDEO: Click here to view the Centennial Thematic lecture, “Is UP a Cause or Consequence of the Country’s Weak Industry?” by Prof. Jose Magpantay on the Diliman Interactice Learning Center Website.

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Prof. Jose Magpantay, Ph.D. of the UP National Institute of Physics (NIP) will speak on the connection between the University’s standing as a research university and the weakness of the country’s industry sector in his lecture titled “Is UP the Cause or Consequence of the Country’s Weak Industry?” on November 28, 2008, 2:00 to 4:00 PM at the UP NISMED. The lecture is part of the UP Centennial Lecture Series, the centerpiece of the University’s centennial celebrations.

Prof. Magpantay has done extensive research in High Energy Physics and social sector technology policies. While he was project development associate at the Office of the Vice President for Development from 2000 to 2002, he was instrumental in organizing the Academic-Industry Conferences on advanced science and technology (MINDLINK), which brought together key industry players and University experts to explore and strengthen areas of partnerships. He served as director of the NIP from 1987 to 1992, and member of the governing board of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) from 1989 to 1991. Prof. Magpantay also teaches strategic technology planning as faculty affiliate of the UP Technology Management Center.

Prof. Magpantay has a Doctor of Science in High Energy Physics from Purdue University, and an M.S. Physics from UP Diliman.

VIDEO: Click here to view the Centennial Thematic lecture, “The Future of Higher Learning and UP” by Dr. Maria Serena I. Diokno on the Diliman Interactice Learning Center Website.

LECTURE: Click here to download Dr. Diokno’s lecture (.PDF format).

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Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo

Dr. Maria Serena I. Diokno, Professor of History and former UP Vice President for Academic Affairs, will deliver a lecture titled “The Future of Higher Learning and UP” on November 18, 2:00 PM at the NISMED Auditorium, UP Diliman. It is the 27th lecture in the UP Centennial Lecture Series and is part of the series presenting “the insider’s view.”

She will speak on the “trends and global projections about the future of higher education and the impact on or implications for UP and its future.” The Task Force on Higher Education and Society, which was convened by UNESCO and the World Bank, said in its 2000 report that “higher education is no longer a luxury: it is essential to national social and economic development.” According to Diokno, however, recent developments “have tended to undermine this assertion.”

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Listed below are the tentative schedules for the UP Centennial Lecture Series (EDITED: November 17, 2008).

UP: The Insider’s View

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VIDEO: Click here to view the Centennial Thematic lecture, “When Reforms Don’t Transform: Reflections on Philippine Education” by Dr. Cynthia Rose Bautista, Dr. Allan Bernardo, and Dr. Dina Ocampo on the Diliman Interactice Learning Center Website.

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