DELA CERNA
UP Cebu’s Centennial is a great cause for celebration for it is rare, indeed, for an institution like UP Cebu to endure so well the tests of changing times, the uphill struggle and the challenges which seemed unsurmountable. In other words, UP Cebu has arrived with great impact on society.
The Centennial Ball of UP Cebu held Friday evening of April 27, 2018, at the Waterfront brought together UP alumni from different periods. First intended to be just a Concert by UP Serenata to be held at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall, the UP Alumni Association Cebu Chapter turned it into a Centennial Ball which was a splendid success despite a one month’s notice and the difficulties of dealing with certain bureaucratic processes.
On May 3, the day activities include the unveiling of the new oblation statues and the gratitude wall in the campus, and awarding of the Gawad Chancellor to faculty and staff. The evening activities will relive a few traditions of having fun in UP Cebu among these are the crazy day and the cookout merged into one; so it’s a crazy cookout.
The alumni are the products of this institution of learning. It sends forth men and women who are strong enough to think and act, men and women who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, men and women who possess breadth of mind, clearness of thought and the courage of their convictions. The alumni association has maintained its close ties of cooperation with UP Cebu.
UP Cebu has had a rather stormy journey since its establishment in 1918, and the alumni together with the faculty and students played a big role in protesting and preventing the proposed closure of the institution several times in the past.
UP Cebu has etched a significant theme for the centennial — Unang Siglo: Halad sa KatawhanCelebrating Academic Excellence and Public Service (1918 – 2018). While UP Cebu has its own array of activities till May 3, the UP Alumni Association Cebu Chapter has extended its activities till the end of the centennial year. Foremost are the gathering and compiling of 100 Stories from the faculty and alumni (deadline is end of July 2018), and the Tatak UP Award with deadline for nominations on October 29, 2018.
Recognizing the achievements of UP alumni had been practiced for sometime by the UP Alumni Association Cebu Chapter on the occasion of its annual homecoming. From 1999 to 2006, outstanding alumni were recognized in accordance with the homecoming theme. In 2011, the Board decided on the Tatak UP Award nga naa sa Cebu (to be specific) which was a brainchild of Ms. Eileen Mangubat (former publisher of CDN and at that time a member of the board).
The objective of the Tatak UP Award is the recognition of the commitment / achievement of a UP alumnus (i) in Cebu who stand out in their respective field of expertise and have in return made a positive impact either on the professional, economic or social development in the specific area they are serving or have served.
The criteria for the award are: UP alumnus/a from any part of the UP system but is in Cebu; known integrity and moral values; recognized expertise/excellence in his or her field; social conscience. Those awarded as outstanding alumni by any UP alumni association are not qualified for nomination.
There are thirteen (13) categories for the Tatak UP Award: (1) Law, Public Service and Governance; (2) Business and Entrepreneurship; (3) Arts, Design and Culture; (4) Science and Technology (including ICT); (5) Education; (6) Public Health and Medicine; (7) Media and Communication; (8) Social Change and Advocacy (such as poverty alleviation and human development); (9) Peace and Social Cohesion; (10) Gender Equality or Women Empowerment; (11) Community Empowerment; (12) Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development; (13) Institutional or Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Tatak UP Award is a fitting way of celebrating a hundred years of academic excellence and public service and indeed a halad sa katawhan.
The Tatak UP Award is given every two years. The first was held in December 2011 at the UP Cebu Conference Hall with forty-nine (49) awardees. The second was held in January 2014 at the Capitol Social Hall with twenty-one (21) awardees. Since there were two calamities in 2013, the awarding was moved to one month later. The third awarding was held in December 2015 at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall with twelve (12) awardees.
This centennial year, the fourth awarding will be held on December 7, 2018 hopefully with more awardees. Nomination forms are available with the UP Alumni Association Committee on Tatak UP specifically through Prof. Madrileña de la Cerna , UP Press Bookstore Cebu, AS bldg, UP Cebu (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) or call 0917-3295201. Deadline for submission is October 29, 2018. Submit to the Search and Awards Committee c/o [email protected], [email protected], or piang [email protected].
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