Warning: Attempt to read property "post_title" on null in /www/businessmirror_145/public/wp-content/plugins/better-image-credits/better-image-credits.php on line 227
Today, October 21, 2019, I assume the deanship of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. After more than three months of search and subsequent selection by the Board of Regents, I start my first day in school after my oath taking administered by UP President Danilo Concepcion. I am honored to join the roster of the past 13 deans that all contributed to the many successes of UP VSB.
The direction that I will bring to the UP VSB is anchored on the theme “Looking In Reaching Out.” I intend to look into and tap the various resources and goodwill of the UP VSB to perpetuate its many successes in the past. In the process, I also will be outward looking and reach out to address the many requirements of the various stakeholders of the school. UP VSB should be able to service the academic and other demands of both its internal stakeholders and the external community. As indicated in the vision and plans for the UP VSB that I submitted during the selection process, I hope to make an impact for the benefit of the various constituents of the UP VSB, including the students, faculty, staff, alumni, extended publics and the country as a whole.
As enshrined in the charter of the UP, Republic Act 9500, the mandate of the UP, including the UP VSB, is to:
- Perform its unique and distinctive leadership in higher education and development.
- Lead in setting academic standards and initiating innovations in teaching, research and faculty development in philosophy, the arts and humanities, the social sciences, engineering, natural sciences, mathematics, and technology; and maintain centers of excellence in these disciplines and professions.
- Serve as a graduate university by providing advanced studies and specialization for scholars, scientists, writers, artists and professionals, especially those who serve on the faculty of state, and private colleges and universities.
- Serve as a research university in various fields of expertise and specialization by conducting basic and applied research, promoting research and development, and contributing to the dissemination and application of knowledge.
- Lead as a public service university by providing various forms of community, public and volunteer service, as well as scholarly and technical assistance to the government, the private sector and civil society, while maintaining its standards of excellence.
- Protect and promote the professional and economic rights and welfare of its academic and nonacademic personnel.
- Provide opportunities for training and learning in leadership, responsible citizenship and the development of democratic values, institutions, and practice through academic and nonacademic programs, including sports, and enhancement of nationalism and national identity.
- Serve as a regional and global university in cooperation with international and scientific unions, networks of universities, scholarly and professional associations in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.
- Provide democratic governance based on collegiality, representation, accountability, transparency and active participation of its constituents; and promote the holding of fora for students, faculty, research, extension and professional staff, administrative staff, and alumni to discuss nonacademic issues affecting the University.
I am ready to do my share in addressing these responsibilities of the UP and the school. In pursuing the tasks of the deanship, I will bring my passion and experiences derived from my 40 years of career work, both in government and private sector. I am confident that I will do well in my new role, similar to what I have been able to accomplish in my previous leadership duties as commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy and partner of two of the biggest accounting firms. My long prior and current engagements in the area of academia, and the broader realm of learning, will go a long way in implementing and attaining the plans and tasks that I have set forth. Of course, the people in the school, the UP, and my various network of friends and colleagues will play a major role in this quest to make UP VSB continue its mission of doing good for all, or to phrase this better, doing the best for all.
To be continued
Joel L. Tan-Torres is a certified public accountant who placed No. 1 in the May 1979 CPA Board Examinations. He is the dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018 and a partner of Reyes Tacandong and Co., CPA, from 2011 to 2019.
This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com