2401 Vol. 44, Issue 8 Field Notes: On Living the Lasallian Core Values

7/30/2019 2401 Vol. 44, Issue 8 Field Notes: On Living the Lasallian Core Values

1/3

On Living the Lasallian Core Values

First o all, I would like to thank the Board o rustees o DLSU or their trust. I eelhonored to have been given the opportunity to lead De La Salle University or the nextthree years.

As I stand here beore you, I can already eel the weight o the responsibility restingon my shoulders particularly because with De La Salle University comes a brand anda reputation that have been built over time. I know that DLSUs past successes andachievements stand on the shoulder o Brothers and Partners who have gone beore us.Tese thoughts make this appointment personally scary and daunting.

Yet allow me to paraphrase Proverbs 16:9 which gives me much consolation We canmake the grandest plans o our lives, but only God can guide us in ullling them. Godbrings us where God wants us to be.

Like the rst nine Brothers who came to the Philippines rom distant lands, armed withnothing but their sense o aith in Divine Providence, their love or service on educatingthe youth, and their passion to work together or a mission, I am called upon to walkwith you as we unold the next century o this institution o higher learning.

In this special edition of Field Notes, we feature the inaugural address of Br. Ricardo P. Laguda FSC as

President and Chancellor of DLSU. The investiture was held last September 14 at the Chapel of the Most

Blessed Sacrament.FIELD NOTES

0 8 O C T 2 0 1 2

08VOLUME 44NUMBER

Br. Ricardo P. Laguda FSC


2/3

With the Lasallian core values o Faith, Ser vice, and Communion in Mission, I believe that DLSU can achievegreater heights. Tese core values have been the driving orce behind the success o DLSU. Tese core valueshave continued to make us a le ading choice or the best and brightest students and aculty.

Now on its 101st year, our institution speaks o numerous achievements resulting rom the close partnershipo the Brothers, aculty, administrators, sta, students, beneactors, alumni and other business and civil ser viceorganizations who are in the business o educating the youth o our country. Humility, aside,allow me to mention some.

Our University has produced ideas as well as concrete actions and programs that have addressed many o thecountrys most pressing problems. Our alumni have generated enormous revenues or many companies, romstart-ups to amily owned to multinational companies. Our aculty has continued to generate instructional mate-rials and scholarly publications and are engaged in pioneering, excellent researches and projects.At the culmination o our centennial celebration, we marked two major undertakings: One is th e inauguration othe 14-story Henry Sy, Sr. Centennial Hall, which will house our latest pride, the Learning Commons. Te otheris the launch o t he DLSU Science and echnology Complex adjacent to the Laguna echnopark, which weenvision to become the next great idea in the elds o science, engineering, and technology. Te DLSU Scienceand echnology Complex is a testament to our drive to constantly reinvent education with the same innovativespirit as that o our Founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle, and t he rst nine Brothers in Manila.

But, behind these successes, I ofen wonder what has been our vocation as an educational institution and as aFilipino Lasallian Catholic university. By what p arameters will we measure ourselves to measure our success? Isthis what we are all about? Is this who we are as a Filipino Lasallian Catholic University? As you will know, theseare some o the questions t hat make the task o being Filipino Lasallian CatholicUniversity very challenging. However, I am consoled also by the act thatthe answers to these nagging questions will be answered in t he companyo ne, competent, and dedicated women and men, who will helpdene the success o DLSU in theyears to come.


3/3

Tere are a lot o challenges conronting higher education institutions today. DLSU is not spared o these. For DLSUthese challenges include: 1) striking a balance between the aordability o tuition and ensuring that the quality o edu-cation is continuously improving; 2) recruiting the best credentialed aculty members rom here and abroad; 3) oeringquality and relevant programs that will place our students in good paying jobs and, more importantly, inculcate in themthe values o integrity and competence; 4) continuing our periodic accreditation status and improving our graduatesperormance in licensure exams; 5) recruiting the best students, especially rom among the economically disadvantagedsector; 6) providing the best state-o-the-art acilities or eective teaching and learning as well as research activities; 7)improving the programs on aculty and human resource development; and 8) instilling across all sectors theLasallian core values o Faith, Service, and Communion in Mission.

o achieve our vision-mission, our teaching and learning processes should inspire young minds to make other peopleslives better. We need to keep our curriculum, pedagogy, and research relevant. We need to pave the way or the nextgreat idea in all elds, especially as we embark on a new journey with our Science and echnology Complex.

Trough all these challenges, there is an underlying invitation, and this was what our Founder St. La Salle ofen wouldtell his community o Brothers and teachers, that our vocation is: We perorm the greatest miracle by touching thehearts o those entrusted to our care. And like Harry Lewis, the ormer Dean o Harvard College, once said, beyondacademic and research excellence, we need to help our University community learn who they are, to search or a largerpurpose or their lives, and to leave college as better human beings. I believe that we should not worry too much aboutachieving individual prominence because it will come by virtue o talent and hard work. Instead, we should be moreconcerned with helping people who cross our path become better persons while they are in University and beyond.

My dream or DLSU is not only or it to become a premiere learning and research hub and an engine o inclusivegrowth in the Philippines and the region, but also a community o learners striving to live the Lasallian core values oFaith, Service and Communion in Mission. o be such a community o scholars is to serve as an instrument to helpindividuals, especially the youth, discover their genuine vocation, their passion, and their God-given purpose in aworld that is ull o ambiguity and complexity.

Beore I end, I would like to thank all o you or being with me during this moment in my vocational journey as aBrother that I have grown to love and respect. Where I am now, I owe to my amily (especially my mom and dad), theBrothers, the Jesuits, all my teachers and two predecessors whom I would like to mention: Br. Jun who was my highschool principal, teacher, and ninong when I received the habit as a Brother, and Br. Armin, my novice master. Iam grateul to them or what they have contributed to DLSU and, more importantly, or what they have so generouslybequeathed me with: wisdom, expert advice, and unwavering support, among others. Tey played signicant roles inmaking me understand what it means to be more human and raternal. I also take this opportunity to greet and thankmy teachers rom grade school to graduate school who instilled in me an insatiable thirst or learning, challenged me toalways do my best, and reminded me to be humble and grateul or the God who calls and loves us inways beyond our understanding.

Again, thank you or coming. May Live Jesus in our hearts orever and Animo La Salle.

Documents

2401 Vol. 44, Issue 8 Field Notes: On Living the Lasallian Core Values