President Ramos brings together the Makati community in celebration of his investiture as 10th UMak President
The City of Makati and University of Makati (UMak) officials and former officials, UMak faculty and administrative employees, alumni and student leaders, industry and academic partners and leaders, and other UMak stakeholders came in full force to witness and celebrate the formal investiture of the 10th President of UMak, Elyxzur C. Ramos, PhD, CESE on July 31, both onsite and online.
Makati Mayor Mar-len Abigail Binay, who is also the Chairman of the UMak Board of Regents (BOR), congratulated President Ramos and said that his dedication to education and commitment to excellence paved the way for his appointment. She praised the newly installed President’s “visionary leadership, profound understanding of educational needs, and strategic approach to fostering innovation which has positioned him as a transformative figure – a blend of academic rigor, administrative acumen, and a deep-seated passion for student development and community engagement characterizes his leadership.”
Mayor Binay led the Investiture Ceremony and administered the Oath of Office. College of Business and Financial Science (CBFS) Dean Edita Bayona presented the academic regalia. CBFS is the home college of President Ramos. University Secretary Juvy Hermosura presented the Presidential Medallion, while University Registrar Danilo Sabado presented the University Mace.
The Investiture Address of President Ramos, which immediately followed the formal ceremony, indeed confirms that his vision for the University aligns with Mayor Binay’s mission to make UMak a beacon of excellence within Makati, across the nation and beyond. His message revolved around the significance of the number ten to him since “X”, his nickname, is the Roman numeral for the number ten. He also happens to be the tenth president of UMak so perhaps the number ten is no ordinary coincidence. He started his speech with the familiar Bible story of how Moses was called upon by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt but Moses doubted his abilities. God allayed his doubts and handed him a tablet with the Ten Commandments which Moses shared with the Israelites.
President Ramos felt a similar calling for UMak when President Lopez passed away in 2019 and he experienced similar fears and doubts, especially with the challenge of the pandemic and UMak’s charter change. All these turned out for the better as these laid the foundation for a formal selection process for a University President and his subsequent election by the BOR, the first ever UMak President to do so! Perhaps it was divine intervention as he wrote his wish to be UMak president in his novena to God’s love in 2020 which eventually came true! But instead of sharing his Ten Commandments, the 10th UMak President shared his tenets in two parts.
The first part was his list of 10 that he is thankful to, which includes: (1) God; (2) his teachers and academic institutions; (3) his childhood friends from Trabajo Street in Barangay Olympia, and high school and college classmates and batchmates; (4) his fraternity brothers from the Scouts Royale Brotherhood and the Alpha Phi Omega; (5) his colleagues in the academe and his different socio-civic and professional organizations; (6) his coworkers and staff at UMak, both past and present, and his fellow City Officials of Makati; (7) his World Wide Marriage Encounter family; (8) the UMak Management Committee; (9) the Binay family; and (10) his family.
The second part was his vision and top 10 goals for the University: (1) To be the first local university or college (LUC) in the country to be globally ranked and recognized; (2) To continue the tradition of excellence in law education and in other board related programs that UMak offers, and to be the first LUC to offer a school of medicine; (3) To be a center of excellence in innovative teacher training and development; (4) To be the first Laudato Si certified LUC in the country; (5) To be the first LUC with a Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology (KIST) park in the campus; (6) To develop a stronger culture for research, and as a local university, to become the research arm of the City of Makati and be excellent in research; (7) To be a hub for developing talent in culture and sports; (8) To be a model of a passport system for an integrated learning modality for LUCs; (9) To continue to champion and take the lead in industry-academe partnerships and linkages; and (10) To be a preferred school of choice not only because the City of Makati provides scholarship subsidy to their students but because of UMak’s reputation for academic excellence.
The program opened with recorded reflections and greetings to the 10th President from the UMak Board of Regents, i.e., Faculty Representative Marivic Cuizon, Administrative Representative Rey Blanco, and Private Sector Representative Edgardo Lacson.
President Ramos’ influence extends beyond the University as he serves the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) as a Standing Committee member for Higher Education and Teacher Education and Development. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Co-Chairperson of EDCOM II, also relayed his congratulations through a video recording. He further said that since President Ramos is part of the Standing Committee for EDCOM II, Senator Gatchalian trusts in his ability to bring about educational excellence.
The welcome remarks were delivered by Vice President for Academic Affairs Ederson Tapia, giving a descriptive picture of the investiture ceremony’s ancient practice in universities where the baton is passed from one learned fellow to another, symbolic of the intellectual leadership that a university holds. He believes that President Ramos is “guided by the principles of collective leadership, shared responsibility, and democratizing opportunities for all and his leadership philosophy demonstrates that we can conquer the challenges that come our way, partake of the opportunities for growth and development if we work together.”
Principles that seemed to work because during the watch of President Ramos, the Vice President said that notable achievements were made by the University through collective and collaborative efforts, such as major adjustments in the University’s management structure, topnotch ratings in government exams, innovative academic offerings that keep breaching barriers and exploring uncharted territories, student services that endeavor to provide a comprehensive range of resources and activities to enable them to reach their maximum potential, expansion of UMak’s research publication profile, and initiatives launched to broaden the University’s network and linkages through internationalization.
All these were made possible because of sound fiscal and administrative policies that resulted in better spending priorities and expanded career development opportunities for personnel. Vice President Tapia expressed gratitude to all those present during the milestone event and appealed for continued support as “the task continues and under Professor Ramos’ watchful eyes, we carry on!”
Vice President for Planning and Research Maria Fay Nenette Cariaga introduced the 10th UMak President. Former Vice President of the Philippines and former Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay was also present along with Makati Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo, Makati Representatives Luis Campos, Jr. and Romulo Peña, Jr. The family of President Ramos led by Mrs. Stephanie Joyce Panes-Ramos graced the momentous occasion, as well.
Written by: Ms. Cynthia Margaretta R. José
