Wesleyan University-Philippines’ President, retired Judge Benjamin D. Turgano, was elected to the presidency of the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities (ACSCU).
Former President Asuncion A. Perez, Secretary of Social Welfare during the administration of President Elpidio Quirino, was the first and only WU-P President elected as president of ACSCU until yesterday when Turgano won by landslide at the 59th National Convention.
In his Keynote Address, Turgano laid out a comprehensive action plan focusing on:
- creatively developing multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary programs and courses dedicated to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- ensuring that curricular programs are gender fair and inclusive
- establishing multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research centers and institutes addressing global and national issues
- dedicating idle lands to become business incubators, demo-farms, innovation hubs, and learning laboratories that will help address the SDGs
- transforming campuses to be green communities, green campuses, and resilient facilities
- establishing a Center for Lifelong Learning in each ACSCU member school
- promoting lifelong learning in Basic Education
- making the General Education curriculum a laboratory or venue to discuss social, economic, political, and environmental issues
- aligning extension programs with the SDGs
- aligning QA assessment tools to include assessment of our contribution as Christian education institutions towards the attainment of SDGs
- being more inclusive in our perspectives and opposing policies against any form of discrimination
- providing technical support and sharing our expertise with government agencies
- remaining as strong institutions empowered with academic freedom in our pursuit of creating new knowledge, empowering individuals, and transforming societies
Turgano assumes office on August 1, 2021 with a term of three (3) years.