Four of the 21 faculty members conferred as professors emeriti by the UP Board of Regents (BOR) are from UPLB.

All recently retired professors, Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz and Dr. Ramon A. Razal, had served as deans of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR) and the former as chancellor of UPLB; Dr. Merlyn Mendioro, as the former director of the Institute of Biological Sciences; and Dr. Jose E. Hernandez as a two-term director of what was once the Crop Science Cluster of the College of Agriculture, now the College of Agriculture and Food Science.

They have served the university and the country well in their respective areas of expertise, with the highest form in their being competent and excellent mentors, as evidenced by their high ratings in the Student Evaluation for Teachers and their track record for guiding undergraduate and postgraduate students in the conduct of their theses and dissertations. Many of their students went on to occupy key positions in their respective organizations here in the Philippines and abroad.

Public service for these new professors emeriti goes beyond instruction and defines their research and extension activities.

An expert in watershed management and climate change adaptation, Dr. Cruz has contributed in large measures to watershed management policies in the Philippines. Dr. Cruz is one of the Filipinos who contributed, as lead author and coordinating lead author, to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports,  which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore. Dr. Cruz is also an academician of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology.

Dr. Hernandez is recognized nationally and internationally as a rice breeder for his significant contributions to plant breeding and genetics, specifically for developing high-yielding rice varieties for irrigated and rain-fed lowland and upland areas in the Philippines. He led UPLB’s Rice Varietal Improvement Program, which spearheaded the development of 8 rice varieties for rainfed-lowland planting and 13 for irrigated lowland planting.

Dr. Mendioro has been a force in upgrading the teaching of biology and genetics and building a science culture beyond the university. She authored a book and laboratory manual on genetics used by other universities in the country. She served as a resource person in lectures to upgrade the teaching of high school biology and genetics using teaching models. She has applied her expertise in genetics in crop improvement and helped open up the market in other countries for the Philippine carabao mango.

Dr. Razal is an acknowledged expert in non-timber forest products (NTFP), pursuing pioneering studies on these resources that are important to the livelihood of marginalized indigenous and upland communities. He promoted the value of NTFPs through a book that he co-authored with Dr. Armando Palijon, entitled “Non-Wood Forest Products of the Philippines,” and is now widely used as a reference material. He also co-authored “Wild Tastes in Asia” in 2019 with Indian NTFP specialist Madhu Ramnath.

The four new professors emeriti are all well-published and much-acclaimed in their respective fields by various reputable award-giving bodies. The Professor Emeritus title is a lifelong title given to retired faculty members to recognize their achievements and service to the university. (Kristel Hope Villafuerte)