The Direction of the University as it Celebrates its Centennial

It took a while for me to post this. Actually, months. Haha! Nevertheless, I would like to share the inaugural speech of the President of De La Salle University.


Br. Narciso S. Erguiza FSC
Inaugural Speech on his Installation
In preparation for the Upcoming Centennial Celebration
Greetings in St. La Salle!

Taken from the Old Testament prophet Micah: This is what God asks of you, only this --- to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.

I formally begin my stint as President of De La Salle University on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. And although some consider my acceptance of this new mission as some sort of a crucifixion because of the enormous responsibilities that go with it, I assure you that it was nonetheless a death willingly accepted and embraced. By some sheer coincidence, when Immaculate Conception College –La Salle Ozamiz was elevated to university status as La Salle University, my installation was likewise on Sept. 14, 2006 on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

Someone said that death is the mother of life. Jesus points it more succinctly that “unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Unless we let go of our attachments, we cannot be liberated. Unless we go out of our own comfort zones and take on the bitter pill of discipline, we will never be able to grow. Unless we accept the challenges posed by our changing environment, we will never be able to adapt to new situations. This is the lesson of the glorious cross of Jesus: only if we die will we bear fruit. When the appointment to serve as president reached me, I humbly accepted because as a De La Salle Brother I had made a vow to go wherever I am sent and to do what the society obliges me to do for the purpose of giving a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor. On that day, I faced “death” and allowed the life-giving mission of the Brothers of the Christian Schools to be the focus of my life. Interestingly, I made my perpetual vows right here in this historic Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament 32 years ago.

I come at a time when we celebrate our hundredth year as an educational institution. Reflecting on this has made me realize that this first Lasallian institution in the Philippines has definitely gone a long way since its establishment in 1911. We celebrate long standing tradition of academic excellence; we celebrate our achievements in serving the nation; we celebrate our social transformative contributions to making the Philippines a better place to live in; we celebrate the many lives touched and we further celebrate because these lives have served as exemplars of quality Lasallian education. Truly, we have every reason to celebrate.
 I am quite certain that if the pioneering Brothers were alive today, with pride in their hearts, they would be very happy to see the fruits of their labor. Indeed, through the years, countless Lasallians have walked through the hallowed halls of De La Salle University and have left their lasting imprints.

We have been blessed with presidents who have led this institution to where it is now. Let me just enumerate the past leaders who have made their mark in this university. Those of you present who are as old or older than I am will fondly remember their memories, their presence, their contributions. From way back 1911, Brothers Blimond Pierre, Goslin Camille, Asisclus Michael, Albinus Peter, Celba John, D. Joseph, Marcian James, Flannan Paul, Egbert Xavier, Lucian Athanasius, Anthony Ferdinand, Andelino Manuel, Hyacinth Gabriel, Dennis of Mary, Crescentius Richard, Andrew Gonzalez, Rafael Donato, Rolando Dizon, Carmelita Quebengco, and Armin Luistro. Twenty past presidents who have given life to the spirit of St. La Salle in making education a real source of social transformation all embodied in what is now De La Salle University. As Brother Ricky and I have been given the rare opportunity to serve as Chancellor and President, we feel a sense of Lasallian pride and greatness only because we stand on the shoulders of these great men and woman.

The centennial is an opportune moment for us individually and communally not only to relish our achievements and successes but to reflect on the challenges ahead of us. As we look back at the past and celebrate our achievements, we must also ask ourselves how the future looks for De La Salle University.
A question that has been a few times asked of me here at DLSU after my appointment was: How do you intend to lead the university? What kind of a president will you be? To be forthright about it, I said, Honestly, I don’t know. This established institution has been here for a century. I entered De La Salle University, then De La Salle College, in 1967 as a freshman; and it’s been 43 years since; that’s almost half a century. So, if DLSU now is 100 years old as an institution, and if I were to look at this institution as my 100 year old grandfather, how do you manage or lead your grandfather? Kind of difficult but challenging and exciting, isn’t it?

I started with a prayer asking the Lord that as the newly appointed president, He grants me the grace to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with Him. I have tried, sometimes with some success and at times with a lot of difficulty, to use this prayer as some kind of a personal mantric guide in my spiritual and professional life. I ask your indulgence to reflect with me and allow me to jibe these qualities, these predispositions to the threefold functions of a university --- those of teaching/learning, research/faith and extension/service.

To love Tenderly (Teaching). An educational institution’s reason for being are the very students that it serves. Everything that is done in school is done for and in behalf of the students. Teachers encourage and challenged students so that they can bring out the best in them. The teaching and learning engagement that is established between the teacher and the student is one that is characterized by the teacher’s sincere love and concern for the student. A teacher who does not love his/her students will find teaching a laborious task and unfulfilling drudgery and students, likewise, by some kind of disengagement will find it most difficult to learn. We see indicators of learning effectiveness which can only be a reflection of teaching excellence, as shown for example in passing and topnotching Board exams, testing theories to practical applications, getting hired in jobs applied for, using one’s training and competence to serve others and manifesting signs of life-long learning. What in effect, is my hope as president, is for our faculty to realize that they are involved in a ministry that obliges them to bring about the transformation of the human capital. Loving tenderly is not just a predisposition of the heart but more importantly a disposition of the teacher’s will.

I challenge our faculty to engage our students in teaching-learning processes that bring about long enduring transformation.

To walk humbly (Research). Any university worth its salt must be a research university. The major role of a university is one where knowledge is not just transmitted but where new ones are generated, created and challenged. There are many opportunities where this endeavor can almost become part of the university’s culture. Unfortunately, most universities renege on this function because it is difficult, challenging and capital intensive.

To be a researcher is not just a skill, it is a gift. And it is a gift from God: it is the God who is all knowing who shares the gift to you so that you may acquire the skill to discover, you may acquire the skill to get to know, and thereupon, may have the insight to create and generate new knowledge. And upon discovering new knowledge, sometimes, you could almost act like a god. That is why as a predisposition, I like the imagery of the prophet Micah “walking humbly.” Humility should be a trait of a researcher that brings about the attitude that as one gets to discover and get to know, the more one realizes that one does not know. What a humbling experience! To do research is an exercise in faith and humility.

I challenge our faculty to engage themselves and their students to producing and generating new knowledge so that we can help society solve some of its relevant, current, and urgent concerns.

I challenge our partners in industry, government and non-governmental entities to make our university as your research resource to help in bringing about the desired social transformation that our country badly needs.

To Act Justly (Service). The mark of a truly educated Lasallian in the tradition of academic excellence is service. Our efforts at improving the human capital are not meant for our graduates’ personal gain but meant to instill among our graduates that their purpose is to be a “resource for church and nation.” This is what is inculcated in our graduates: they have been given much, they are endowed with a lot of gifts and talents, they have been trained well, they are very good Christians, they are highly competent and qualified --- all these for a purpose --- for them to give back to society what it justly/rightfully deserves.

I challenge our graduates (who eventually will become our alumni/alumnae) to make themselves academically excellent, highly competent and adequately skilled so that they can become useful and contributing members of society desirous to be at the service of others.

That puts rather simplistically what I see are the functions of a university--- teaching, research, extension --- and how we can, together and by association, managelead the university in the years ahead.

We stand on solid foundation set by the ideals of our Founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle and past Brother presidents and assured only by our faith that surely this must be God’s work.

Knowing how difficult and challenging this could be, I ask the Lord that we, Brother Ricky and I, may be graced with the attitude and predisposition of loving tenderly, acting justly and walking humbly with our God.
Live Jesus in our hearts, Forever.

A Lasallian's Call to Mission

I write this as I end a week of ups and downs: a week where I had to learn some tough lessons, a week where I had to relearn what Gawad Kalinga is all about, what being a Lasallian in the Philippines is about, what being a Filipino in this generation is about. This was a week where I had to grow up: not only in age, but also in wisdom; in handling tough situations and dealing with people we find difficult to love, and continue loving those people who need my love the most.

If you had asked me a year ago if I saw GK La Salle the way it is now, I would probably tell you yes, but with a shadow of doubt at the back of my mind. Having gone full-time for what seemed to me, at that time, was an unclear path, it would be difficult to presume that everything will be okay in a year or so. If there was anything that could make me stay at that time, it was because we had scholars. There was Gawad Kalinga in DLSU, but whether or not we were doing it together was a different issue. But then again, faith played an important role in how everything fell into place. I always trusted that God had a better plan for our alma mater; and like our Founder, I, together with other volunteers, trusted in His Divine providence.

As an academic institution, DLSU has already achieved so much in so many different fields. Its alumni have made great contributions to Philippine society and to the world. It has produced several researches that bridged classrooms to life. DLSU is one of the best universities in the Philippines, and as such, much is expected of its graduates.  I have written in a previous note that education is a continuous process which does not stop once the bell rings to signify the end of a class. It transcends the four walls of the classroom in order to affect meaningful social transformations. It liberates us from being prisoners of conventional frameworks, allows us to revolutionize the way the world thinks, and sustainably develops the dynamics of human life. Education builds nations and makes the world a better place to live in; it is a gift from God that should continuously be nurtured.

Being equipped with the proper tools to face the world outside the four walls of the university, all of us Lasallians have the opportunity to affect change in this country. We can never deny the fact that our classroom education has enabled us to apply knowledge to life. After all, those three years or more of Lasallian education would have been in vain if we have never been able to use what God has given us in order to make a significant impact. Imagine if we continue doing once-off activities while integrating social transformation into the very core of the curriculum of the University. Imagine if every single professor in DLSU teaches his/her students to love this country through their chosen fields. The university can expect that more students will partake in nation-building because seeds are already being planted. I am not saying, however, that it would be foolish for us to hype ourselves up through rallies and concerts once in a while. In fact, I would gladly accept any of those; but months ago, I was challenged by an administrator to sustainably develop participation while the hype was momentarily gone.

Doing once-off activities will inspire COB students to do Corporate Social Responsibility when they graduate from their business degrees and get into multinationals; but creating that enabling environment for them to hurdle past their mistakes and develop their ingenuity will inspire them to become Social Entrepreneurs -- job creators and champions of the poor. That makes all the difference.  Jose Almonte, in his book "We Must Level the Playing Field" affirms that we have a case of the "missing middle": those who will create SME's in order to provide employment and help sustainably develop the growth of this country. We, the Lasallians of this generation, are in that position: middle brothers to the poor who need our help to alleviate them from their plight. It is a disservice to our Founder, the Brothers who have given their lives for this vocation, and our professors and mentors who continue to strive to give us a proper education if we have completed our degrees without having that social conscience to open up more opportunities to the poor, so that in turn, we can start leveling the playing field. Some people say that what separated us from the poor is opportunity; I believe otherwise.

I was four years old when I first visited DLSU. As I grew up, I had learned more about DLSU and even met the great Br. Andrew Gonzalez. I was given the luxury to dream about graduating from this school when I was younger.  How about the kids from the slums who did not have the same opportunity as I had? They would probably have thought that they could not get into DLSU. Even I would not have an inkling that they were inches away from a scholarship in DLSU. Slowly but surely, we have opened the doors to higher learning to our GK SIGA. By next year, we will have 36 scholars in DLSU and DLS-CSB walking down the same hallowed halls as some great Filipinos already have. I can now say that what separates us from them is merely address. But am I saying that GK DLSU has already done enough?

If I may quote St. Marie Eugenie of Jesus, "Love never says, 'I have done enough.'"

Loving God and country is something that we, Lasallians, should instill and nurture in our hearts; but it should go beyond feeling that love and building up emotions. It is about finding ways to become the best of who we are to make this country the best it can be. It is about giving ourselves to this country by taking nation-building into the core of our being. If you are studying to become an entrepreneur, do not allow yourself to be just an employee of foreign corporations in your own country. Start social enterprises that will not only allow you to sustain your living, but will also create opportunities and wealth for many Filipinos. If you are studying to become a teacher, share your knowledge not only to those who will be able to afford your services, but also to those who do not have the money to pay for your labor. If you are studying to become an engineer, develop green technologies that will not only be available to the rich subdivisions, but also to the poorest communities. These, among many other things, are some ways by which Lasallians can contribute to the growth of this country. 

GK DLSU has faith and confidence in the Lasallian community.

We believe so much in the potential of Lasallians to make themselves relevant to society. We know that deep in their minds and hearts, Lasallians sense that they are called to do great things for this country. It would be such a waste of Lasallian ingenuity if we were not able to cultivate it to build the nation. It would be such a waste of resources if we did not gear our capabilities towards sustainable development and social transformation in this country. It would be futile for our professors to spend so much time with their students if at the end of the day, their students do not feel relevant. It would be such a waste of money if in the end, students willl not be able to apply their knowledge and skills for the good of this country.

This is every Lasallian's call to mission: to respond to the call of the times by actively engaging himself/herself in building the nation through the use of information and ingenuity, by growing intelligent hearts that will courageously fight against poverty through the application of knowledge to life, and by spreading the word of hope that we will end the crimes of poverty, stupidity and hypocrisy in this country.

This is the kind of movement we want to build in DLSU: one that continues to find relevance in the present and lasts for a lifetime, one that will not stop amid obstacles; one that is pro-active, and one that our country deserves. 

We are Lasallians in the Philippines in this generation because we are capable of finding solutions to the many problems of society by using our talents, skills and knowledge. 

We are not claiming that we can do everything, but in our own way, we can do something.

 We have been stuck in that classroom for a while now. It's about time we go out and do something for this country!

Beyond 4.0. Beyond the call of duty. ANIMO LA SALLE! ANIMO PILIPINAS!

As I end this reflection, allow me to share my favorite prayer.

Lord, let me be the change I want to see

To do with strength and wisdom

All that needs to be done and become the hope that I can be.

Set me free from my fears and hesitations.

Grant me courage and humility.

Fill me with spirit to face the challenge,

and start the change I want to see.

Today, I start the change I want to see.

Even if I am not the light, I can be the spark.

In faith, service and communion,

Let us start the change we want to see.

The change that begins in me.

In all these, we, together and by association, dedicate our life and work to God, Who alone guarantees the fulfillment of our Lasallian dream.

I will continue, O my God, to do all my actions for the love of You.

St. John Baptist de la Salle, pray for us.

Live Jesus in our hearts, FOREVER!