Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria to Serve a Second Term as Chancellor

The University of the Philippines (UP) Board of Regent (BOR) approved the second term of Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria as the Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) during the 1343rd Meeting of the UP BOR. Her second term took effect on 01 March 2019, and will end on 28 February 2022.

Chancellor Bandalaria’s appointment was made following the Search for the Next UPOU Chancellor released by the UP President in November 2018. The Search Committee, chaired by Dr. Alexander G. Flor, Dean of the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), facilitated all the activities related to the search, from the calls for nomination, vision paper presentation, and the consultation with the different sectors of the university. Chancellor Bandalaria was the lone nominee and candidate for the position.

Chancellor Bandalaria’s vision for her second term is to focus on the outcomes on these three key areas: Quality in Open and Distance eLearning (ODeL); Universal Accessibility to Learning for Social Transformation and Sustainable Development; and National and Regional Leadership in ODeL. She mentioned in her vision for 2019-2022 that the launching pad for this term was set in 2016, when she was appointed for her first term as Chancellor of UPOU. “We will continue what we started; we will take off from where were are now.” She referred to the five (5) strategic thrusts and 12 flagship programs contained in the UPOU Strategic Plan 2016-2019 which specifically targeted quality assurance in teaching, learning and research; public service; and governance.

Besides being Chancellor of UPOU, Dr. Bandalaria sits as President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) and Chair of the AAOU Accreditation Task Force, the Chair of the Asian MOOCs Steering Committee, among others. She has a PhD in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and took her Graduate Certificate in Distance Education at the Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. (ACLlamas)