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Members of the Silliman community gather from January 31 to February 7 in a series of activities organized by the Silliman Church, in celebration of the University Christian Life Emphasis Week (UCLEW). This semester’s theme is “Seeking Opportunity in the Midst of Crisis” and reflects on Ephesians 5:15-20 and Romans 8:22. One of the features of UCLEW is the Galilean fellowship. This is where Silliman students are hosted by faculty, staff and alumni in their homes to draw insights from the Bible and share their life experiences. Silliman University
Board of Trustees Chairperson Prof. Leonor Magtolis-Briones is the
guest preacher during the UCLEW Launching and Commission Service
on February 1 at the Silliman Church. Christian convocations hosted
by clusters of academic units are scheduled in the next days. Student
organizations, including the HIGALA-Students from Around the World,
have also planned out their own activities, including worship services. A virtual laboratory featuring Stan, a high-fidelity patient simulator, will be the main highlight of the new building of the Silliman University College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (CNAHS). The three-storey Nursing Education Building (NEB) 2 will soon rise adjacent to the recently completed NEB 1, behind the Oriental Hall. The structural phase of the construction, which costs close to P12 million, is expected to be completed by April this year. The entire building is targeted to be ready by Founders Day. NEB 2 will have simulation delivery and operating rooms and demonstration classrooms. Its virtual laboratory boasts Stan, a robot that costs around P5 million. Stan is called the “perfect patient” and brings realism to the learning experience with its real human responses, such as in a case of cardiac arrest. It can automatically dilate and constrict its pupils in response to light, twitch its thumb in response to peripheral nerve stimulator, and recognize and respond to administered drugs and drug dosages. Started in December last year, the construction of NEB 2 is made possible through a major donation from Mrs. Olivia V. Yanson, a Nursing alumna and the recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Sillimanian Award in Entrepreneurship, and her family. The Yansons are among Negros’ prominent figures in business. A third building, NEB 3, is on the planning table, with Silliman’s longtime friend, Mr. William Barry Thompson from New Zealand, contributing funds to establishing at least two floors for a learning resource center in health sciences. The rest of the building, including the first floor for the administrative and faculty offices, will be supported by gifts from Nursing alumni. Construction of NEB 1, on the other hand, was entirely funded from the University’s Academic Development Fund. The three NEB buildings are designed to be interconnected with bridges that will span also to the Science Complex and the College of Arts and Sciences. Infrastructure
developments on campus are part of the physical development component
of Silliman’s Strategic Plan. They are put in place to provide
necessary support for the University’s academic programs,
to allow Silliman to respond to newer requirements of modern education.
The construction of the NEB buildings is consistent with Silliman’s
reputation as one of only six Centers of Excellence in Nursing Education
in the country. The Ambassadors of Austria, Czech Republic and Germany are the guests of honor in the conference co-organized by Silliman University with the local government of Dapitan City on the friendship between two notable figures in Philippine history. Hosted by Dapitan, the place where national hero Jose Rizal lived in exile, the conference, titled “The Rizal-Blumentritt Friendship: Creating a Continuing Legacy of Philippine-European Dialogue,” gathers representatives of government, the diplomatic community, and academe. It is set January 31 at the Jose Rizal State College. The conference provides a discussion on the continuing impact of the legacy of Rizal’s friendship with Blumentritt in the understanding of European and Filipino relationship. It further explores how the two societies can work together in shaping an informed discourse about parliamentary governance, with European experience and Filipino articulation. His Excellency Jaroslav Lutva, Ambassador of the Czech Republic, will share how the Rizal-Blumentritt friendship lives on in the Czech Republic, specifically in Litomerici, where Blumentritt grew up and where Rizal frequented. The mayor of Litomerici, Honorable Ladislav Chlupac, is also attending the conference. The Ambassor will also share what Blumentritt may say to Rizal today about the history of Czech parliamentary government. For their part, His Excellencies Christin-Ludwig Webe-Lortch and Herbert Jaeger, Ambassadors of Germany and Austria, respectively, will give short descriptions of the features of the parliamentary politics and experience in their respective countries. Dr. Reynaldo Rivera, Director of the Silliman University School of Public Affairs and Governance, on the other hand, will discuss the exchange of political ideas and philosophies of Rizal and Blumentritt. He will share lessons on cross-experience political learning that Filipinos consider today to better appreciate the benefits and limits of European parliamentary models. The Silliman delegation is headed by Silliman President Dr. Ben S. Malayang III, who serves as one of the facilitators. The other members are: Dr. Henry Sojor, alumnus and now president of the Negros Oriental State University, who is one of the speakers; Dr. Earl Jude Cleope, Director of Instruction; Prof. Carlos Magtolis, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; history professors Prof. Regan Jomao-as and Dr. Ma. Emelen Redillas-Nakao; and Robert Jed Malayang, Mass Communication alumnus. One of the goals
of the Silliman team is to prepare an analysis regarding the outcome
of the conference and outline a proposal for the calling of a major
conference to be attended by concerned representatives of the diplomatic
community and the country’s political analysts and journalists. | ||||
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