7th MMSU prexy takes oath

By Leilanie G. Adriano & Reynaldo E. Andres

Staff reporter & contributor

Batac CITY—Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis became the seventh president of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) when she took her oath on July 31.

The Board of Regents at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) unanimously voted for the 52-year-old Professor III of MMSU’s College of Arts and Sciences on the same day.

Dr. Agrupis also became the first MMSU graduate to hold the university’s highest post.

Shortlisted among six applicants for the position vacated in 2015, Dr. Agrupis will serve as MMSU president until July 31, 2021.

Leading student rallies to leading the university

More than 30 years ago, this fearless campus leader led rallies against Dr. Consuelo S. Blanco, MMSU’s first president for alleged suppression of student organizations and student publications.

On August 2, 2017 she entered the president’s office no longer armed with protest placards and leaflets, but with an “agenda for change and a clear vision for the 39-year-old state university”.

“God is so good. I am overwhelmed by what is happening to me right now,” the teary-eyed new MMSU president told her well-wishers as she approached the entrance of the administration building lobby. She remarked that she stepped into the building “not to wield power but to become a university president for all.”

Dr. Agrupis arrived at the administration building at 8:00 am. Just after she alighted from her vehicle, she embraced and hugged the small crowd of about 50 employees who gave her bouquets of flowers and smiles. The group was composed of faculty members, administrative and non-teaching personnel, security guards, researchers, and laborers.

The new president said the first thing she must do as she begins a herculean task of leading a big university is to meet all the vice presidents and heads of offices to discuss her plans for the first 100 days. Marching forward to attain her vision for MMSU, she requested all employees to support her in bringing in positive change to the university.

Hitting the ground running

At the president’s office, Dr. Prima Fe Franco, MMSU’s officer-in-charge and VP for academic affairs, gave the office’s key and the university mace to Dr. Agrupis as a gesture of turning over to her the leadership which she held for two years.

The two other vice presidents, Dr. Nathaniel Alibuyog, research and extension, and Atty. Ramon Leaño, administration and business, were also present to welcome the new president. Both Messrs. Leaño and Alibuyog also ran for the presidency.

After that, Dr. Agrupis proceeded to the Teatro Ilocandia to deliver her first keynote speech before the guests and participants in the 4^th Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Network (RAFEN) symposium.

At noon, she had working lunch with the heads of offices in the administration building. “Let’s improve our services by thinking out of the box,” the new president urged the university personnel. It was followed by a brief press conference with the members of the local media.

At day’s end, she had her meeting with the representatives of various stakeholders for the MMSU bio-ethanol project.

The president hopes that this pet project, which is now in full swing, will start to maneuver for the successful implementation of the country’s bio-ethanol program.

“I have so many things to do in my first day of office, but I will see to it that I will do a short retreat for my mother in Aparri, Cagayan who just passed away last July 31,” she said adding that despite this tragedy, she, too, is very much excited because “I know that God will guide me all the way until beyond the end of my four-year term.”  

Prexy’s history

Before her appointment as the 7^th MMSU president, Dr. Agrupis was a professor from CAS. She is a researcher, teacher, and scholar with 30 years of diversified work experiences in research, teaching, and administration. She is the project leader of the MMSU Bioethanol project which has reaped various national awards, and for which MMSU has tied up with industry partners.

Before joining MMSU in 2000, she was science research specialist at the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) where she pioneered alternative uses of tobacco as particleboard, pulp, and paper material. At MMSU, she rose through the ranks to become full professor in 2012.

She finished BS Biology from MMSU in 1985, MS Botany from UPLB in 1992, and PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the Shizuoka University, Japan, in 2000. Her vision for MMSU is to become one of the country’s top 10 universities, recognized for its innovative approaches to teaching, research, community outreach, and income generation.

Part of her vision as the new president is to make MMSU as one of the country’s top 10 universities, recognized for its innovative approaches to teaching, research, community outreach, and income generation.