The University of the Philippines celebrated its 102nd founding anniversary on June 18, with a simple ceremony before the University colors at the Oblation Plaza, UP Diliman (UPD), Quezon City, where a parade of UPD units celebrating their centennials began and ended.

Speaking for UP President Emerlinda R. Roman, UP Diliman (UPD) Chancellor Sergio S. Cao addressed those in attend-ance. He looked back to the University’s humble beginnings in Calle Peral (now United Nations Avenue) and Padre Faura in downtown Manila. Back then, Cao said, the University only had fourteen students and seven departments housed in one building, thus “fostering unity and close ties.” Although the offices have grown much since then, Cao said that the bonds created in that campus in Manila continue to bind the different units of the University as one UP.

The crowd consisted of contingents from UPD units, several of which are celebrating their centennials this year. They held a parade around the Academic Oval. Among these units were: the Institute of Mathematics; the Institute of Biology; the Department of English and Comparative Literature; the Department of European Languages; and the Dep-artment of History. After the parade, representatives of the units laid their units’ respective logos at the foot of the Oblation.

Other units celebrating their centennial this year are the College of Engineering, the College of Law, and the Institute of Chemistry.

The College of Engineering started its centennial activities October of last year, with the groundbreaking of the new engineering students’ dorm and with fund-raising activities. They also had a “centennial walk,” a street party at the Carillon Plaza, a fun run, basketball exhi-bition games between the faculty and the alumni, a golf tournament at the Tagaytay Midlands, and a tree-planting activity. They also named 100 of the college’s Outstanding Engineers at the UP Film Center in May. In June, the College had its centennial exhibit and launching of its coffee-table book.

As part of its centennial, the College of Law will co-host a conference on “International Labor Standards and the Need for Paradigm Shift” at the 2010 Manila Biennial Conference of The Asian Society of Labour Law (AsianSLL) on November 20 and 21, 2010 at the Malcolm Theater, UP Diliman. The college has other planned centennial activities but has yet to finalize them.

The Institute of Chemistry celebrated its centennial starting January with professorial chair lectures. They held a contest for the design of their centennial logo; a graduate research seminar at the Ayala TechnoHub; and a sports fest. This was to be followed by a seminar with Balik-Scientist and Alumnus Rigoberto Advincula in June. The institute has lined up an alumni homecoming; a photo-exhibit; and an International Symposium on Advances in Chemistry and Materials or ISACHEM, later this year. Slight changes in the schedule of activities are anticipated, because of the fire which gutted down the Chemistry Pavilion 2 at the Palma Hall on June 10.

For its centennial, the Institute of Mathematics held a faculty seminar in May. The Institute plans to have a fun run along with the Institute of Chemistry and the Institute of Biology this month. A math exhibit is scheduled for July and August. An alumni homecoming and a launch of its centennial magazine are planned for August, while a centennial conference is being organized for October.

The Department of History held a fun run on February 15 to mark its centennial. The activity was followed with a flag-raising ceremony at Palma Hall to also mark the celebration of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy or CSSP week. Six newly refurbished history classrooms were inaugurated on the same day at Palma Hall. The department held a Homecoming and Reunion last on June 5 at Palma Hall. It plans to launch a History Scholarship Fund for deserving students.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature kicked off its centennial celebration with a program at the Pulungang Claro M. Recto in UP Diliman on June 10. The Department was joined by Chancellor Cao, who invited the DECL leadership to talk about sustainable projects with the UPD administration. The program also launched the DECL history book project and the “PostColonial Praxis” international conference in July.

The Department of European Languages, aside from organizing an alumni homecoming, spearheaded early this July an international training seminar titled “Inter-comprehension in Romance Languages: A Vector for Linguistic and Cultural Linkages Between Continents” at UPD’s Malcolm Hall.

Also highlighting the celebrations at UPD was the inauguration of two exhibitions at Bulwagan ng Dangal, namely “Diliman: Tracing the Terrain” and “Monochromed Memories: UP Landmarks Exhibition.”

The first, curated by Prof. Gerard Rey A. Lico of the College of Architecture, traces the physical trans-formation of UPD through original drawings, archival blueprints and other artifacts. The second, curated by Prof. Ruben DF Defeo of the College of Fine Arts, displays prints, sketches, and drawings of campus landmarks. Both exhibits will run until September 15. 2010.

Simultaneous flag-raising ceremonies were held at the constituent universities to mark the University’s 102nd anniversary. (Clockwise, from photo at right) At UP Diliman, the community gathered at the Oblation Plaza in preparation for a parade. The parade was participated in by contingents from the Department of History, the Institute of Biology, the Department of European Languages, the Department of English and Comparative Literature, and the Institute of Mathematics, all celebrating their centennials. The parade ended with the participants converging at the Quezon Hall steps for another short program and photo opportunities.