Director’s Desk (November 23, 2015)
Fellow RCCESI Research Associates:
I trust that everyone has had the chance to recharge and gather more academic energies during the APEC break. I trust that amidst the Paris bombings and protests against Lumad killings, everyone took time to reflect on the deep intricacies of these events shaping the contours of country’s fate, not only in the socio-political and economic-religious terms but more so, in the ways we treat this delicate matter as an academic subject matter. May our world be at PEACE in the real sense of the word and of the world, where the truly marginalized and excluded be the foremost beneficiaries.
Let me be the first to greet everyone, Makabuluhang Paskong Pananaliksik 2015 sa ating lahat!
I celebrate with you our being research scholars hoping that we continue to see the impact these recent events (and the K-12 implementation) as opportunities for us to remain relevant as Thomasian researchers with a sense of accountability and purpose. And for this reason, please celebrate with me what I consider as little, median, and huge blessings our dear RCCESI gained over the past six months. I call this our 12 gifts of RCCESI Christmas representing the last 12 months of RCCESI on which I was asked to serve as transition director. While more gifts are still expected to flow in the remaining months of our center (and my leadership), please join me in thanking God for these blessings.
1. Gift of research scholars. To date, RCCESI is 55 research associate-strong – academics and scholars in the truest sense of the word.
2. Gift of disciplines. RCCESI now recognizes that the core of our university’s existence is our respective disciplines (whether aligned or allied) thus, most are able to see the purpose of research engagement.
3. Gift of research agenda. As disciplines are recognized so research agenda are set to define academic spaces allowing RCCESI researchers to be more open, insightful, critical, logical, and discursive.
4. Gift of information (calling cards, brochure, bulletin board, monitor information panel, ESubscribe Share Past Issues Translate newsletter, and website). At this era of creative and information technologies, RCCESI communicates its identity thru visual and online means channeling renewed commitment to knowledge-generation and knowledge-sharing.
5. Gift of new office space. Although physically limited and limiting, RCCESI’s old office space is given new life by easy-to-turn on (million pesos worth) air-conditioning units, new sets of blinds, side cabinets, pantry cabinets – all made possible through the funding requests of previous leadership, the tandem of our dear Ma’am Arlen and Ms. Maricar.
6. Gift of research equipment. But new office “feel” is senseless without acquiring a stateof-the-art research equipment: 13 new computer units (touch-screen laptops, tablets & desktops) powered by I5 & I7 Intel Core processors, fast enough to motivate RCCESI researchers and staff to finish outputs and submissions on time, without delay.
7. Gift of activities and research services. Judging from the flowing pasalubong our office enjoys almost every week, a good number of us, RCCESI researchers, continuously engage with varied research activities (conferences, forum, workshops, trainings, network meetings, and brown-bag sessions) making our presence felt within and beyond our university. But what is more exciting is our center’s interest to share our expertise through continuous research training and workshops with faculty, support staff, and students.
8. Gift of support leadership. For years, our center is truly blessed with the talents, skills, and work commitments of our research administrative staff – Ms. Maricar, Ms. Billie, and (recently, the re-entry of) Ms. Fe – whose leadership are felt from the soundness of their day-to-day interactions, and the beauty of their supportive characters, all for serving and responding to any of our RCCESI–related needs and concerns.
9. Gift of academic generosity and affirmation. For months, the academic generosity of RCCESI researchers and staff overflow with kindness of academic of spirit where AFFIRMATION as both a virtue and value, is starting to be a cultural fabric of researching in our center.
10. Gift of academic friendship. All those brief chats, short but sweet exchanges of views along the corridors, in researchers’ area, pantry, director’s office, meeting rooms or during our meal chats at our defunct library turned TV room, RCCESI has been nurtured by honest-to-goodness engagements, making our center a safe place to articulate desires, disgusts, wants, complaints, and disagreements that are almost always resolved by tolerance, competence, and resilience.
11. Gift of research centers. That RCCESI will soon give birth to two more promising centers, one for the Culture, Arts, and the Humanities – RCCAH – and the other, for the Social Sciences and Education – RCSSEd.
12. Gift of persons and humanity. And at the core of its all, our remaining limited RCCESI engagement was made more fruitful and meaningful as there has not been any incident that demeans our being “persons” rather in our center, we revel blessings of “pagpapakatao” signifying how we celebrate the essence of humanity and being humane.
As your transition director, I am truly honored to rejoice all these gifts with everyone. This only shows the power and quality of human relations that may be forged even with limited engagements, limited space, and limited time; that blessings would flow when collective desires of the mind, the heart, and the soul collide to make up what may qualify as another good research topic.
Muli, Maligayang Paskong Pananaliksik 2015 po sa ating lahat!
