3 vying for top UP Diliman post

MANILA, Philippines — Two professors have challenged former University of the Philippines Diliman chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, who is vying for his second term as head of the UP’s flagship campus in Quezon City.

Apart from Nemenzo, whose term expired on March 1, the other nominees to be the next UP Diliman chancellor are archaeology professor Victor Paz and UP College of Law dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II.

First appointed as chancellor in 2020, Nemenzo is a mathematics professor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UP and master’s and doctorate degrees, also in mathematics, from Sophia University in Tokyo.

He previously served in numerous academic and administrative capacities, including vice chancellor for research and development. He was a nominee for UP president last year, but lost to lawyer Angelo Jimenez.

Paz served as director of the university’s Archaeological Studies Program, now the UP School of Archaeology, from 2002 to 2012.

He has bachelor and master’s degrees in history from UP, as well as master’s in philosophy and doctorate in archaeology from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Paz is currently the chairman of the University Hotel Board of Overseers.

Appointed as UP law dean in 2021, Vistan also heads the UP Law Center and concurrently serves as director of the UP Office of Legal Aid.

The next UP Diliman chancellor, who will serve for three years, will be selected by the Board of Regents on April 27.