UP president Danny Concepcion: Concepts for success
It is often said that the ultimate test of one’s leadership lies in one’s ability to weather a crisis and better the lives of the people one leads. If UP president Danilo L. Concepcion’s stellar list of accomplishments these last three years is anything to go by, then the record will show that he has more than made the grade.
Tasked to lead the nation’s premier university through an unprecedented period of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and to rally its most brilliant minds in support of the national public health response, Concepcion’s quick and decisive actions have played a key role in the country’s remarkable show of resilience against the virus outbreak, and all while laying down an exciting and transformative path for UP’s future.
Just as the world was coming to grips with the true severity of the novel coronavirus, Concepcion wasted no time assembling the UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team, which immediately got to work deploying the first locally made and affordable testing kits at a critical moment when cases were on the steady rise. He then ordered the designation of the UP Manila National Institutes of Health and UP-PGH as the country’s first and largest testing and referral centers, converted idle classrooms into isolation facilities, and directed fabrication labs based in UP Diliman and UP Cebu to produce medical equipment and PPEs for frontliners scrambling to control the virus’ spread.
Closer to home, Concepcion oversaw the University’s shift to remote instruction and worked hard to ensure that no student would be left behind during the transition.
As we enter the third year of the pandemic and begin the gradual process of returning to some semblance of the world as we once knew it, UP students, old and new, have much to look forward to in their homecoming next semester. The most noticeable of these changes will be the updated campus infrastructure, which was paid for by the over P10 billion worth of investments Concepcion secured over the course of his term. Researchers will also be returning to their labs with more generous budgets, thanks to the P8 billion he has earmarked for R&D.
And if iskos and iskas ever find themselves looking for even more reasons to be proud of their alma mater, they will be pleased to hear that the state university recently broke into the top 500 universities in the world, and is now recognized as a frontrunner in the fields of health and environmental sciences, law, and linguistics.
I asked Concepcion to share with us some lessons from his life and career in public service that young people can learn from:
1. If you think you have something unique or valuable to offer —whether it be a bright idea, your skills and talents, or passion and enthusiasm for a cause — do not hesitate to put yourself forward for opportunities to serve others. One of my earliest forays into public service was my stint as Youth Sector Representative to the Batasang Pambansa from 1978 to ’84. The experience helped me develop my leadership abilities and built my confidence in my capacity to rise to challenges that would come my way.
2. The path to success is never linear or predictable. My career all the way up to the UP presidency was not something I could’ve ever anticipated, much less engineered from the outset. Instead, the path I ended up on revealed itself gradually; every choice I made, every opportunity I came across was leading and preparing me for whatever came next. As scary as it might be as a young person to navigate life without a fixed route or destination in sight, trust that your hard work and best efforts will eventually lead you to somewhere wonderful, whether that someplace is exactly what you always pictured for yourself or not.
3. Always strive for balance in every aspect of life. My background lies in the sciences. I studied agricultural engineering as an undergraduate and prefer to approach problems from an objective distance, armed with logic and reason. But I am also deeply passionate about the arts; one of my proudest accomplishments as UP president has been the formation of the UP Symphony Orchestra as a haven for the university’s brightest musical talents to hone and share their craft.
4. Remain grounded in humility and gratitude. For the ambitious and driven, it can unfortunately be all too easy to become arrogant and wholly consumed by the pursuit of one’s goals. Humility and gratitude free us from the trap of self-preoccupation by reminding us that we owe and share our successes with others who have supported us along the way.
5. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to broaden your horizons. My wife Gaby shares my advocacy for popularizing the law and making it more accessible to the average person. Being the more fiery and headstrong half in our marriage, she is a gifted communicator whose passion is palpable whenever she speaks. Her work in the media as a host and legal personality helped nudge me to step in front of the camera and open myself up to a whole new and wider-reaching platform from which I can help others and share my expertise.
6. Keep the faith. When I was an incoming freshman at De La Salle-Araneta, I applied for a scholarship with the National Science and Development Board to fund my studies. Coming from a humble background, it was the only way I could afford a college education for myself. As the deadline for enrollment drew closer, I was still waiting for word on whether my application had been accepted. I remember the feeling of being overcome with anxiety, rushing to the nearest church in Obando, and storming heaven on my knees. As luck would have it, the letter would find its way to me the next day, after the courier tasked to deliver it got lost locating my house in the vastness of Bulacan.
7. Stand by a mission and vision. When I took over as UP president, I knew that I wanted my legacy to be that of spearheading the restoration of UP. I had seen over the course of my 20-odd years in UP how students, faculty, and staff made the most out of dated and inadequate infrastructure and wanted to make the system as efficient and effective as possible in anticipation of rapid technological advances waiting just around the corner. This vision has helped me stay focused and form a clear agenda for action even in the face of unprecedented crises.
8. Be consistent in the effort and quality of your work. Your work is a reflection of your character. Always give your level best in everything you do to let people know the kind of person you are — someone with integrity, who takes pride in their efforts, and always strives for excellence.
9. Show up and make time for the people and things that matter most. Don’t allow the pursuit of your goals come at the expense of precious quality time spent with loved ones or rest.
10. Don’t stop setting goals for yourself even when you think you’ve done it all. Life gives us as many chances as we want to change directions or pursue new dreams. Take advantage of this and keep redefining what success means for you in every stage of your life.
(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)
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