Silliman University installs 1st female president

CEBU, Philippines —  Silliman University (SU), known for being one of the top Christian universities in the Philippines, saw its first female president assume her post yesterday.

The new president, Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann, took office in a turnover ceremony witnessed solely by the university's faculty and staff yesterday morning.

Replacing Dr. Ben S. Malayang III, who served as SU president for 12 years (from 2006 to 2018), McCann in a video message, said: "It is a privilege and a joy to be back here. I commit myself to the vision of our institution committed to total human development."

After the ceremony, McCann went straight to work, as SU's new president, and held her first meeting with the Board of Trustees.

Her investiture ceremony, which is expected to be open to the media and the public, will be held on August 25, in time for the university's 117th founding anniversary, SU said in a statement.

As the SU's 13th president, she joins a special roster of individuals who have served as SU's chief executive, including National Scientist and former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angel Alcala and the university's founder, American missionary David Sutherland Hibbard.

McCann was unanimously elected by the SU Board of Trustees on December 14, 2016, after a rigorous selection process that included a forum where members of various sectors asked candidates about their platforms and plans for the university.

A registered psychologist and certified specialist in social psychology, McCann is expected to bring to SU her strong background in Asian higher education and an extensive network of academic institutions across Asia.

Being SU president is not new to McCann, as she served as the university's acting president from 1992 to 1994. In a span of 21 years, she rose through the university's ranks, serving from assistant professor, to full professor, to Arts and Sciences dean, and to vice president for Academic Affairs.

After her stint in SU, she worked in Hong Kong as  vice president for Programs of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA), a New York-based non-profit organization, of which SU is a member. During her last stint in the organization, McCann oversaw programs and grant administration in 13 Asian countries, including the Philippines.

McCann graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a doctorate degree in Psychology, with a field of concentration in Social Psychology. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Education from La Consolacion College. She completed her undergraduate years at the Divine Word University in Tacloban City, magna cum laude, double majoring in Psychology and Political Science.

McCann is also expected to implement academic programs that will continue SU's reputation as one of the top performing schools in the Visayas and the Philippines, especially in terms of passers in Licensure and Bar exams.

Just recently, SU registered a 100 percent passing rate in the May 2018 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Exams, where all of its six takers passed.  In April, SU was also the university in Dumaguete with the most number of passers in the 2017 Bar examinations, producing 14 new lawyers.

SU's Medical School has also registered a 100 percent passing rate in recent years since it was established in 2006; all of the graduates from its pioneering batch  passed the medical licensure exam in 2010.