President’s Corner
WVSU President
Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz is a product of the Philippine public school system, graduating from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) with the degree of BS Biology and proceeded to earn his MD degree from West Visayas State University (WVSU), as class salutatorian and most outstanding medicine graduate Intern awards in 1991. He pursued and completed residency training in Pediatrics at WVSU Medical Center (WVSUMC) in 1996, became a diplomate of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) in 1999, and was conferred a fellow by the same specialty society in 2006. He earned two postgraduate degrees: a Master in Management degree from UPV and a PhD in Educational Management at WVSU. He also completed a diploma/certificate course at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) for Global Academic Leadership Program in 2022.
He has served in various capacities at WVSU and the WVSU-Medical Center as Training Officer and eventually as chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. In 2009, he was designated Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs at the WVSU College of Medicine (COM), a position he barely held for a year before he was designated Dean of the College for 7 1/2 years, the first alumnus of the College to do so. His term saw the college’s external accreditation, the birth of the maiden issue of the WVSU Journal of Medical Studies, and the consistent top performance of the college in the Physician Licensure Examination. Furthermore, his stint as Dean has seen massive infrastructure development in the college.
He was able to lobby for government funds to expand the carrying capacity of the College of Medicine and establishment of the Modern Skills Laboratory for medical students through legislated government appropriations.
He has served as the editor-in-chief of the WVSU Journal of Medical Studies and the OIC Chair of the COM Office of Research.
One of Dr. Villaruz’s career highlight, however, was his appointment as OIC President from November 2013 to May 2014. During his seemingly short stint as university president, he has left a remarkable legacy in managing the affairs of the university. In 2019 he was appointed 8th President of WVSU. He jumpstarted the University’s vision to become a research university and has achieved research milestones over the past four years as well as improving the WVSU national and international rankings in research productivity. He also initiated the WVSU Internationalization Program.
In 2012 he was invited by the Commission on Higher Education to be a member of the Technical Committee for Medical Education, an appointment he kept until May of 2021. To date, one of his greatest contributions to medical education in the country involved his participation in the crafting and formulation of the policies, standards, and guidelines for the Doctor of Medicine Program (2016). In June 2022, he was appointed Chair of the Technical Panel for Medical Education (TPME). As the TPME Chair, his role was pivotal in leading the implementation of RA 11509 “Doktor Para Bayan Law” through assessment and recommendation to the CHED en banc for approval the application of new medical programs by State Universities and Colleges. As the Chair of the TPME, he also sits as the adviser to the CHED Chairman in the awarding of grants to existing and new medical schools for facilities and laboratory modernization. He currently leads the TPME in the formulation of the SMART MD Roadmap for the Philippines with Universal Healthcare (UHC) as a backdrop as well as led the TPME in formulating the CHED- approved Accelerated Pathway for Medicine (APMed), a shortened program for Medicine set to be implemented in AY 2024-2025.
He was appointed National President of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges (APMC) for two consecutive terms (2015 and 2016). He initiated institutional reforms that included the automation of the National Internship Program for medical graduates, the release of APMC Journal’s maiden issue, and actively assisted medical schools in the curricular transition to outcome-based education during his term. He is a member of the APMC Post-graduate Internship Committee since 2017 and has contributed to the formulation of the policies, standards and guidelines for the National Internship Program.
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May 4, 1965 marked the establishment of the College of Arts and Sciences (then the School of Arts and Sciences) under Republic Act no. 4189, which converted the Iloilo Normal School into West Visayas State College. The first Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences was Dr. Ma. Celia R. Palma.
The Institute of Management was conceived as a separate degree granting unit of the West Visayas State University and approved and authorized under Board Resolution No. 27, series of 2007 dated March 8, 2007. Under its umbrella are the Bachelor in Hotel and Restaurant Management program, a transfer from the College of Education and the Bachelor of Cooperatives Management program from the College of Arts and Sciences.
The College of Mass Communications of the West Visayas State University started as the Division of Mass Communications of the School of Arts & Sciences in June 1980 when the University was still the West Visayas State College. It was in the same month and year when the AB in Mass Communications program was first offered to an initial batch of 21 freshmen.
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there is a shortage of dentists and dental care services in many parts of the country (WHO, 2018). The poor dental health condition can be seen with the increasing percentage of its population, around eighty-seven percent (87%) suffer from dental carries or tooth decay and periodontal disease (DOH, 2012c).
The College of Education of the West Visayas State University is as old as the University itself. It started out as a branch of the Philippine Normal School 1902. Originally founded to be a teacher-training institution, it was then named the Iloilo Normal School.
The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) and Bachelor of Science in Information Management (BSIM) degree programs were first offered in June 1998 under the Institute of Mass Communications (now College of Mass Communications.
The WVSU College of Law is the first and the only state university to offer legal education in the Western Visayas Region. WVSU College of Law aims to produce trial ready and well-trained lawyers who will become advocates the rule of law and promote the ideals of justice.
Established in 1975, the West Visayas State University College of Medicine is the pioneer medical school in Western Visayas and the 2nd state owned medical school in the country. It has produced 2,468 graduates (as of March 2009), majority of whom are serving the different areas in the entire archipelago.
The College of Nursing (CON), which is one of the flagship programs of the university, offers the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) programs. The College was established in 1977 to provide quality nursing education at very reasonable cost.
The College of Physical Education, Sports, Culture, Arts and Recreation (PESCAR) started as the Sports, Amateur Athletics, and Cultural Arts Center (SAACAC) in 1987, with Dr. Ramon C. Cabag as its first office head.
Ph.D. Science Education major in Biology students from West Visayas State University-La Paz conducted an extensive three-part field study focused on assessing the health and biodiversity of mangrove, seagrass, and coral ecosystems in the Municipality of Concepcion, Iloilo, on Nov. …
