In a solemn conferment rite on May 1, 2024, UST Rector Very Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P. PhD received the Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Notre Dame Australia in Sydney. The conferment coincided with the UNDA Graduation Ceremony.
UNDA Chancellor Christopher Ellison praised the UST Rector for his steadfast commitment to Catholic higher education, steering the University through the pandemic immediately after taking helm of UST on January 1, 2020 (first as Acting Rector), then on May 7, 2020, formally as Rector.
In a message to the UNDA graduating class, Fr. Ang extended the arm of friendship and collaboration, expressing optimism that the UNDA graduates will soon make changes in their own communities.
The pandemic shifted not just instructional delivery but also University operations to distance and eventually hybrid modality. The former was recognized by the Commission on Higher Education with the prestigious Gawad Edukampyon, which feted UST’s Excellence in Flexible and Responsive Management.
While steering the University through the pandemic, Fr. Ang continued UST’s leadership of the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities as Executive Secretary.
Rising above the pandemic, Fr. Ang led the University in inaugurating the General Santos Campus on April 11, 2024 and in opening the UST Manila Annex in Santa Rosa, Laguna, first with the UST-Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong Innovation Center on April 28, 2023.
As he pushes through with his second term, the Rector leads a University that is globally recognized, with more and more programs deemed at par with international counterparts. Research and innovation as well as community service have likewise been intensified, with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
A philosopher, Fr. Ang specializes in Chinese philosophy. He teaches courses at the Faculty of Philosophy, where he was Dean while concurrently serving as University Vice-Rector.
