College of Education Department of Secondary Education Chair Asst. Prof. Alvin Ringgo C. Reyes, delivered a virtual guest lecture in the Filipino Studies Program of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, USA, held from February 7 to 11, 2022.
Reyes mapped the historical role of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Philippine society to his audience composed of students of FIL 432 Spanish Heritage in the Philippines, ANTH354/FIL354 Filipino Culture, and FIL 333 Filipinos in Hawaii, comprised of heritage learners of various ethnicities, and nationalities.
“UST, the oldest university in Asia, remains to be timeless, yet timely. As one of the top universities in the Philippines, it was given an autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education, which means less regulation, because of its quality education,” Reyes said.
The lecture was part of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding signed between UST and the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2020.
To encourage exchanges between faculty, students, and scholars on research and educational processes, the agreement paved the way for tie-up activities, including the well-attended 1st Virtual International Conference on the Teaching of Filipino as a Second Language in 2021.
