Last June 29, 2017 (Thursday), on the occasion of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the University of Santo Tomas – Manila and Angelicum College – Quezon City formalized its integration through the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement.
Fr. Dagohoy, now also Angelicum’s Rector and Chief Executive Officer, explained that the integration was a mandate of the last two Provincial Chapters of the Dominican Province of the Philippines—2012 and 2016. In the 2012 Acts, the integration was envisioned to mean “the coordination of our apostolic priorities and sharing of our talents, expertise, and resources in the fulfillment of our apostolic endeavors.” This was reinforced in the 2016 Acts, which mandated that the efforts to integrate “be continued and intensified.”
Angelicum College will now become “University of Santo Tomas – Angelicum College.” Its board of trustees will now be largely composed of trustees from UST, but it will retain its administrative and financial independence.
UST will likewise provide support for Angelicum to continue developing and enhancing its pioneering educational model, which is learner-centered, self-paced, and home-based. The integration will likewise lead to the introduction of new programs that will complement the nature of Angelicum, Quezon City. Fr. Dagohoy stressed that the lessons to be learned along the way will guide UST the moment it reaches out to Angelicum, Jaro, Iloilo.
In a related development, Fr. Dagohoy announced that another form of integration is being undertaken between UST – Manila and Aquinas University of Legazpi, which is now processing its application for a change of name to “UST – Legazpi” with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In this integration, UST provides the supervision and expert assistance, through qualified faculty, for the degree programs in Pharmacy and Medical Technology.
Similar to the Angelicum integration, the old Aquinas University retains its administrative and fiscal independence, and retains its original Board of Trustees composition.
Tigers all
At the close of his speech, Fr. Dagohoy stressed that “unity is not uniformity, but harmony.” He asked: “Angelican Thomasian? Or Thomasian Angelicans? It does not matter; both are Tigers, only living in different lairs.”
