History
College of Languages and Linguistics (CLL), a concoction
of Dean Mely M. Padilla, is the new name given to the former
College of Languages and Mass Communications (CLMC).
CLMC had to be renamed when the Department of Mass
Communications (DMC) which used to be under the domain of
CLMC was separated and converted into a new college now
known as College of Communication (COC). This
conversion took place just a few years ago, June 19, 2001,
to be exact. CLL’s past, however, goes back to the
year 1966 when the Philippine College of Commerce (PCC)
started offering general education through its General
Studies area which was headed by Dr. Brigido D. Sadsad.
In 1968, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act No.
6089 creating the Faculty of Arts (FA) which was empowered
to offer baccalaureate courses in political science,
sociology, literature, languages and the humanities.
When Dr. Sadsad retired in 1972, Prof. Gloria R. Talastas
was designated as chairperson of the FA while Prof. Antonio
Hidalgo was assigned as the head of the Languages Area.
When Martial Law was declared in 1972, PCC was ordered
closed. When it reopened in 1973, under the presidency
of Dr. Isabelo T. Crisostomo, the FA was integrated with the
Department of General Studies and Business Teacher Education
(DGSBTE) which was tasked to offer the curriculum Bachelor
of Arts in Psychology only. The Department was headed
by Prof. Maria D. Bueno who served as such until June 15,
1974. On June 17, 1974, Dr. Pedro Gagelonia was
designated as head of the Department, but he resigned in
November 1974. While waiting for the appointment of a
permanent department head, Prof. Dorotheo C. Dumlao served
as department officer-in-charge until November 1975 when Dr.
Jose M. Manalo was appointed as department head.
In June 1976, the DGSBTE was renamed as Faculty of Arts and
Sciences (FAS) with a degree program in Developmental
Communication and Dr. Manalo was appointed as its dean.
On April 6, 1976, still under the Crisostomo administration,
some instructors and professors were designated as area
chairmen in connection with the reorganizational plan of the
FAS. They included the following: Prof. Virginia
A. Ranin as chairman for Languages; Dr. Albino C. Amoguis,
for Social and Behavioral Sciences; Prof. Normita A. Villa,
for Mathematics; Prof. Leonardo R. Garcia, Jr., for
Marketing and Advertising; and Prof. Raquel Bernardo, for
Physical and Natural Sciences.
When Dean Manalo retired on May 15, 1977, under the
presidency of Dr. Pablo T. Mateo, Jr., Dr. Fe M. Duque was
appointed as FAS dean, together with Dr. Zenaida A.
Olonan as associate dean. In 1978, additional programs like
Industrial Psychology, Print Technology, and Library Arts
were offered by FAS. When the curricular offerings of
PCC were ladderized under Dr. Mateo in preparation for its
conversion into a polytechnic university, AB Developmental
Communication (DevCom) became two degree programs: Bachelor
in Broadcast Communication (BBrC) and Bachelor in Journalism
(BJ). Prof. Ranin continued to be the area chairperson of
Languages until 1981.
On April 1, 1978 during the year-end commencement exercises
at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC),
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 1341,
granting a university status to PCC and naming it
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
In 1979, the FAS was reorganized into two institutes -
Institute of Arts and Institute of Sciences – both of
which were under one dean, Dr. Fe M. Duque and an associate
dean, Dr. Zenaida A. Olonan. Dr. Duque continued to
serve as dean until May 1984 when she was designated as
director of Non-Traditional Studies. On June 1, 1984,
Dr. Olonan was promoted as dean of FAS.
It was in 1984 when Dr. Mateo initiated the
each-college-is-independent setup in which each college took
care of not only the offering of its curricular degree
programs but also the teaching of its general education
subjects. As a result, the teachers in some areas or
departments like languages were distributed to different
colleges.
When Mrs. Corazon Aquino became the president of the
Philippines, she appointed Dr. Nemesio E. Prudente as PUP
president in April 1986. Dr. Prudente initiated a
universitywide reorganization renaming FAS as College of
Arts and Sciences (CAS). He restored the former setup
of the University in which each college was primarily
concerned with the offering of its academic programs; the
job of teaching general education subjects like English and
Filipino was handled by specific service departments like
languages. As a result, the teachers from the
languages area were sent back to their former area.
In February 1987, a major realignment of curricular
offerings and degree programs of the University was
initiated by Dr. Prudente which led to the launching of the
College of Languages and Mass Communications (CLMC) as a new
and distinct college, severed from the College of Arts and
Sciences. It was set up along with other new colleges,
Engineering and Architecture (CEA), Computer Management and
Information Technology (CCMIT), Economics and Politics
(CEP), Physical Education and Sports (CPES), Business (CB),
Office Administration and Business Teacher Education
(COABTE), and Hotel and Restaurant Management and Food
Technology (CHRMFT) for the school year 1987-88.
Initially, CLMC offered the following new academic programs
that had been approved by the Board of Regents for the
school year 1987-88: Bachelor of Arts in English (ABE),
Bachelor of Arts in Filipino (ABF), Bachelor in Broadcast
Communication (BBrC), and Bachelor in Journalism (BJ).
What made the College of Languages and Mass Communications
unique was its name which was coined following a suggestion
made by Prof. Norma D. Martinez, Chair of the University
Committee on Curriculum Revision (CCR). This was
approved by Dr. Prudente and the Board of Directors of
the PUP Faculty Club, Inc., then headed by Dr. Zenaida P.
Pia. This coinage has been acknowledged as the
first-ever adopted for a college by any educational
institution worldwide.
During the CLMC’s initial existence, Dr. Prudente acted as
its dean in a concurrent capacity. The three
chairpersons of the college, Prof. Norma D. Martinez of the
Department of English and Foreign Languages (DEFL), Prof.
Teresita C. Sayo of the Department of Filipino (DF) and Dr.
Rustica C. Carpio of the Department of Mass Communications
(DMC) were, understandably, under the direct supervision of
Dr. Prudente. The deanship of Dr.
Prudente lasted almost two years until April 1989 when he
appointed Dr. Carpio as the dean of the College.
Designated along with Dr. Carpio were Prof. William G.
Cabaysa as the chair of the Department of Filipino and Dr.
Wilfredo L. Alberca as the chair of the Department of
English and Foreign Languages. Dr. Carpio served as
Chair of the Department of Mass Communications in a
concurrent capacity. Later, Prof. Ma. Victoria G. Red
took over from Dr. Carpio as DMC Chair. When Dr.
Alberca went to the United States as a Fulbright senior
research awardee from July 1 to December 31, 1991, Dr.
Macralita J. Reynales was designated as the DEFL acting
chairperson from July 8, 1991 to January 11, 1992.
When Dr. Zenaida A. Olonan assumed the university presidency
after Dr. Prudente’s retirement in 1992, a new set of
chairpersons was designated: Prof. Mely M. Padilla for
DEFL, Prof. Rosario U. Mag-atas for DF, and Dr. Leonida N.
Tuazon for DMC. The College went through a deanless
experience from July to December 1992. From January to
February 1993, Prof. Paz N. Navarro served as DEFL
officer-in-charge when Prof. Padilla went to Singapore for
an eight-week certificate course on innovative approaches in
language teaching under a RELC-SEAMEO scholarship grant.
Only in January 1993 was another dean designated to head the
College. The former DEFL Chairperson, Dr. Alberca,
became the third CLMC dean after Dr. Carpio was assigned to
assume the deanship of the Graduate School. In October
of 1993, another change took place in the College when DMC
chair, Dr. Tuazon, resigned to return to full-time teaching.
In her place was designated Prof. Red who continued to
occupy the position along with Prof. Padilla of DEFL and
Prof. Mag-atas of DF. When Prof. Padilla (who became a
doctoral degree holder in 1995) was promoted to be the
director of the Department of Research, Planning and
Development in October 1996, Dean Alberca concurrently
chaired the DEFL until his term of office expired in January
1997.
It was in August 1996 that the CLMC passed the Preliminary
Survey (Level I) of the AACCUP accreditation program.
CLMC had its second deanless state from January 1997 to
January 1998. At the same time, the DEFL had no
chairperson until Prof. Wilhelmina N. Cayanan was assigned
as DEFL chair in May 1997. In August 1997, Dr. Corazon
P. San Juan succeeded Prof. Mag-atas as DF chair. In
January 1998, Prof. Cayanan became the fourth CLMC dean
while concurrently holding the title of DEFL chair. In
July 1998, Dr. Virginia E. Fermin succeeded Prof. Cayanan as
DEFL chair, and in November 1998, Prof. Ma. Lourdes D.P.
Garcia succeeded Prof. Red as DMC chair.
Another milestone was achieved by CLMC in November 1999,
when it passed the Formal Visit (Level II) of the AACCUP
accreditation program.
The early demise of Dean Cayanan in October 2000 saw the
need to appoint another CLMC dean in the person of Dr. Mely
M. Padilla, a former DEFL chair, who assumed the deanship in
December 2000. This was also the year when Prof.
Gandhi G. Cardenas succeeded Dr. San Juan as DF chair, and
Dr. Robert F. Soriano became DMC chair vice Prof. Garcia.
In June 2001, the University heeded the recommendation of
the Level II Accrediting Team to convert CLMC into two
separate colleges. This paved the way to the renaming
of the CLMC into College of Languages and Linguistics (CLL)
and the birth of a new college – the College of
Communication (COC). The CLL retained the Department
of Filipino (now Department of Filipinology) and the
Department of English and Foreign Languages (now Department
of English and Foreign Languages and Linguistics), while the
COC absorbed the Department of Mass Communications.
Barely five months old then, the CLL braved the challenges
that an institution must face to reach the Level III status
of the AACCUP. This was in November 2001. A few
months after, CLL was awarded by the AACCUP with a
Re-Accredited Status (November 18, 2001 – November 17, 2006)
for having passed the First Re-Survey Visit (for Level III).
Not long after the College’s success in the area of
accreditation, Dr. Fermin’s term as DEFL chair came to an
end. Prof. Thelma M. Brillantes became her successor
on December 10, 2002. Meanwhile, in the DF front,
Chair Cardenas decided to go on a long leave of absence
effective January 29, 2003 because of his failing health.
Dean Padilla concurrently chaired the DF until May 3, 2003
when Prof. Jesusa M. Asinas was assigned to take over as
Acting DF Chair. Later, on July 14, 2003, Prof. Asinas
officially became the DF chair.
Through the years, the CLL has grown by leaps and bounds.
It has progressed from a mere service department to being a
functional and an innovative college. The first
intimation of the wind of change started in the late ‘80’s
and in the ‘90’s during the time of Deans Carpio, Alberca
and Cayanan. The idea of faculty development was
taking root and this was bolstered by the College’s
spearheading of workshops, conferences, seminars and pilot
projects from the inception of the concept of Teaching
English as a Second Language, intellectualization of
Filipino, and responsible media practice. Intensive
supervision and inservice sessions kept teachers updated and
on their toes.
These years saw the acceptance and full implementation of
the communicative approach, the adoption of the Experimental
Instructional Program (EIP) which required the use of
English as a medium of instruction in teaching content
classes offered by the College; increased faculty interest
in research activities; the publication of a college
newsletter, CLMC Update (now The Linguist); the increased
involvement of students and student organizations in
co-curricular activities.
There were several “energizers” for this outburst of
activity among which were the incentives offered by the
University in line with its faculty and student development
program. As a result, many CLL students graduated as
suma cum laudes, magna cum laudes and cum laudes; numerous
articles written by CLL faculty appeared in publications of
national circulation; some professors were elected to
various positions in different professional organizations of
national stature; and some even became recipients of
scholarship grants from prestigious international foundation
and organizations.
All these marks of progress continued to flourish with
renewed vigor and enthusiasm at the start of the new
millennium, under the leadership of Dean Padilla.
Other major accomplishments have also been achieved under
the new deanship.
They include, among other things, the following: a CLL Hymn
was composed; a CLL Logo was designed; a CLL Code and a CLL
Student Handbook were published; a renovated CLL Multimedia
Center was acquired; a CLL Student Center, a Center for
Language Teaching and a CLL Research Center were put up; a
CLL Textbook Evaluation Criteria form was drafted and
strictly implemented (this form later became the basis of
the present University Textbook Evaluation Criteria form
being used by the University Textbook Evaluation Committee
or UTEC); free conversational English classes handled
by visiting native American lecturers/teaching assistants
were organized; four CLL research colloquiums have been
held; certain codes and descriptions of English and
foreign-language subject offerings as well as the ABE
curriculum have been revised; free basic and advanced
Nihongo courses, as well as a Spanish review course for
teachers, were organized.
With close to 500 students on its roster of enrollees and
with almost 100 faculty members, the College of Languages
and Linguistics continues to carry out its predecessor’s
mission of offering two of the University’s most relevant
academic programs – Bachelor of Arts in English and Bachelor
of Arts in Filipinology. It will hold on to its
role as the service college of the University by providing
the students enrolled in the different colleges with the
basic English and Filipino subjects included in the minimum
requirements for the mandatory General Education Curriculum
(GEC).