Father Narciso A. Cellan Jr., SVD, D.Comm. was elected last February 15, 2020 by the University’s Board of Trustees as the 11th University President for the academic triennium 2020-2021 until 2022-2023. He will assume office on August 1, 2020.

Fr. Cellan, affectionately known as “Father Sisoy,” is currently the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University. He was previously the Director from 2009 to 2017 of the Institute of Social Communication and the School Chair of the School of Arts and Social Sciences (2013 to 2017) at Tangaza University College, Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. He also lectured (2016 to 2017) at the Chemchemi ya Uzima Institute of Formation in Nairobi and taught briefly (1992 to 1993) at the Divine Word College in Laoag City. He hails from Lupon, Davao Oriental, and was ordained a priest in 2000.

Completing his Doctorate in Communication from the University of the Philippines Open University (2015) and his Master of Science in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (2008), he served as the Communication Coordinator for the SVD Kenya-Tanzania Province from 2008 to 2014. He was also editor of the Jambo Newsletter for the SVD Kenya-Tanzania Province from 2008 to 2014, as well as the Associate Editor of Sema magazine published by Tangaza University College and Managing Editor of Campus Heartbeat published by the Institute of Social Communication. He has several conference papers and publications on social media and ethnocentrism, as well as numerous popular and religious publications.

In the SVD community in Kenya, he served as the College Seminary Prefect (2008 to 2014) of St. Joseph Freinademetz House in Nairobi and was also the Provincial Secretary for two terms in 2002-2005 and 2008-2011. His pastoral works brought him from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro to the Chinese Mission and Filipino Migrant Ministry (1995 to 1998) in Hong Kong, and to two parishes in Nairobi, Kenya and Arusha, Tanzania.

Fr. Cellan’s election was announced yesterday, February 19, 2020, to the University community by a congratulatory memorandum issued by outgoing president Fr. Dionisio M. Miranda, SVD. In the same memorandum, Fr. Miranda thanked the Carolinian community for their “support and understanding” in his unprecedented 12 consecutive years of service as University President.

Fr. Miranda guided USC through the K to 12 transition period as well as the transition to outcomes-based teaching and learning at the tertiary and graduate level. Fr. Miranda’s institutional outcomes-based education redefined the University’s raison d’etre as Education with a Mission with an intended outcome for students becoming Witness to the Word. His final term of office officially ends on July 31, 2020.

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