Very Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., Ph. D. was installed on Monday, Sept. 9, as the 97th Rector of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santos Tomas, his second four-year-term, with a promise to elevate the quality of education being offered in the university and its institutions.
“As I begin my second term, and inspired by your overwhelming trust and confidence, I commit to steer the university toward even greater heights,” Ang said as he outlined his six-point UST Roadmap to 2028.
Ang said his second term will veer toward synergy which he characterized as composed of clear communications, decisive actions, and constant coordination.
With his new mandate, Ang vowed to further enrich UST’s academic research and service quality by incorporating emerging fields of technologies and looking into the possibility of interdisciplinary approach.
He also promised to recruit new faculty members with good track records on research, saying that the faculty is the bedrock of quality teaching.
Ang vowed to sustain the UST research and innovation complex in Sta. Rosa, Laguna as well as the UST General Santos City which he envisions to become Mindanao’s agri-tech campus.
He also wants the symbiotic relationship between UST and its hospital, known for its flagship programs and state-of-the-art facilities, to be energized, and to revitalize the clinical division of the hospital.
Ang also vowed to enhance student welfare services, reinforce UST’s ties with the local, national, and international communities, and strengthen UST’s brand of education.
Ang was administered the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity on Assuming an Office to be Exercised in the Name of the Church, in the presence of the UST community and special guests led by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown, Manila Bulletin Chairman Basilio C. Yap, and SM Foundation’s Executive Director Deborah P. Sy.
Very Rev. Fr. Richard Ang (center) with Manila Bulletin's Chairman Basilio C. Yap (3rd from left) and SM Foundation's Executive Director Deborah Sy
Ang’s first term as Rector was confronted with an unprecedented health crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. He will be remembered for his exceptional leadership during the health crisis and as the pandemic eased up, Ang led several expansion initiatives, particularly the inauguration of the UST-Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong Innovation Center, the topping-off ceremony of the Henry Sy, Sr. Hall, the groundbreaking of the UST-Dr. William T. Bello Interdisciplinary Institute in Santa Rosa, the blessing and inauguration of the UST General Santos main building, the groundbreaking of the UST-Dr. Ricardo S. Po, Sr. Integrated Innovation and Research Laboratories at UST General Santos, and the historic opening of the UST branch campus in General Santos this Academic Year 2024-2025.
Ang also played a pivotal role in elevating UST in global rankings. It was during his term that UST became the first Philippine university to achieve a 5-star QS rating in 2021 and secured a ranking in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings for the first time in 11 years, placing third among Philippine universities. During his term, UST also maintained its strong position in the QS World and Asia University Rankings, placing fourth among Philippine universities.
