The Centro Escolar University announces the appointment of lawyer and educator Danilo “DaniCon” Lardizabal Concepcion as its new President and Chief Academic Officer. He succeeds Ma. Cristina D. Padolina who has been designated as President Emeritus.

Concepcion, the 21st president of the University of the Philippines brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge to steer the university into even greater heights.

Padolina, on the other hand, who was the seventh President and Chief Academic Officer of CEU since August 2006, will remain a major stakeholder at the university in her new role as President Emeritus.

Concepcion will also assume the posts of President and Chief Academic Officer of Centro Escolar Las Piñas, a sister institution of CEU.

The extensive experience of Concepcion at the helm of both public and private higher education institutions gives him a broad perspective from which to lead CEU.

Before assuming the Presidency of the University of the Philippines, he was Dean and Professor of the UP College of Law, and Executive Director of the UP Bonifacio Global City Campus.

Prior to his academic leadership roles in UP, he was President of the DeLaSalle-Araneta University where he completed his BS in Agricultural Engineering, summa cum laude.

At present, Concepcion is Regent of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, a public higher education institution established by the local government. He is also a faculty of the Philippine Judicial Academy, a training institution for justices, judges, court personnel and aspirants to judicial posts.

His understanding of the aspirations of the youth which is vital for an educational leader has roots in his stints as President of the Kabataang Barangay Federation of Metro Manila, National President of the Kabataang Barangay National Federation and Youth Sector representative in the Interim Batasang Pambansa.

The previous position of Concepcion as Associate Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission and his robust practice of law will stand in good stead for his leadership of CEU, as a private educational institution and publicly listed corporation.

CEU, one of the leading educational institutions in the country, was founded on June 3, 1907 as the “Centro Escolar de Señoritas” by two visionaries - Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna - who were inspired by the patriotic movement to nationalize schools.

CEU has steadily grown as an institution under the leadership of noted educators.

CEU holds the distinction of being one of only four higher education institutions in the Philippines, out of more than 2000, certified at the institutional level by the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance.

In addition, all of its campuses in Manila, Makati and Malolos were granted Autonomous Status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and all campuses also recently passed the combined audit for ISO 21001:2018 (Educational Organizations Management Systems) and ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems).

The experience of Padolina, the outgoing CEU President, as first Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Open University, and that of Concepcion, the incoming CEU President, as General Manager of TVUP provide an excellent backdrop for CEU’s leadership in open online education boosted by developments in artificial intelligence and in the provision of micro-credentialing for preparing students for a skills-based economy and for the retooling and upskilling of the country’s workforce.