DAVAO ORIENTAL – The Board of Trustees (BOT) elected Dr. Roy G. Ponce, former Vice President for Research Development and Extension (RDE), as the 5th SUC President of Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOSCST) on February 19, 2021.
Dr. Ponce, 46 years old, born and raised in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, started his teaching career in DOSCST on November 13, 1996. He finished his Bachelor’s degree in Statistics at the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and a Graduate Diploma in Econometrics at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP).
He is a two-time alumnus of The University of Melbourne in Australia, where he completed Master of Assessment and Evaluation as a First-Class Honor and Doctor of Education in Evaluation Capacity Building as a recipient of AusAID and Australia Awards scholarships respectively.
As Vice President for RDE in the last six years, Dr. Ponce has expanded the College’s RDE operations by increasing its funding capacity and operationalizing various RDE Centers that focused on Agriculture, Coastal Management, Cooperative Development, Culture and Arts, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Filipino Language, Gender and Development, and Tourism.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ponce is a well-known researcher and extensionist. He is an international research awardee for his works on biodiversity conservation, education, and evaluation capacity building. He also played a significant role in the successful inscription of Mt. Hamiguitan as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Additionally, Dr. Ponce is known for co-founding the Happy Fish Kids (HFK), an afterschool care project in underprivileged and underserved communities, which eventually afforded him the prestigious Australian Alumni Excellence Awards in 2017. Today, two other programs, the Happy Forest Kids and Happy Farm Kids, have been institutionalized as an offshoot of the HFK.
Guided with the institutional vision, “A university of excellence, innovation, and inclusion leading through beneficial and equitable change,” Dr. Ponce propounds Research and Innovation, Teaching and Learning, and Engagement and Production as the core of his leadership framework towards a future-ready university. He also intends to prioritize DOSCST’s operation as a full-fledged university and the students’ needs to access quality education in the new normal.
He will work closely with the Regional Development Council (RDC), Local Government Units (LGUs), government agencies, industries, and people’s organizations for relevant development partnerships.
Dr. Ponce succeeds Dr. Edito B. Sumile, SUC President for eight years and Officer-in-Charge for more than a year, who is now awarded as the President Emeritus.
DOSCST is a state-funded higher education institution (HEI) established under RA 6807 in Davao Oriental. It was converted into a state university through the enactment of RA 11033 on May 28, 2018, but is yet to operate as a university pending certification from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). By: Jhonnel P. Villegas, DOSCST PIO
