UPLB College of Agriculture
Encyclopedia
The University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture (also referred to as UPLBCA or CA) is one of the 11 degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Founded in 1909 as the University of the Philippines
College of Agriculture, it is the oldest constituent of UPLB, and is one of the four founding units of the university upon its establishment in 1972.
The college offers 4 undergraduate degree programs while its graduate
programs are offered through the Graduate School. It is involved in active research in agriculture
and biotechnology
focusing on the development of high-yielding and pest-resistant crops. In recognition of its work, it received the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for International Understanding in 1977. Moreover, it is identified by the Commission on Higher Education
as a "Center of Excellence" in agriculture.
CA alumni have played key roles in agriculture and allied fields. Alumni include National Scientists
and ranking government officials in the Philippines and other Southeast Asia
n nations. Despite this, enrollment in the BS
Agriculture program has been in decline, with 51% of UPLB students enrolled in the program in 1980 down to 43% in 1995. CA programs also have a substantially low no-show rate, with only 56% and 38% of qualifiers opting to enroll in the BS Agriculture and BS Agricultural Chemistry
programs, respectively. The trend is similar nationwide with BS Agriculture programs offered by higher education institutes in the country
having the least enrolment.
s died during the Philippine-American War
. The war itself severely devastated Philippine food production resulting to widespread famine
. Seeing the need to educate farmers in better farming methods, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents
purchased 72.63 hectares of land on the foot of Mount Makiling
for the establishment of an agricultural school near Manila
with Edwin Copeland
as its first dean
. Classes began in June 1909 with Copeland, Harold Cuzner, Edgar Ledyard, Carrie Ledyard, and Sam Durham as professors. 12 students initially enrolled in the program.
Charles F. Baker replaced Copeland as dean in 1917 and oversaw the construction of new buildings and the acquisition of a 300-hectare Agricultural Experiment Station. Upon Baker's death in 1927, Bienvenido Gonzales became UPCA's first Filipino dean.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines
beginning in 1941, UPCA was closed after it was converted into an internment camp for allied nationals and headquarters of the Japanese army. For three years, the college was home to more than 2,000 civilians, mostly Americans, that were captured by the Japanese. In 1945, as part of the effort to liberate the country, the US Army sent 130 11th Airborne Division paratroopers to Los Baños
to rescue the internees. Only 4 paratroopers and 2 Filipino
guerillas were killed in the raid. However, Japanese reinforcements arrived two days later, destroying UPCA facilities and killing some 1,500 Filipino civilians in Los Baños soon afterwards.
UPCA became the first unit of the University of the Philippines to open after the war when it resumed classes on July 25, 1945, with Leopoldo Uichangco as dean. Only 125 (16%) of the original students enrolled. Likewise, only 38 professors returned to teach. UPCA used its ₱
470,546 (US$10,800) share in the Philippine-US War Damage Funds (released in 1947) for reconstruction.
Further financial endowment from United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the Mutual Security Agency (MSA) allowed the construction of new facilities while scholarship grants, mainly from the Rockefeller Foundation
and the International Cooperation Administration-National Economic Council
, paved way for the training of UPCA faculty. From 1947 to 1958, a total of 146 faculty members had been granted MS
and PhD
scholarships in US universities.
On July 1, 1952, UPCA signed a contract with Cornell University
regarding assistance for post-war development. Cornell sent 51 professors, 35 of which were from Cornell, to assist in UPCA research. It also financed the construction of new buildings and provided new equipment. As part of the program, UPCA sent 83 of its faculty members to the USA and other countries for training. Among them was Dioscoro Umali who received his PhD in Genetics
at Cornell. He would succeed Uichanco as dean upon his death in October 1959. Umali's administration oversaw the Department of Food Science and Technology. New facilities were also constructed under his Five-Year Development Program.
In 1972, UPCA requested Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos
to allow the college to secede from the University of the Philippines due to the alleged withholding of its budget and the disapproval of curricular proposals. However, UP President
Salvador P. Lopez
strongly opposed the idea. A survey also found that there was very little support for complete independence at UPCA. As a compromise, Lopez proposed the transformation of UP into a system of autonomous constituent universities. Finally, on November 20, 1972, PD No. 58 was signed, establishing UPLB as UP's first autonomous campus, with UPCA, College of Forestry, Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives Institute, Dairy Training and Research Institute, and the Diliman-based Agrarian Reform Institute as its first academic units.
A few weeks after the declaration of UPLB's autonomy in 1972, several CA departments and institutes were separated to form the College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, the predecessor of the College of Arts and Sciences. Likewise, 154 faculty members were transferred to the new college.
CA acquired 288 hectares of land in La Carlota, Negros Occidental in May 1964 by effect of Proclamation
250 of President
Diosdado Macapagal
. Interestingly, previous legislations have also allocated land area and funding for the grant but were never implemented however. It currently hosts the PCARRD-DOST
La Granja Agricultural Research Center, which serves as a research center for various upland crops, and a station of the Philippine Carabao Center. It also serves as a training site for CA students and other schools in the region.
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
College of Agriculture, it is the oldest constituent of UPLB, and is one of the four founding units of the university upon its establishment in 1972.
The college offers 4 undergraduate degree programs while its graduate
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
programs are offered through the Graduate School. It is involved in active research in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
focusing on the development of high-yielding and pest-resistant crops. In recognition of its work, it received the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
for International Understanding in 1977. Moreover, it is identified by the Commission on Higher Education
Commission on Higher Education (Philippines)
The Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines, , abbreviated as CHED. The CHED is attached to the Office of the President for administrative purposes...
as a "Center of Excellence" in agriculture.
CA alumni have played key roles in agriculture and allied fields. Alumni include National Scientists
National Scientist of the Philippines
The rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines is the highest award accorded to Filipino scientists by the Philippine government.The award was created on December 16, 1976 by President Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Decree Nos. 1003 and 1003-A, which also created the National...
and ranking government officials in the Philippines and other Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n nations. Despite this, enrollment in the BS
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
Agriculture program has been in decline, with 51% of UPLB students enrolled in the program in 1980 down to 43% in 1995. CA programs also have a substantially low no-show rate, with only 56% and 38% of qualifiers opting to enroll in the BS Agriculture and BS Agricultural Chemistry
Agricultural chemistry
Agricultural chemistry is the study of both chemistry and biochemistry which are important in agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and in environmental monitoring and remediation...
programs, respectively. The trend is similar nationwide with BS Agriculture programs offered by higher education institutes in the country
Higher education in the Philippines
Colleges and universities in the Philippines are generically called Higher Education Institutions by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education .-Classification:...
having the least enrolment.
History
Over 75% of carabaoCarabao
The carabao or Bubalus bubalis carabanesis is a subspecies of the domesticated water buffalo found in the Philippines, Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and various parts of Southeast Asia...
s died during the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
. The war itself severely devastated Philippine food production resulting to widespread famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. Seeing the need to educate farmers in better farming methods, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...
purchased 72.63 hectares of land on the foot of Mount Makiling
Mount Makiling
Mount Makiling, also rarely Mount Maquiling, is a potentially active volcano in Laguna province on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It rises to 1,090 m above mean sea level.-Legend:...
for the establishment of an agricultural school near Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
with Edwin Copeland
Edwin Copeland
Edwin Bingham Copeland was an American botanist and agriculturist. In 1909, he founded the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Baños, Laguna—what is now known as the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and served as its dean and also as a professor of plant physiology for eight...
as its first dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
. Classes began in June 1909 with Copeland, Harold Cuzner, Edgar Ledyard, Carrie Ledyard, and Sam Durham as professors. 12 students initially enrolled in the program.
Charles F. Baker replaced Copeland as dean in 1917 and oversaw the construction of new buildings and the acquisition of a 300-hectare Agricultural Experiment Station. Upon Baker's death in 1927, Bienvenido Gonzales became UPCA's first Filipino dean.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....
beginning in 1941, UPCA was closed after it was converted into an internment camp for allied nationals and headquarters of the Japanese army. For three years, the college was home to more than 2,000 civilians, mostly Americans, that were captured by the Japanese. In 1945, as part of the effort to liberate the country, the US Army sent 130 11th Airborne Division paratroopers to Los Baños
Los Banos
Los Banos could refer to:*Los Banos, California, United States*Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines...
to rescue the internees. Only 4 paratroopers and 2 Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
guerillas were killed in the raid. However, Japanese reinforcements arrived two days later, destroying UPCA facilities and killing some 1,500 Filipino civilians in Los Baños soon afterwards.
UPCA became the first unit of the University of the Philippines to open after the war when it resumed classes on July 25, 1945, with Leopoldo Uichangco as dean. Only 125 (16%) of the original students enrolled. Likewise, only 38 professors returned to teach. UPCA used its ₱
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
470,546 (US$10,800) share in the Philippine-US War Damage Funds (released in 1947) for reconstruction.
Further financial endowment from United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
and the Mutual Security Agency (MSA) allowed the construction of new facilities while scholarship grants, mainly from the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
and the International Cooperation Administration-National Economic Council
National Economic Council
The National Economic Council of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering economic policy matters, separate from matters relating to domestic policy, which are the domain of the Domestic Policy Council...
, paved way for the training of UPCA faculty. From 1947 to 1958, a total of 146 faculty members had been granted MS
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
scholarships in US universities.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
regarding assistance for post-war development. Cornell sent 51 professors, 35 of which were from Cornell, to assist in UPCA research. It also financed the construction of new buildings and provided new equipment. As part of the program, UPCA sent 83 of its faculty members to the USA and other countries for training. Among them was Dioscoro Umali who received his PhD in Genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
at Cornell. He would succeed Uichanco as dean upon his death in October 1959. Umali's administration oversaw the Department of Food Science and Technology. New facilities were also constructed under his Five-Year Development Program.
In 1972, UPCA requested Philippine President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
to allow the college to secede from the University of the Philippines due to the alleged withholding of its budget and the disapproval of curricular proposals. However, UP President
President of the University of the Philippines
The President of the University of the Philippines is elected for a single six-year term by the University's twelve-member Board of Regents. As of 2005, two Americans and 17 Filipinos served as President of the University of the Philippines....
Salvador P. Lopez
Salvador P. López
Salvador Ponce Lopez, born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, was an Ilokano writer, journalist, educator, diplomat, and statesman....
strongly opposed the idea. A survey also found that there was very little support for complete independence at UPCA. As a compromise, Lopez proposed the transformation of UP into a system of autonomous constituent universities. Finally, on November 20, 1972, PD No. 58 was signed, establishing UPLB as UP's first autonomous campus, with UPCA, College of Forestry, Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives Institute, Dairy Training and Research Institute, and the Diliman-based Agrarian Reform Institute as its first academic units.
A few weeks after the declaration of UPLB's autonomy in 1972, several CA departments and institutes were separated to form the College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, the predecessor of the College of Arts and Sciences. Likewise, 154 faculty members were transferred to the new college.
CA acquired 288 hectares of land in La Carlota, Negros Occidental in May 1964 by effect of Proclamation
Presidential Proclamation
A Presidential Proclamation is a statement issued by a President on a matter of public policy. They are generally defined as, "The act of causing some state matters to be published or made generally known...
250 of President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970...
. Interestingly, previous legislations have also allocated land area and funding for the grant but were never implemented however. It currently hosts the PCARRD-DOST
Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)
The Philippines' Department of Science and Technology , abbreviated as the DOST, is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for the coordination of science and technology-related projects in the Philippines and to formulate policies and projects in the fields of science...
La Granja Agricultural Research Center, which serves as a research center for various upland crops, and a station of the Philippine Carabao Center. It also serves as a training site for CA students and other schools in the region.
Organization and administration
| University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture Deans |
|
|---|---|
| Name | Length of office |
| Edwin Copeland Edwin Copeland Edwin Bingham Copeland was an American botanist and agriculturist. In 1909, he founded the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Baños, Laguna—what is now known as the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and served as its dean and also as a professor of plant physiology for eight... |
1907–1917 |
| Charles F. Baker | 1917–1927 |
| Bienvenido M. Gonzales | 1927–1938 |
| Leopoldo B. Uichanco | 1939–1943 1945-1959 |
| Francisco O. Santos | 1943–1945 |
| Dioscoro L. Umali | 1959–1969 |
| Faustino T. Orillo | 1970–1973 |
| Fernando A. Bernardo | 1973–1974 |
| Cledualdo Perez | 1974–1984 |
| Ruben L. Villareal | 1985–1993 |
| Cecilio Arboleda | 1993–1999 |
| Luis Rey I. Velasco | 1999–2002 |
| Candida B. Adalla | 2002–2008 |
| Domingo E. Angeles | 2008–present |
| |
|
| References | |