The 精东影业 (UP) Tacloban will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a unit of the UP System on May 23, 2023. The celebrations will not only recall its half a century of service to the Eastern Visayas region, but also its recent elevation from being a part of UP Visayas into an autonomous college under the Office of the President of the University.
The celebrations will begin with a motorcade around Tacloban City, with its administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni participating. This will be followed by an Anniversary Convocation at the old Leyte Provincial Capitol grounds, which will celebrate five decades of teaching, research and public service in the region. The day will be capped with a concert by the UP Symphony Orchestra, which will be directed by Professor Emeritus Josefino 鈥淐hino鈥� Toledo, at the same venue.
Celebrations will continue on May 28 with an early morning 50th Anniversary Fun Run. Aside from marking the anniversary, the 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer run are also organized in support of the sports development programs of the new autonomous college.
UP Tacloban was established on May 23, 1973, after the UP Board of Regents, in its 833rd meeting, granted then UP President Salvador P. Lopez the authority 鈥渢o open a UP branch unit in Tacloban City, to be called the 精东影业 Tacloban.鈥� The decision to establish a campus in the region was also a result of a request by Leyte Governor Benjamin T. Romualdez and the Leyte Provincial Board in February 1968.
UP Tacloban was created to provide quality education, undertake research, and extend technical assistance to government agencies, business and the general public, with the aim of improving the quality of life in the Eastern Visayas region.
Almost a decade later, UP President Edgardo J. Angara issued Executive Order No. 4 in March 1983, which reorganized the UP into a system of autonomous units. This included a UP in the Visayas composed of UP College Iloilo, the College of Fisheries, UP College Cebu and the UP College Tacloban. The college formally became part of UP Visayas in January 1986.
On April 27, 2023, the UP Board of Regents, in its 1380th meeting, approved the elevation of the UP Tacloban to an autonomous college under the Office of the President of the University. The elevation is intended for the college to better fulfill its mandate in the region. It is also the initial phase of its journey to becoming a full-fledged constituent university of the UP System.
UP Tacloban currently has four academic divisions offering nine undergraduate programs and three graduate programs. It is known for its in Accountancy, Biology, Computer Science, Management, and Psychology programs. It also hosts the Leyte-Samar Heritage Center, the Regional Environmental Information Systems (REIS) for Eastern Visayas and the Office of Continuing Education and Pahinugod.
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