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A conversation with the Dean
November 5, 2004
I wrote a letter to the Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Ma. Victoria Villareal, about a month ago. I basically introduced myself and the site that I maintain for the alumni community. Then I asked if I can put some information about the College, particularly admission information as many queries are being directed my way from interested College applicants. I also requested if her office could provide the information to make it more official. This way, the Dean's office can control what can and can't be published.
Dr. Villareal replied via e-mail and it was more than I bargained for. She said she's coming to Chicago on October 28 to 30. She asked for my mailing address and contact number. I told her I'll just pick up the documents from where she'll stay to save her the trouble of mailing them. It turned out to be a one-hour conversation.
I am afraid I took most of Dr. Villareal time. I was supposed to just get some documents and perhaps a couple of pictures taken with her. We agreed on a location to meet and she and her husband were picked up at their downtown hotel by a relative, Mr. Bert Guanzon who, incidentally, owns the Taste of the Orient restaurant in the suburb of Bolingbrook. The only restaurant I know in the Chicagoland area that serves batchoy.
The meeting was last Saturday, October 30. The day was unusually windy, SUV's and trucks on the expressway were slower than usual. After several cellular phone calls between me and Mr. Guanzon telling each other's location, we finally met.
One thing struck me during that meeting with Dr. Villareal although she did not really mention it. She wants to reach out to as many alumni as possible in the U.S. She asked about all the alumni here and I mentioned several names off the top of my head. I also explained that the web site and our new organization are trying hard to reach our co-alumni.
I qualified that it has not been easy. We have about 50 alumni in the U.S. on file and probably more out there. We tried sending e-mails before but only 5 responded. We have a web site where they can freely interact and update us of their whereabouts. We organized the international chapter (WVSUCMAA-IC) in Las Vegas last April but only 14 showed up.
I told Dr. Villareal that we collect only $25 per year as membership fee to the international chapter. She smiled and asked, "that's not even enough for a good dinner here, right?" Yes, I replied. So the issue is not about the money. It is perhaps the interest. And it's scary just thinking about it. I don't think it matters if alumni contact us via the site or contact the school directly. The message the Dean wants to send us is clear - the school needs our help.
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Asking for help, financially or in kind, from alumni, students and faculty is not unusual for schools, colleges, and universities. Even more in a state university like ours. You would think a particular College has a budget to use, but most of the time it's limited. That's why schools reach out to their alumni and hold fund-raisers whenever they can. Every so often, my daughter who is in second grade would bring a catalog from school with all sorts of things to sell, from wrapping papers to peanut brittles, with a certain percentage of the sale going to the school. Universities in the U.S. thrive due in part to the contribution of their alumni, parents and students.
Our school is not asking for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Neither am I, or the international chapter (IC). But if we pool several $25 together, that is a start. Dr. Villareal related that one of us, Dr. Dan Jereza (1991), visited Roxas Hall a few months ago. Dan issued several post-dated checks of $20 each and the College deposits one check every month care of the Medical Education & Research (WVSU) Foundation, Inc. (more on this later). Dan's contribution is enough to fund a deserving medical student scholar for a semester.
Dr. Villareal also mentioned the story of a medical student who depended solely for her school expenses on her brother who goes "overseas". Her first year and second year were okay until her third year, when the brother, for some reasons, wasn't able to find an agency or board a ship to work for. She had no choice but to stop. Donations were collected from the faculty, a few alumni, and the private sector and she was able to continue her schooling. This is one of the priority projects that the Foundation is working on.
I informed Dr. Villareal of the IC's plans and projects. The journals and other reading materials that we send (on-going). Improving the school library with updated references, computers and high-speed on-line access (hopefully). And sponsoring even just one medical student a year (fingers crossed). By the way, the tuition fee right now is Php10,000, in dollar-speak, that's about $180 per semester.
The Dean also had some good news for us. The library is currently being renovated to accommodate the journals that the IC sends. In 2005, the library will have 5 additional computers for medical students to use and in her words, "so that all of us will have access to the web site". She also mentioned about the IC and its members and officers being mentioned in the fellowship night of the Grand Alumni Homecoming.
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Medical Education & Research (WVSU) Foundation, Inc.
The Medical Education & Research (WVSU) Foundation, Inc. was established for reasons outlined in the Foundation's solicitation letter below. Donations via this foundation go to the College of Medicine directly and doesn't need to pass by the University. It is registered with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Dr. Villareal gave me several copies of this letter duly signed by her. I'll collect addresses in the next few days, or may send a few copies to our active alumni here. If you know somebody in the private sector, they are welcome to donate too.
Here's the content of the letter:
Dear__________,
The WVSU College of Medicine was established in 1974 as the first medical school in Western Visayas and the country's second state-owned medical school. Despite its meager resources, it has consistently performed well in the medical licensure examinations. Based on the compilation of statistics on the performance of schools in various licensure examinations released by ORC, CHED and the Educational Statistics Task Force for the year 2002, WVSU ranked 3rd among medical schools with 100 or more examiners. UP and UST ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively. It has contributed significantly to the medical manpower of the region. Research reveals that 87% of our graduates practice medicine in the Philippines, and that 81.72% of them practice in the Visayas.
It is disheartening to have students who quit mainly for financial reasons, for approved research protocols to gather dust for lack of institutional support.
May we invite you to share your resources through a non-stock, non-profit foundation that aims to:
- Provide financial aid for deserving students.
- Assist student and faculty researches.
- Assist extension projects for the College of Medicine.
- Provide assistance for faculty/staff development.
- Grant professorial chair.
- Provide assistance for special projects deemed necessary by the College of Medicine.
We appeal to your generosity. May the Lord shower you and your family with His countless blessings.
(Signed) MA. VICTORIA C. VILLAREAL, M.D., FPPS
Chairman
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There's a couple of pictures at the Photo Album.
More of my conversation with the Dean in the next column.
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The author's e-mail address is at drgarcia(at)wvsumedaa.com
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Views expressed on this column and any other by-lined articles on this site are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization or its members.
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