THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines-Los Baños recently named two new Professor Emeriti after the UP Board of Regents approved their title during its 1379th meeting held earlier this month.

They are former dean of UPLB College of Public Affairs and Development Dr. Josefina Dizon and former director of Crop Science Cluster and Institute of Plant Breeding Dr. Pompe Sta. Cruz.

“As proven by their high ratings on the Student Evaluation for Teachers and their track record of helping undergraduate and postgraduate students in the conduct of theses and dissertations, they have served the university and the country in their respective fields of expertise as competent and excellent mentors,” UPLB said.

“Dr. Dizon and Dr. Sta. Cruz are both esteemed, well-published, and much acclaimed in their respective fields, giving them the title Professor Emeritus, a lifetime title conferred to retiring faculty members in honor of great performance and exemplary service to the University,” it added.

Dizon mentored community development students as a major adviser and panel member.

She has contributed to the growth of leaders and human resources in various countries including Lao PDR, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Sta. Cruz mentored agronomy students from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, East Timor and Vietnam.

He helped his students narrow the yield gap across varying crop-growing environments and generate data as inputs in developing decision-aided tools for integrated crop management.

Dizon is passionate about social forestry and community-based forestry and has conducted studies on various topics related to this field, including occupancy management, people’s organization, community empowerment, and market-based instruments.

In 2000, she co-authored a book on the subject as program coordinator for the “Development of Economic Instrument for the Makiling Forest Reserve.”

Sta. Cruz, on the other hand, worked as a productive researcher on various crops, including rice, corn, sugarcane, mung bean, cassava, tomato, and quinoa, during his 12-year tenure as a UP Scientist.

He also served as project leader and consultant for UPLB projects funded externally, focusing on topics such as genotype by environment interaction, yield gap analysis, integrated nutrient management and decision-aided tools.

Dizon received the Meritorious Public Service Award in 2018 in the field of governance from the Office of the President, UP System, while Sta. Cruz was a recipient of the National Research Council of the Philippines 2022 Achievement Award for Agriculture and Forestry.