A PROFESSOR from the University of Santo Tomas was elected chairman of the Humanities Division of the National Research Council of the Philippines.

Dr. Joyce Arriola will occupy the post for two years.

A multi-awarded and prolific scholar, Arriola was the NRCP’s Achievement Awardee for the Humanities in 2018.

She is also the inaugural director of the Research Center for Culture, Arts, and the Humanities. In 2021, Arriola was named the Teodoro F. Valencia Professorial Chair Holder in Journalism.

During the campaign season, Arriola expressed the desire to evaluate the humanities division’s potentials and trajectories. To achieve this, she envisions creating a Research Excellence Framework and harnessing of the concepts of New Humanities.

Arriola expressed hope that the division during her incumbency will influence cultural policymaking, particularly in the areas of regional culture, creative arts, design industry, and cultural mapping, among others, UST said.