by Maria Theresa B. Panzo
The College of Engineering (COE) celebrated another milestone as it inaugurated and dedicated its new expansion building on November 20, 2014. Officials and dignitaries led by MSU System Pres. Macapado A. Muslim witnessed the event.
Since its humble beginning in 1977 and the inauguration of its first building on September 30, 1980, the College has now developed into a stronghold of the Institute producing board exam topnotchers and highly skilled engineers. It now offers 11 undergraduate, 4 Master’s, and 3 Doctorate programs.
In his message during the ceremony, Atty. Edgar Alan A. Donasco, Dean of the College, remarked that indeed, “It’s a grand day for COE.”
He further shared how the College, like other colleges in the Institute, has suffered shortage of classrooms especially with its population that has quadrupled from the 500 it had started with.
For his part, Dr. Feliciano B. Alagar, Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development and former COE dean, described how the plan for the expansion building was initially conceptualized.
“It all started as a dream,” he shared.
In his message to the attendees, Alagar narrated that he summoned Prof. Geronides Ancog and asked for his assistance through his students to design an expansion building.
“His [referring to Prof. Ancog] first question was, ‘How big, sir?’ I said, ‘really big.’ I can read his reaction, he thought I was dreaming.”
Indeed it all started with a dream, but what Alagao did not realize was that Ancog was also a dreamer.
The 5-storey building, as described by Alagao, is “a showcase of fine engineering design.”
It has green features like passive ventilation and lighting. Its walls are light, sound proof, and insulated. The building is also equipped with rainwater harvesting system and fire fighting system. It is also PWD friendly and has fine landscaping and parking spaces. It has three elevators and has its own 220kVA GenSet.
With its goal of sustaining academic excellence, the building’s roof decks also provide ideal spaces for faculty and student researches to conduct their studies.
Alagao also revealed that by 2015, “the other wing shall be started.”
The project was funded by the CHED Disbursement Project (DAP) funds through the efforts of Pres. Muslim.
“One of our main justifications to CHED was that with the facility, our application for AUN-SEED Net membership shall be bolstered – we even became [a] member even before it is completed. Another justification was our Washington Accord accreditation, and is currently a work in progress. We also promised to increase our research outputs through publications, which COE is currently doing right now,” Alagao further explained.
Ancog, the Technical Project Leader, referred to the building as “a legacy.” The endeavor was genuine service for MSU-IIT.
“It’s my honor to welcome you all to this new building of MSU-IIT,” he gestured to everyone present.
Pres. Muslim for his part urged everyone to be grateful for all these talented and skilled individuals who have devoted much time in the realization of such dream.
“We should thank people who show leadership, commitment, and generosity,” he said.
He added that “Iligan [referring to the Institute] is the principal jewel when it comes to Science and Technology. This building is your building. You deserve this.”
The laying of a time capsule led by Pres. Muslim, Institute Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol, Atty. Donasco, and Prof. Ancog was also done as part of the event. The capsule, which contained messages from the present Engineering family, is a legacy to future engineering students. It will be opened 37 years from now or during the 75th anniversary of the College.
Topics : engineering inaguration