PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – Three (3) key officials from Samar State University (SSU), including SSU President Dr. Redentor S. Palencia, Vice-President for Research & Extension Services (VPRES) Engr. Mirador G. Labrador, and Director for Samar Island GIS and Data Analytics Center (SIGISDAC) Engr. Raven C. Tabiongan, successfully completed 12 weeks of leadership and management courses from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, one of the world’s top-ranked institutions for business and leadership education.
All three personnel joined the Wharton Online programs via online course delivery from September 27 to December 20, 2024 as recipients of the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Higher Education Upskilling and Study for Advancement of Staff and Faculty (HUSAY) Program. Under the mentorship of high-caliber professors from Wharton School, they engaged in modules, videos, discussion forums, synchronous sessions, practical assessments, and obtained 70% ratings on each examination to pass their respective programs.
President Palencia joined the Leadership and Management Certificate Program where he trained for the development of strategies to create and maintain an engaging work environment, identification of various work style characteristics and their impact on collaboration, cultivation and alignment of personal and organizational purposes to achieve win-win scenarios, implementation of strategies to sustain and develop a positive organizational culture, and building an environment that supports constructive feedback and idea selection. Dr. Palencia attained his badges and certificates along Engaging Hearts and Minds, Understanding Work Styles and Cultivating Originality, Purpose-Driven Leadership, and Organization Culture and Culture Change.
Meanwhile, both Engr. Labrador and Engr. Tabiongan finished the Digital Leadership Certificate Program where they developed key skills along strategic leadership and decision-making, advanced management techniques, global applicability, and leadership in organizational transformation. Both successfully earned badges and certificates along Leadership in the Age of Digital Disruption, Removing Barriers to Change in Organizations, Managing in the Global Digital Economy, and Artificial Intelligence for Business.
These individual achievements by the aforementioned SSU personnel align with the university’s mandate on personnel and faculty development stipulated in SSU’s strategic plan, and further strengthening of the university’s internationalization program. As of current, CHED is coordinating with The Wharton School for an in-person graduation rites to be held this year at the University of Pennsylvania.