FIDEL NEMENZO

Nominee for Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman

Dr. Nemenzo is Professor of Mathematics and Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (VCRD)
of the University of the Philippines Diliman. As VCRD, he oversees two of the three mandates of the
university: research and extension (the third being teaching).

His office provides policy and resource support to research, creative work, extention and technology
transfer activities in UPD. At the UP System level, he is Convenor of the Data Science for Public Policy
Program of the Center for Integrative and Development Studies. Dr. Nemenzo has also served as
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Coordinator of the Science and Society Program of the
College of Science, as well as OIC Director of the UP Institute for Small Scale Industries.

Dr. Nemenzo’s research interests in mathematics are in the areas of algebraic number theory, elliptic
curves and coding theory, on which he has published extensively in internationally reputable journals.
He has also written on and given talks in other fields such as science and technology policy, literature
and mathematics, data science, gender and mathematics, philosophy, and education.

Among the awards he has received are the Achievement Award in Mathematics from the National
Research Council of the Philippines (2013) and the UP Diliman Gawad Chancellor Para sa
Pinakamahusay ng Guro (2005). He was President of both the Southeast Asian Mathematical Society
and the Mathematical Society of the Philippines, and has held research and teaching posts in
Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Munich and Phnom Pehn. In 2019, Dr. Nemenzo was elected to the
Governing Board of the National Research Council of the Philippines and chairs its Mathematics
Division. (See attached curriculum vitae)

Dr. Nemenzo is a product of UP Diliman education- from the College of Home Economics’ Child
Development Center (nursery) and UP Integrated School (elementary, high school) to the College of
Science (B.S. Mathematics). He obtained his Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees from
Sophia University in Tokyo.

2) Summary of vision for UP

I envision UP as a modern research university with a public mission. We will build on the gains of
previous UPD administrations to provide the resources, policy support and environment to enable the
university to attain academic excellence in teaching, research and public service in various disciplines
and professions.

As flagship campus of the national university, UP Diliman has the most comprehensive range of course
offerings and disciplinal programs. Its faculty and students come from different walks of life, regions,
ethnicities, and political persuasions—a diversity that makes UP Diliman a campus like no other in our
country. The interaction of the disciplines and the multiplicity of identities, belief systems, economic
interests, and cultural traditions make UP Diliman a milieu that fosters critical and innovative thinking
as well as cross-cultural understanding. This is the ground that is fertile for the flourishing of
interdisciplinary perspectives and scholarship, so necessary for understanding this complex world and
finding solutions to its problems.

This diversity lies at the heart of UP Diliman’s dynamism and strength as an academic institution that
has produced many of our country’s leaders and movers in politics, industry, and culture. The vibrancy
of campus life provides our graduates a virtual training ground— helping them to excel in their chosen
vocations and become productive and responsible citizens, attuned to and ready to respond to real-
world challenges confronting their respective communities, our country and the region.

I will strive to enhance and mobilize- as a key resource- the diversity of UP Diliman in terms of our
students and faculty, disciplinal academic programs, R&D outputs to carry out our mandate as a
modern research university that will address the development challenges of our people and nation.
We will provide the policy and resource support for our faculty, REPS and students to maintain the
highest possible standards in teaching, research and extension. We will continue to explore, especially
with new technologies, new ways of creating and disseminating knowledge, and putting this
knowledge in the service of our people and the nation.

In particular, with the help of my team, I will:

a) Create a nurturing and enabling environment for our faculty, researchers and students;
b) Promote and defend academic freedom as an important prerequisite for academic excellence;
encourage an atmosphere of inclusivity and openness based on respect for and appreciation of
diversity;
c) Foster a culture of interdisciplinary research and innovation that expands the boundaries of
disciplines and areas of study
d) Cultivate the spirit of critical inquiry and challenge the community to seek new ways of seeing and
solving problems;
e) Strengthen our GE program so that our graduates are equipped with the necessary skills of critical
thinking, communication and collaboration, and imbued with necessary cultural and ethical moorings
in this age of globalization and new technologies.
f) Incubate and promote collaborative and interdisciplinary thinking and competencies;
g) Encourage closer ties with industry and government and synergize efforts towards nation-building;
h) Push for administrative and operational efficiency and institutionalize the necessary support
mechanisms and grants for problem-solving knowledge production;
i) Bolster our sports programs as part of holistic education;
j) Strengthen mechanisms for democratic governance;
k) Promote the well-being and dignity of our community -faculty, REPS, staff and students- and the
environment;
l) Implement a program for environmental sustainability and transform the Diliman campus into a
model for environment-friendly practices;
m) Create a vibrant Diliman community as a center of culture, and as a social laboratory to test new
and innovative problem-solving research such as more efficient and cost-efficient management of
utilities, eco-friendly transport schemes, environmental monitoring technologies and community
development programs.

I will focus on the role of UP as a public service university, an institution that will link and partner with
government and industry to address the research and policy challenges of the country. A research
university that will strive to be at par with the best in the region. The success of UP as the national
university will redound to skilled and broad-minded graduates and professionals to meet the needs of
both public and private sectors, research outcomes (new and innovative products, services and
policies) to address the problems of the country, and enhanced standing of the Philippines in the
region and the world. The success of a country’s higher education institutions is correlated with the
level and pace of its economic and social development. I have always maintained that support for the
national university is a necessary investment for building the nation.