The Philippine Phycological Society of the Philippines, Inc. (PPSI) in cooperation with the Institute of Biological Sciences in UP Los Baños will hold its Second National Symposium and Scientific Meeting with the theme, “Algal Trends and Opportunities in the Changing Time,” on April 13, 2009, 8:00am-5:00pm, at the SEARCA building in UPLB.

The College of Veterinary Medicine through its College Student Council, will be observing the National Veterinary Medicine Week on Feb. 16-20, 2009 at the CVM grounds and lecture halls. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Linking Today’s Veterinary Medicine: Strengthening the Framework of Tomorrow’s Veterinary Medicine.”

The much-awaited CAS Alumni Dinner Concert will finally happen on February 13 at the historic Baker Hall. Themed “Malayo Man, Malapit Din, CASama Ka Pa Rin Namin,” the one-night extravaganza which opens at 6:00pm, will feature songs, dance, and audio-visual presentations from the CAS faculty, students, and staff. There will also be live video feeds of CAS alumni who won’t be able to come.

In celebration of its centennial on March 6, 2009, UPLB will give value for value to those who will be awarded professorial chairs and faculty grants. This is aimed at encouraging more faculty members to compete for these awards this year.

The Board of Regents approved on Nov. 28 the proposal of Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco to establish the UPLB Centennial Professorial Chair and the Faculty Grant Awards. The program will finance 100 professorial chairs and faculty grants, each worth P100,000 and P50,000, respectively.

The first ever UPLB Faculty Conference will be held on April 27-30 right after the 2009 Commencement Exercises and just before the faculty members go on their teacher’s leave.

Dr. Rita P. Laude, vice chancellor for instruction, said that the faculty conference will tackle academic and faculty concerns. It aims to address RGEP issues and identify bottleneck courses, discuss ways to lessen deficiencies in mathematics and English subjects, encourage critical and scientific thinking among students, and examine the Graduate School structure, cross and trans-disciplinary programs, and the faculty profile.