International confab tackles UST history and legacy

The Graduate School and the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas, with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, will be hosting a three-day international conference on the history and heritage of UST, Asia’s oldest university.

The conference, which will run Dec. 1-3 at UST’s Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium, is in connection with the 400th anniversary of UST. Theme is “Pro Ecclesia et pro Patria: Legacies and Traditions of a Quadricentennial University.”

The conference may be the largest gathering yet of Thomasians and non-Thomasians who are concerned about documenting the achievements of UST and its 400-year-old legacy.

Some of the speakers are John Crossley, emeritus professor, Monash University, Australia; Florentino Hornedo, UST Graduate School; dean Raul Sunico, UST Conservatory of Music; Wendell Capili, University of the Philippines-Diliman; Michael Coroza, Ateneo de Manila University; Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, UST Publishing House director and professor emeritus of UP; J. Neil Garcia, UP; Wystan de la Peña, UP; Regalado Trota José, UST Archives and UST Graduate School; Fr. Gerard Timoner, O.P., UST Central Seminary; architect Norma Alarcon, UST College of Architecture; Antonio Hila, UST Graduate School; Ronald Baytan, De La Salle University; Julie Ann Hallazgo, UST Conservatory of Music; and George Miller, Ontario, Canada.

Conveners of the conference are UST Graduate School dean Lilian Sison; UST Arts and Letters dean Michael Vasco; and professors Eloisa Parco de Castro and Ferdinand Lopez.

Conference fee is P2,500. Interested participants may send inquiries to USTheritage.history@gmail.com.