Professor Grace J. Alfonso recognized for her contributions as mass communication and multimedia practitioner, teacher, researcher, and administrator.Dr. Grace Javier Alfonso has been appointed as Professor Emeritus by the University of the Philippines at the 1309th Meeting of the UP Board of Regents held on 22 July 2015.
Dr. Alfonso is on her third term as Chancellor of UP Open University. She witnessed the evolution of distance learning in the Philippines from the birth of UPOU in 1995 when she was then Dean of the UP Diliman School for Distance Education. She became the Director of the UPOU's Audio-Video Teaching and Learning Laboratory (AVTELL) in 1999, the Director of the Multimedia Center in 2004 until she was appointed Chancellor in 2007.
As a recognized expert in e-learning, she is the appointed Chair of the CHED Technical Panel for Transnational and Distance Education, President of the Philippine Society for Distance Learning, the Executive Board Member of the Asian Association of Open Universities, and also a member of the International Council for Open and Distance Education.
The University of the Philippines has also bestowed upon her several awards as an academic and an artist. Her most recent award is being a three-time UP Arts Productivity Awardee. She was given the title UP Artist II for 2015-2017, UP Artist I from 2012-2014 and UP Artist I for 2009-2011. She is the 2013 Concepcion D. Dadufalza Awardee for Distinguished Achievement.
Dr. Alfonso was the first Chair of the Film and Audiovisual Communication Department and the first Director of the UP Film Institute.
As a teacher, she handles courses on mass communication, film, multimedia arts, and arts in the ASEAN. Among her mentors are now stalwarts in the film and broadcast industry.
Dr. Alfonso is now also making waves as an advocate of women empowerment and studies. She is the current President of the Asian Association for Women Studies (AAWS). Frequently invited as keynote speaker women's studies forums, she has been recognized as one of the Champions in the Digital Literacy for Women Campaign.
She is also known as a visual artist. Her most recent art exhibitions included the Siningsaysay: Philippine History in Arts, Women Empowerment in the Philippines (2014) at the Araneta Center, Quezon City; Ïmages of Three Women: Claiming Space" (2014) at the Sandbox, UP Open University; and 2 Women Voices: Visual Conversations Multiplied at Philippine Center (2012) in New York. Dr. Alfonso is one of only two artists that have been permitted by the University of the Philippines to cast and create the iconic UP Oblation. She had the privilege to be the artist/sculptor for the UP Oblation for the UP Open University, UP Manila, and UP School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte. As a film director, she has also directed several television dramas, narrative features, documentaries, and educational videos, a large number of which are used as learning materials of UP Open University.
As a film critic, she has been an active member of the local film critics group Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino since 1991 and of which she has served as Chair in 1996-1998, 2002-2003, and 2011 to present.
Her outstanding contributions as a teacher, her achievements, recognitions, awards, and her faithful service to the University of the Philippines all led to her appointment as a Professor Emeritus, a title she will hold for life. (Anna Cañas-Llamas)
