UPOU Chancellor Grace Alfonso recognized for her achievements and contribution as teacher and practitioner of mass communications and leader in open and distance learning.The University of the Philippines awarded Prof. Grace Javier Alfonso the Concepcion D. Dadufalza Award for Distinguished Achievement for 2013. The award is given to outstanding individuals who excel in their craft and has contributed significantly to important causes in the society.
Prof. Alfonso is a faculty at the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication and is on her third term as the Chancellor of the UP Open University. She has achieved innumerable recognition and awards as a painter and a sculptor, a filmmaker, director, film researcher, film critic, multimedia expert, researcher, administrator, and an academic leader.
The award was conferred to Prof. Alfonso at the College of Mass Communicatiòn (CMC) Auditorium in UP Diliman's Plaridel Hall on 13 April 2015, where she also delivered her lecture about "eLearning, eTeaching and eResearch Through Collaboration and Networking in the Digital Era."
Dr. Alfonso was chosen to be the first Chair of UP's Film and Audiovisual Communication Department and the first Director of the UP Film Institute. She has supported the local film industry as a TV and film director, film scholar, and film critic and president of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. For her achievements in the visual arts, she has been awarded the title of University Artist I.
As one of the pioneers of the UPOU, she was involved in the setting up the country's leading distance learning institution two decades ago. She has spearheaded the production of multimedia learning materials as former Director of the Audio-Visual Learning Laboratory and the UPOU Multimedia Center. As UPOU's third Chancellor, she has intensified the delivery of online courses through resource based learning packages. She also supported UPOU's offering of the first massive open online curses (MOOCs) in the country and the strengthening of the university's IT and physical infrastructure.
Prof. Danilo Arao, Associate Dean of the CMC, equated the awardee to Prof. Dadufalza and expressed how deeply honoured the College of Mass Communication is to have a professor as distinguished as Prof. Alfonso.
Dr. Gisela Concepcion, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs, stated that "Prof. Dadufalza would love to have her awardees exceed her like our awardee this year." She added that Prof. Alfonso is one of the outstanding and most cherished treasures of the university.
Prof. Lourdes Portus, speaking on behalf of CMC Dean Prof. Rolando Tolentino, highlighted how Prof. Alfonso has successfully combined teaching, research, creative work, and administration.
Prof. Melinda Lumanta, UPOU Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, presented Prof. Alfonso's as the country's expert and leader in multimedia and open and distance education. For her vision of what education should be in the 21st century, Dr. Lumanta said that the awardee has been invited to sit in governing boards and technical panels and had been consulted, in aid of legislation, on various issues and strategic directions for the education sector.
The Concepcion D. Dadufalza Award was established on 29 June 2000 to honor the former UP professor on the occasion of her 50th year of teaching at the University of the Philippines. Funded by a graduate of the University who requests anonymity, the Award aims to honor individuals of distinction, to keep alive the selfless vision and values of Professor Dadufalza. The award is under the auspices of the Office of the President and Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs (Anna Ca&ntidle;as-Llamas).
