21 US-Based Academics from 17 Top Universities Endorse Dean Roland Tolentino

19 January 2011

President Alfredo E. Pascual

University of the Philippines

Dear President Pascual:

We are writing to express our support for Dean Roland Tolentino's nomination as Chancellor of the University of the Philippines in Diliman.  We believe that he is an outstanding academic and has a firm commitment towards public service and democratic leadership.

Dean Tolentino is without doubt an academic leader. He is a brilliant, and well-respected scholar in the areas of film studies, popular culture, and literature.  His numerous books and articles have received citations and awards, and are used in various courses, not only in the Philippines but also in the United States.

Dean Tolentino's work is truly outstanding because of his interdisciplinary approach to research, firm grasp of theory, and amazing breadth of knowledge.  He explores the intersections of culture and the economy, film, politics and geography, and globalization and sexualities -- thus making his work always interesting and exciting to read and discuss. 

In 2004, he was appointed Acting Director of the UP Film Institute and the year after was invited to be a Visiting Fellow at the University of Singapore.  In 2006, he was a Distinguished Visitor at the University of California Berkeley and UCLA Southeast Asian Studies Consortium.   In 2009, he was appointed Dean of the College of Mass Comminication, and in the past two years, have shown dedication and outstanding work.  We believe that very few scholars of his generation in his field could match his accomplishments. 

Dean Tolentino is also a true public intellectual.  He writes in both Filipino and English, and thus has an expanded readership in the Philippines and abroad.   He has also explored various formats in publishing (among them the monograph format), making his work accessible to students.  Moreover, he has, for many years, worked in the service of fellow educators, giving talks and lectures to public school teachers.

We also admire Dean Tolentino's unwavering commitment to public service. As Chairperson of the Congress of Teachers for Nationalism and Democracy, he has constantly supported teachers' rights and the right of students for free public education.  We believe that these principles will guide his democratic leadership should he be apponted as Chanceller.

We firmly support his candidacy and believe that he would be an excellent Chancellor for the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Sincerely yours,

Pia Arboleda, D.A. Assistant Professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature, University of Hawaii

Nerissa Balce, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Asian American Literature, Stony Brook University

Pearlie Rose Salaveria Baluyot, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Art History, California State University San Bernardino

Jonathan Beller, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities and Media Studies and Critical and Visual Studies, Pratt Institute

Francisco Benitez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Washington

Lucy Burns, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies, University of California Los Angeles

Julia Camagong, Adjunct Professor of Filipino, College of Mt. Saint Vincent

Richard T. Chu, Ph.D., Five College Associate Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Peter Chua, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology, San Jose State University

Deirdre de la Cruz, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History and Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Sharon Delmendo, Ph.D., Professor of English, St. John Fisher College

Nenita Domingo, Ph.D., Lecturer of Filipino, University of California Los Angeles

Luisa A. Igloria, Ph.D. Professor of English and Creative Writing, Old Dominion University

Maria Josephine Leblanc, Ph.D. Lecturer of Filipino and Philippine Literature, University of California Berkeley

Bliss Cua Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Visual Studies, University of California Irvine

Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Ph.D., Professor and Coordinator, Filipino and Philippine Literature Program, University of Hawaii, Manoa

Martin F. Manalansan IV, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

A.M. Nornes, Ph.D., Professor of Asian Film, and Chair of the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Sarita Echavez See, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Neferti Tadiar, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of  Women's Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University

Benito Vergara, Ph.D. former Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University