The UP Asian Center will host the forum and exhibit, "Traversing Asia: Pillars and Pioneers of the Asian Center | A Forum and Exhibit" on 4 September 2025, 2 PM (GMT+8), at the Seminar Room, Asian Center, UP Diliman. The event is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register online.
ABOUT THE FORUM
The Asian Center is the University of the Philippines' only unit with a regional area of specialization offering graduate-level multidisciplinary programs on Asian Studies and Philippine Studies. Pursuant to Republic Act No. 5334, the Asian Center aims to “develop a closer and broader contact with our Asian neighbors in the field of learning and scholarship to attain knowledge of our national identity in relation to other Asian nations through profound studies on Asian cultures, histories, social forces and aspirations.” Since its establishment in 1955, the Asian Center remains committed to fulfilling its mandate of developing Philippine relations with Asia and promoting scholarship on Asian and Philippine Studies.
As the UP Asian Center celebrate its 70th founding anniversary this November 2025. We recognize not only significant milestones in its institutional history but also the personalities and figures that have played a major role in the establishment of the Asian Center to what it is today. Through a forum and an exhibit, we look back to the Center’s rich history as the university’s pioneer institution for multidisciplinary research and education on Asian and Philippine Studies. We aim to reflect on its turning points as an institution amidst a dynamic political and social environment and to recognize key pioneers, scholar, researchers and support staff through the years, all of whom were indispensable pillars of Asian Center.
ABOUT THE GUESTS AND SPEAKERS
ELIZABETH T. URGEL, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, UA&P Department of Asia Pacific Studies
Dr. Elizabeth T. Urgel is an educator, a researcher, and a writer. As a faculty consultant of the Department of Asia Pacific Studies of the UA&P College of Arts and Sciences where she was Chair for nine years, she teaches Southeast Asian Studies and Asia Pacific Societies. She is currently a part-time Senior Lecturer at the Political Economy Program of the UA&P School of Social Sciences, Law, and Governance. As a Visiting Professor at the University of Navarre in Spain, she lectured on Leadership and Economic Development. She was a part-time Senior Lecturer on international relations at the University of the Philippines (UP) Asian Center.
EUSTAQUIA "TACS" G. LANDA
Former Librarian, UP Asian Center
Eustaquia "Tacs" G. Landa is a former head librarian at the Asian Center Library, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, who retired in 2021 after 34 years of service.
MARIA CECILIA T. MEDINA, Ph.D.
Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman
Maria Cecilia T. Medina, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the UP Asian Center and Associate Editor of UP CIFAL Philippines' Journal. She is also an affiliate faculty of the UP Open University. She is currently the Asian Center Coordinator of the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She previously served as the Assistant to the Dean for Administration, Public and Cultural Affairs at the UP Asian Center. She is a regular member of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), a Board Member of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS), and the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC), a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA), and active in its Research Committees on Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Disasters. She is also a lifetime member of the Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in the Social Sciences and Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society for Academic Excellence. Her publications and research interests are on Asian religions and cultures, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic relations, Disaster and Southeast Asian Studies. She is currently president of Josefa Segovia Foundation, the social action arm of the Teresian Association in the Philippines, assisting indigenous communities in Davao City.
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
As the UP Asian Center celebrates its 70th founding anniversary, we would like to honor the key people and milestones that defined its colorful past. Founded in 1955 as the Institute of Asian Studies, it would become part of Philippine Center for Advanced Studies (PCAS) in 1973. It then reverted to a constituent college of UP Diliman after the dissolution of PCAS. Today, a revitalized Asian Center is composed of 15 faculty, 4 REPS, 11 admin staff, 4 library staff, and more than 200 students. It offers master's programs in Philippine Studies and Asian Studies and is the secretariat for the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program. It regularly organizes public symposia and academic conferences. Its webinars and online activities have a wide international reach. The UP Asian Center also actively collaborates with various state universities, national agencies, international organizations, and think tanks. Behind these numbers and achievements are several decades of evolution, transformation, and institution-building. The Asian Center today indeed stands on the shoulders of giants who aspired and worked tirelessly to reach their aspirations to traverse through and understand Asia and the Philippines' place in it.
This exhibit highlights the key figures and historical milestones that shaped the Asian Center. By looking back into the Center's past seven decades, we might find lessons that could guide us through the paths and challenges of the future.
For inquiries, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 891-8500 loc. 3586.
