Editing UP College of Engineering (section)

=== Golden Jubilee ===

To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the College, a grand affair was held on June 12, 1960, at the College premises under the sponsorship of the U.P. Alumni Engineers, the engineering alumni association. A motorcade started from the old engineering building in Manila to Diliman; the engineering flag was hoisted up the flagpole in front of the College building; there were fireworks displays; and the program and dinner to culminate the celebration was held at the General Purpose and Textile Plant building.

During the school year 1960-1961, the enrollment dropped abruptly to 884 students. This was due to the establishment of the University College in which all incoming U.P. students were required to go through the two years of general education before entering the professional colleges. There was also a change in the deanship of the College at the start of the academic year. Professor Oscar Baguio took over the position replacing Dean C.A. Ortigas who remained Project Director of the ICA-NEC sponsored Physics teachers training program. Other changes in the faculty staff included the appointment of Prof. Cristy R. Hernandez as secretary of the College, vice Prof. Eusebio L. Koh who with Professor Dominador I. Ilio headed the Department of Engineering Sciences; and the sending of Profs. Alberto Villares and Delfin R. Zapanta abroad for specialized graduate studies under the ICA-NEC training program. A death of the faculty occurred during the year, that of Prof. Pablo Hamoy, Hr. of the Department of Electrical Engineering. It was during this school year also that the U.P. Alumni Engineers started the construction of an alumni headquarters and faculty lounge on the deck roof the wing connected with the main building and hydraulics laboratory.

With the full implementation of the policy in which the first two years of engineering to be in the University College, the third to fifth year enrollment in June 1961 came up to only 630 students. In order to adjust the setup, the various engineering curricula had to be revised and the subjects rearranged, there were several resignations from the faculty and new appointments among them being Moises dela Cruz Jr., Roman Sirilan, Alberto Ramos, Marianito Cruz and Sergio Cabinum.

The trend of decreasing enrollment in the engineering proper continued during the academic year 1962-1963 with 484 students; however, for 1963-64, the enrollment rose slightly to 554 which included the 70 students in the graduate division. Graduate courses offered in the evenings in Manila during the first semester of 1963-64. The Board of Regents under the sponsorship of Regent H.R. Reyes allocated funds for the honoraria of teaching personnel. Graduate courses in Atomic Energy, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering were offered. The classes were held at the NSDB premises on Pedro Gil (Herran) Street in Manila.Â 

During these two academic years, the turnover in the lower ranks of the faculty staff were quite appreciable, most of the resignations were for the purpose of pursuing advance studies in the United States. Among the members of the faculty on permanent status sent abroad for further studies were: Profs. C.R. Hernandez, Luz Salonga, Salvador F. Reyes, Ibarra E. Cruz, and Juan B. Uy. Prof. Rodolfo M. Casiple and Messrs. Amado San Mateo, Marino Mena, Gerardo Alinsod and Marianito Cruz who were granted A.I.D. fellowship for Master/Doctorate Degrees.