At the 1402nd meeting of the UP Board of Regents (BOR) on Aug. 28, appointments of four faculty members from UP Diliman (UPD) as deans were approved—three new and one re-appointment.
Gwen Grecia-De Vera, associate professor at the UP College of Law (UP Law); Cynthia P. Saloma, PhD, professor at the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) of the College of Science (CS); and Justin Francis Leon V. Nicolas, PhD, associate professor at the Department of Social Work (DSW) of the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) are the new deans of UP Law, CS, and CSWCD, respectively. They will serve three-year terms beginning August 2025.
Meanwhile, this will be the second consecutive term for Maria Antonia N. Tanchuling, PhD, professor of civil engineering, as dean of the College of Engineering (COE).
Below are the deans’ profiles written by Mariamme D. Jadloc, Bino C. Gamba, and Anna Regidor.
Grecia-De Vera is UP Law’s dean
Mariamme D. Jadloc
Gwen Grecia-De Vera, associate professor at the UP Law, is now UP Law’s 18th dean. She succeeds Darlene Marie Berberabe, who was recently appointed as solicitor general.
Prior to this appointment, Grecia-De Vera served as UP Law assistant to the dean of student affairs. She was also director of two UP Law Center institutes—the Institute for the Administration of Justice and the Institute for International Legal Studies.
In 2015, Grecia-De Vera served as dean of the Manuel L. Quezon University School of Law.
In her bid for the deanship, Grecia-De Vera shared that she envisions UP Law as “a thriving legal academic and research community committed to accountability and driven by the values of public service and shared leadership.”
To realize her vision for the college, Grecia-De Vera outlined her five-point agenda: empowering shared leadership and strategic planning, cultivating community growth, investing in future excellence, building a transparent and fair system, and championing global and local impact.
By the end of her term, Grecia-De Vera aims for UP Law to achieve significant milestones in good governance, faculty and curriculum development, research extension and professional staff (REPS) and administrative staff development, student development, finance, alumni relations, and extension activities.
Among Grecia-De Vera’s recent publications is From BOT to PPP 2.0: The Salient Features and Undercurrents of Republic Act No. 11966 or the Public-Private Partnership Code of the Philippines, published in Volume 48 of the IBP [Integrated Bar of the Philippines] Journal.
Grecia-De Vera earned her Master of Laws (with honors) at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, in 2010 and her Postgraduate Diploma in European Union Competition Law from King’s College London in 2022. She completed both her Bachelor of Laws (Order of the Purple Feather) and Bachelor of Arts in English (magna cum laude) from UP Diliman in 1995 and 1991, respectively.
Saloma is new CS dean
Bino C. Gamba
Cynthia P. Saloma, PhD, is a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at the NIMBB. She served as NIMBB director from 2012 to 2018 and as executive director of the Philippine Genome Center from 2017 to 2023.
Saloma is known for her numerous genomics research contributions in the Philippines and for establishing the framework of biosurveillance, which became a crucial tool for the country’s pandemic preparedness.
Her priorities for the College of Science include increasing the PhD graduation rate; attracting and supporting excellent academic leaders and administrators; promoting research excellence through interdisciplinary collaborations; fostering industry partnerships for resource generation; improving the National Science Complex’s security, facilities, and overall landscape; harnessing the CS talent pool; pursuing collaborative projects addressing national and societal challenges; strengthening programs in digitalization, quality management system (QMS) and quality assurance (QA); enhancing media engagement, online presence, and global partnerships; and regularly assessing staff needs with feedback mechanisms.
Saloma received her BS molecular biology degree from Nagoya University, Japan (1993), and her master’s in medical science (physiology, 1995) and PhD (physiology, 1998) from Osaka University, Japan. She also holds a BS in fisheries (magna cum laude) from UP Visayas (1987).
For her outstanding and invaluable work in molecular biology, genomics and biotechnology, Saloma has received various awards, among them the 2022 Order of Lapu-lapu (Rank of Magalong) Presidential Merit Award by the Office of the President of the Philippines, 2022 Presidential Lingkod ng Bayan Award by the Office of the President of the Philippines and the Civil Service Commission, Department of Science and Technology Outstanding Science Administrator (Dioscoro L. Umali Medal, 2020), the Clara Y. Lim-Sylianco Award by the Philippine Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. (2019), UPD Centennial Faculty Grant (2019), the UPD Gawad Chanselor para sa Natatanging Guro (2008), and the National Academy of Science and Technology Outstanding Young Scientist Award (physiology, 2004).
Nicolas is new CSWCD dean, Tanchuling re-appointed as COE dean
Anna Regidor
Justin Francis Leon V. Nicolas, PhD is the new dean of the CSWCD.
An associate professor at the UPD Department of Social Work (DSW), Nicolas has served the college’s Department of Social Work since 2010. He has been director of the Doctor of Social Development Program since January 2023 and was DSW chair from 2019 to 2022.
Nicolas received his PhD in social work from the University of Newcastle, Australia, in 2019. He earned both his MS and BS in social work at UPD in 2012 and 1992, respectively, and received the Best Graduate Thesis Award for his research The Meaning of Creativity Among Filipino Social Workers: An Exploratory Study.
According to the CSWCD website, Nicolas’ research interests include social work education, ethics, creativity in social work practice, creativity and social development, social work and the creative industries, social entrepreneurship and innovation, homelessness and urban poor issues, juvenile justice, social work and technology, community reintegration of overseas Filipinos, persons with mental health issues, and substance abuse.
In 2018, Nicolas co-authored the chapter A Unique Sustainable Livelihoods Strategy: How Resilient Homeless Families Survive on the Streets of Metro Manila, Philippines in the book Faces of Homelessness in the Asia Pacific edited by Carole Zufferey and Nilan Yu.
Meanwhile, Maria Antonia N. Tanchuling, professor of civil engineering and former director of the UPD Institute of Civil Engineering, begins her second consecutive term as COE dean.
At the public forum on Aug. 12, Tanchuling presented a nine-point plan, which includes building the National Institute of Engineering; continuous improvement of the college’s academic programs; student, faculty, and support staff welfare; alumni and industry linkages; facilities management and infrastructure development; and resource generation.