- Art by Hans Fontanilla/ THE FLAME
FORMER UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas administrator Professor Emeritus Fr. Dionisio Cabezon, O.P. died on Tuesday, July 7.
He was 95.
UST announced his passing on the same day, describing the Dominican priest as a scholar, educator, formator and faithful servant of the Church and the University.
“His leadership shone with prudence and pastoral concern, safeguarding academic standards while recognizing the human story behind every applicant and student,” the University said in a Facebook post.
Cabezon devoted nearly five decades of service to UST, holding several academic and administrative posts. He first served as regent of the Faculty of Engineering from 1969 to 1972 and acting regent of the College of Architecture from 1969 to 1971.
After his term as regent, he became the fourth chair of the Department of Psychology under the College of Science from 1976 to 1982.
The UST Department of Psychology also paid tribute to Dionisio in a Facebook post, saying his legacy of “faith-filled service, academic excellence, and compassionate leadership” will remain an enduring part of their history.
Cabezon served as dean of the Faculty of Philosophy from 1979 to 1985, 1991 to 1994 and 2006 to 2007, contributing to the formation of seminarians, religious, clergy and lay students within the University’s ecclesiastical tradition.
Cabezon also became the director of the Guidance and Testing Center from 2000 to 2010, where he helped shape the University’s admissions and guidance programs by overseeing University-wide examinations and the evaluation of student applicants.
He also led its Guidance and Counseling Department in 1969 before its extension as the Guidance and Testing Center was established in 1982. In 2009, the Guidance and Testing Center was separated into two separate offices to attend to the growing needs of each office. The office’s name was reverted to the Guidance and Counseling Department (now the Counseling and Career Center) and the Office of Student Admission.
During this period, he was also appointed as the acting regent of the Faculty of Civil Law from 2003 to 2004.
Cabezon’s wake will take place at the Replica Chapel of the Santuario del Santo Cristo Parish in San Juan City starting July 7. It will be followed by a funeral mass on July 9 at 9 a.m. and an interment at the Santo Cristo Parish Cemetery. F
