by NILLICENT BAUTISTA
(Updated as of 7:15 p.m on August 2, 2022)
A JOURNALISM professor has been named the new director of the University’s Research Center For Social Sciences And Education (RCSSED)
Asst. Prof. Jeremaiah Opiniano, who served as the research center’s assistant director, took the place of Prof. Belinda de Castro, whose term as the center’s director formally ended last Sunday.
Opiniano finished his master’s degree in Development Communication at the University of Philippines Open University in 2001 and obtained his doctorate degree in Human Geography at the University of Adelaide in Australia in 2021.
He is also the president of the Overseas Filipino Workers Journalism Consortium and the executive director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues.
As the newly appointed RCSSED director, Opiniano said the main challenge for him is enticing Thomasians to do Social Science research beyond being a degree requirement.
He aims to “up the ante and further accelerate Thomasian Social Science research.”
The RCSSED director also expressed his interest in trying new methods and designs while also exploring research projects beyond scholarly pursuits.
“RCSSED researchers may also have to be daring in trying out never-before-implemented quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods and designs. Doing so increases our chances to get published and have the UST voice heard worldwide,” Opiniano told The Flame.
“RCSSED may also need to direct research projects and promote national and local policy reforms. The Center is not just for scholarly pursuits. RCSSED studies’ findings must respond to social concerns and, whenever possible, lead to major policy reform measures under this new era of Philippine governance,” he added.
Opiniano said he would try his best “to make social science research a happy and fruitful Thomasian experience.”
The RCSSED gathers together research associates from numerous research interest groups including economics, business, and finance studies; languages studies, education and leadership studies; studies in psychology; and contemporary social issues researches.
The research center is working on special projects, namely, inclusive education, relevant Catholic church-related matters, and financial soundness and literacy.
The RCSSED was created in 2017, and currently has over 52 researchers and 11 research interest groups. F
