Dean’s Corner

Joane V. Serrano, PhD, is a Professor and the current dean of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). Prior to her appointment as Dean of FMDS, she served as Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Director of the Multimedia Center, Director of the Office of Gender Concerns, and the Secretary to the Faculty of FMDS.

She teaches Environmental Advocacy, Communication of Scientific and Technical Information, Socio-Cultural Perspectives on the Environment, and Worldviews of Sustainability.  She has a wide array of  research  interests including sustainability, socio-cultural perspectives on the environment,  development and environmental communication, health promotion, gender and indigenous knowledge, experiential learning, and open and distance eLearning (ODeL). Her advocacies include women empowerment, youth transformation, inclusion and diversity, and sustainability among others. She is currently the editor in chief of the UPOU-managed Journal of Management and Development Studies. She has published more than 30 publications, presented in 100 conferences, and more than 60 public service engagements.

Primo G. Garcia, Ph.D. is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) and a Professor of Research and Development Management at the University of the Philippines Open University. He holds a Ph.D. in Organization Studies from the University of Melbourne. His research interests include organization and management, e-learning, and management of distance education. 

Inocencio E. Buot, Jr., Ph.D.  is a professor of botany, ecology and systematics at the Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS), College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). He heads the Plant Systematics Laboratory of IBS and organized a strong award-winning research program, CONserve KAIGANGAN (forests over limestone), funded by the Department of Science and Technology and DOST- PCAARRD, where his team discovered new plant species playing key roles in ecosystem processes and community’s socio-economics.
At the UP Open University he was dean for 2 terms at the Faculty of Management and Development Studies. Learning from his leadership roles as the Deputy Director of IBS from 2006-2010 and as president of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature (PSSN) and the Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines (ASBP), he did some internal reorganization to enhance academic and administrative operations within FMDS codified in the first edition of the Manual of Operation of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies. He established the FMDS Faculty Secretary’s Office headed first by a Program Development Associate (just to have it started), and later in his term, headed by the Faculty Secretary, with the appropriate budgetary allocation similar to other CUs. He also empowered the Program Chairs to independently lead their programs with their FICs monitoring the offerings, mapping the direction and instituting of new courses relevant to the discipline. During his term Land Valuation, International Health programs started during the term of Dean Mendoza, were approved. ASEAN Studies was proposed and approved as well. FMDS started the proposal for a Bachelor in Digital Entrepreneurship and PhD in Natural Resources Management which later were continued by the next dean (Dean Garcia) and then again passed on to the succeeding dean (Dean Serrano), who successfully got the approval of the first undergraduate program of FMDS, Associate in Arts in Digital Entrepreneurship and the first doctoral program, Doctor in Sustainability which all started during the term of Dean Buot. He was never tired inspiring the faculty to build their scholarships by pursuing advanced degrees, attending regular disciplinal conferences and publishing papers in indexed journals. As a venue for scholarly publishing management and development studies papers, especially for FMDS students, faculty and staff, he launched the FMDS Research Bulletin, and later renamed, Journal of Management and Development Studies.

Maria Fe Villamejor- Mendoza, DPA is Professor of Public Administration and Public Policy and former Dean (2013-2019) of the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), University of the Philippines Diliman. She was appointed Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines System during the 1379th meeting of the Board of Regents last 3 April 2023. 

As the former academic leader of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), Prof. Villamejor-Mendoza played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of various disciplines within the faculty. During her tenure, she demonstrated visionary leadership by nurturing and advancing disciplines such as Environment and Natural Resources Management, Public Management, Research & Development Management, Social Work, Nursing, Public Health, and Hospital Administration.

She also played a key role in the development and approval of new programs in emerging fields including International Health and Land Valuation & Management. Prof. Villamejor-Mendoza actively promoted research, publication, and public service activities among the faculty’s academic and administrative staff, and she fostered partnerships and linkages to secure resources for FMDS’ activities.

Paz H. Diaz, Ph.D. was the first Dean of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies.  Dr. Paz has worked for over 40 years in the field of development communication and entrepreneurship education in the Philippines and abroad. She worked as a consultant with the UN-International Labour Organisation in Africa. She has worked in Bangladesh, Botswana, Fiji, the Gambia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Lesotho, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.