UP Visayas’ pioneer chancellor dies at 105

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY — Dr. Dionisia A. Rola, the first chancellor of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and the first woman to serve as chancellor in the UP System, died Aug. 26 at age 105.

Her family confirmed her death, according to UPV.

Rola’s path from a young instructor in 1947 to UPV’s founding chancellor in 1980 made her a pioneering figure for women in Philippine higher education and the driving force behind UPV’s establishment as an independent constituent university.

Rola began teaching at UP College Iloilo (UPCI) shortly after its founding in July 1947, marking the start of her decades-long association with the university.

She later served as UPCI dean in the 1970s, when she championed the creation of an autonomous UP unit in the Visayas with a main campus in Miagao, Iloilo.

UPV said Rola lobbied for the new campus, secured a World Bank loan and coordinated with national and local officials to acquire the property.

Executive Order No. 628 formally established UP in the Visayas in 1980, with Rola appointed as its first chancellor — cementing her place as the UP System’s first female chancellor.

While serving as UPCI dean, Rola also advocated for a dedicated center for the study of the Visayas.

The UP Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Visayan Studies Program on June 26, 1975, laying the foundation for what later became the Center for West Visayan Studies (CWVS).

She was also credited with laying the groundwork for what is now the UP Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage (UPV MACH).

Rola earned her Bachelor of Science in Education, magna cum laude, from UP Diliman in 1947, followed by a master’s degree with honors from the University of Melbourne in 1952 and a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1960.

Before her UPV chancellorship, Rola served as dean of UP College Baguio from May 16, 1967, to June 15, 1970, becoming the first woman to hold that deanship.

The UPV alumni community described Rola as a visionary leader, distinguished academic and dedicated public servant.

UPV also remembered her for her high standards and work ethic, as well as her engagement with personnel and communities affected by the Miagao campus land acquisition.

Her contributions helped shape UPV’s academic, cultural and institutional foundations in the region.