Father Jose Ramon Villarin Takes Over Ateneo de Manila

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 14, 2010) - From a mathematician to a climate change expert and with the election of Father Jose Ramon Villarin as its next president, the Ateneo de Manila University is right on track to be the leading university in the Philippines in the study of climate change.

Father Jett as he is famously known is a physicist, who finished his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997. His academic stature, leadership experience, and a good grasp of the demands of the position have catapulted him to be successor to Father Bienvenido Nebres as Ateneo president.

Nebres, who is set to retire on March 31 after serving Ateneo de Manila as president for 18 years, is the longest-serving having succeeded Father Joaquin Bernas in 1993. (Bong D. Fabe)