Last 26 August 2021, the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) warmly welcomed Dr. Liza Comia for another term as its director. The search process was facilitated by an ad hoc committee appointed by Chancellor Jose Camacho, Jr. The committee was led by Dr. Rico Ancog, Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Management. As the sole nominee received by the committee, Dr. Comia took the challenge and withstood the rigorous selection process.
Dr. Comia served her first term as INSTAT director from 2018-2021. During this period, she has made significant contributions to instruction, research, and extension programs of the institute. Among these are the implementation of the revised BS Statistics curriculum in outcome-based format, pre-establishment of the Professional Master’s in Statistics, increase in the number of INSTAT’s publications and research projects, and conduct of various trainings and symposia such as “Data Science for Official Statistics using R Software” in collaboration with Young Statisticians of the International Statistics Institute. For the past three years, INSTAT witnessed a vast expansion of its network among local and international institutions. The pandemic proved to be a challenge but this did not hamper Dr. Comia in ensuring that INSTAT has fulfilled its mandate.
For her second term, Dr. Comia aims to future-proof INSTAT in consonance with the goals of future-proofing UPLB and CAS. Specifically, she envisions INSTAT as a center of excellence in statistics, significantly contributing to nation-building through its globally competitive graduates, relevant research, and sound practice of the statistics profession. She also sees INSTAT providing a responsive and innovative curriculum in statistics.
For this vision to come to fruition, Dr. Comia set key goals in her strategic plan. For curriculum and instruction, she intends to improve the teaching and learning environment at INSTAT, prepare students for professional careers, and ensure the wellness of faculty, staff, and students in the remote learning set-up. For research and extension, she will lead in identifying areas where the institute can contribute to the development of new statistical methods. She also aims to utilize INSTAT’s strength for the advancement of science and technology and innovation through interdisciplinary research, within and outside UPLB.
Building on the learnings from her previous term, Dr. Comia is very much affirmative that INSTAT will be able to fulfill its vision-mission under her leadership for the next three years.
– LCAguila, RTMarcelino & MJLRelente
