Rebuilding Updates
It’s slowly taking back its shape, slowly getting back in form – the Gonzaga Wing of the College Building.
First Phase of Rebuilding
This
is the first phase of the reconstruction. All three floors of the
Gonzaga Wing of the College building are simultaneously undergoing a
makeover. Clearing and cleaning operations started almost immediately
after the fire hit the Brebeuf Gym, its annex buildings and adjoining
structures last July 7, 2016.
While
the re-construction of the computer center and laboratories and the
rehabilitation of faculty workrooms and administrative offices are going
on, on the sides their former (and future) occupants await: the
Administrators, Faculty and Staff from the School of Management and
Accountancy, School of Education, School of Liberal Arts and the College
of Nursing; the Office of the Academic Vice President, the Assistant to
the AVP, the University Registrar, the Center for Information
Technology Services (CITS), and the Basic and Advanced Computer
Laboratories – all temporarily displaced by the blaze and occupying
transitory sites around the campus.
Through
the generosity of alumni and friends, other projects are underway: the
rehabilitation of classrooms in the Senior High School (SHS) area; the
replacement of burned musical instruments of the University Band, the
acquisition of computer units, the recovery of the collection of the Law
School library, the setting up of temporary cafeteria facilities; and
the assessment of the electrical and structural integrity of affected
buildings.
The
determination to “Rise above the Ashes” which has become the battle cry
of the Rebuilding program, has become evident as early as the next few
days after the fire – power lines were restored, including Internet and
Local Area Network services, and by the following week, classes resumed
July 13, Tuesday.
Threat turns to Opportunity
Taking
charge and overseeing the rebuilding program, Fr President Karel San
Juan, SJ, called a meeting, with the Presidential Management Team and
some administrators, deans, directors and heads of offices. “The fire
has given us the opportunity to build back, recover what we lost, and
address long-standing facility needs of the University,” he stated as he
called to order the first of a series of continuing conversations and
consultations for the Campus Development Plan for the Salvador campus in
La Purisima.
Rebuilding – against all odds while keeping the Faith and Mission Alive
Rallying
behind the President, the community has taken on the task of rebuilding
head-on and against all odds. “The task of rebuilding has renewed the
University’s commitment to its mission of education and social
transformation,” Fr President stated. ADZU plays an important role in
the mission of the Jesuits in the Philippines, particularly in peace and
development in Mindanao, in a region challenged by poverty and an
elusive peace and order situation. ADZU’s services extends from
Zamboanga City to the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del
Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan, and
Tawi Tawi.
Even
before the fire, ADZU has already been facing many challenges including
the still unrecovered loss, unrepaired damages, and unresolved issues
resulting from the 2013 Zamboanga Siege. It continues to suffer from
decreased enrolments due to economic setbacks coupled with fast faculty
and staff turnover, and the constant threat to security and volatile
situation in the city. In addition, “ADZU is the smallest and most
financially-challenged Ateneo in the Philippines,” cited Fr President.
This
is the backdrop against which the University is trying to rebuild
itself. Thus, Fr President explains, whatever contribution made for the
Rebuilding program is not just helping ADZU get back on its feet, but is
in a more profound way, an investment in peace and development in the
region, in Mindanao, and the whole country.
To be concluded.
“The
fire has given us the opportunity to build back, recover what we lost,
and address long-standing facility needs of the University.”
