Resume: Dr. Serafin L. Ngohayon

Dr. Serafin L. Ngohayon is the President of the Ifugao State University (IFSU) from 2003 to the present after having been given a fresh term when he spearheaded the creation of the university in 2009. He set the trend for a young breed of dynamic state university and colleges (SUC) presidents having been elected to the position at age 35. He currently holds a faculty rank of University Professor.

He is currently leading the University in its vision of becoming an Academic Centers of Excellence towards being a Level IV SUC - Internationally Recognized University.

A true-blooded Igorot/Ifugao with father from Hapao, Hungduan, Ifugao and mother from Ducligan, Banaue, Ifugao, he was reared and grew up in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao.

Born of very poor parents who are farmers, he was guided by his belief that education would liberate him from the shackles of ignorance and poverty. He spent 26 years studying. In high school and college, he was a working student. When he finished his Bachelor of Arts major in Psychology, he graduated “magna cum laude.” He studied further and, with a scholarship from the Japanese government, he was granted a Master of Science and Ph. D. in Psychology from the Hiroshima University in Hiroshima, Japan. 

Aside from being president of IFSU, he holds the following positions:

(1) President and Chairman of the Board of the Accrediting Agency for Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP) since 2009.

(2) Auditor of Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC).

(3) Secretary and Member of the Board of the International Distance Education Accreditation League (IDEAL).

(4) Chairperson of the Highland Agriculture Resources Research and Development Consortium (HARRDEC) based in Benguet State University with 17 members R&D agencies and Local Government Units;

(5) Member of the board of various organizations such as the Southeast Asian Network of Agroforestry Education (SEANAFE), the Agriculture Colleges Association of the Philippines (SUC-ACAP), and the Philippine Science Consortium.

He is actively involved in various researches, and has written and presented several papers in various scientific fora. His current research interest focus on: (a) trends and challenges in Higher Education, (b) Quality Assurance (QA), QA Agencies and Higher Education Quality, (c) Climate change, Food security and Agriculture Related Programs, (d) Bio-organic R&D and Production and (e) Job Stress.

Dr. Ngohayon is known to the ICBE network. During the 5th ICBE Consultation in Vallendar, Germany on April 11-13, 2009, he presented a paper: The Bulul in the Social Life of the Ifugaos, which was published in the ICBE magazine, “Cordillera Rituals as a Way of Life.” And during the 6th ICBE conference, in London, United Kingdom from the 22nd-25th of April 2011, he delivered the keynote address: Living our Igorot Values.

4 May 2013