Bienvenido F. Nebres | |
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29th President of Ateneo de Manila University |
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In office April 1, 1993 – June 1, 2011 |
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Preceded by | Joaquin G. Bernas |
Succeeded by | Jose Ramon Villarin |
Personal details | |
Born |
Baguio, Commonwealth of the Philippines |
March 15, 1940
Nationality | Filipino |
Residence | Quezon City, Philippines |
Alma mater | Berchmans College, Stanford University |
Profession |
Mathematician Professor Jesuit Priest |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Awards | National Scientist of the Philippines |
Bienvenido F. Nebres is a Filipino scientist, mathematician, and Jesuit who was the longest-serving university president of the Ateneo de Manila University. He succeeded Joaquin G. Bernas in 1993, and served as University President until 1 June 2011. He currently sits as a member of the board of trustees of Georgetown University, Regis University, the Asian Institute of Management (where he sits as Vice-Chair), and other colleges and universities in the Philippines. He is also a member of the board of directors of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, and is currently chairman of the Synergia Foundation. He was also Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines.
Nebres served as the Ateneo's university president for more than 18 years. His term was extended for him to lead the Ateneo through the completion of key initiatives as well as its sesquicentennial celebration, and was again extended until June 1, 2011, after which he was succeeded by Jose Ramon Villarin as the Ateneo's university president.
Since his return to the Philippines in 1970 after graduate studies abroad, Nebres has worked on three major areas: teaching and development of mathematics and science in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia; administration in the university and in the Jesuit Order; and leadership in the socio-political concerns of the Philippines during the years of martial law and in the early years of democratic restoration. In the 1990s, he also became more involved in the business world, particularly in the relationships between universities and business and technology.
In 2011, he was named National Scientist of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the National Academy of Science & Technology.
Bienvenido Nebres was born in Baguio City on March 15, 1940 and grew up in Bacnotan in La Union, Philippines. He studied at the Bacnotan Elementary School, and then moved to Christ the King College in San Fernando, La Union. His vocation to the priesthood came early, and soon enough he found himself at the Vigan seminary in Ilocos Sur. He wanted to become a priest because of a teacher who was a nun, her stories made him realize that it was a life worth living. He finished high school at the San Jose Seminary, and then moved to the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches.