The university welcomed Dr. Bjorn S. Santos as its seventh De La Salle Araneta University President last October 4. Dr. Santos concurrently serves as the university’s Vice Chancellor for Academics and Research (VCAR), and Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Agricultural Sciences, among others.
Dr. Bjorn finished his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of the Philippines – Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna. He went on to take both his master’s and doctorate degrees in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the Texas A&M University – College Station in Texas, USA, with a specialization in power and machinery, and renewable energy.
Dr. Santos started his career in the academe as a full-time instructor at De La Salle University – Canlubang in Laguna, where he handled courses in Trigonometry, Engineering Graphics, Strength of Materials, Materials of Engineering, and Introduction to Environmental Engineering. From 2008 - 2013, he was a graduate research/teaching assistant at the Texas A&M University – College Station’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. In 2014, he also had a brief teaching stint at the Department of Biology in De La Salle University before he went to the university to assume the VCAR post.
With his educational background and extensive experience as an administrator, Dr. Santos was elected by the Board of Trustees as University President after a candidate search which started as early as December 2015.
Dr. Santos is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and one of the founding officers of the UPLB Alumni Association Texas Chapter. He successfully passed the 2004 Professional Agricultural Engineering Licensure Examination, placing second.