dr. anthony m. penaso
TRUSTEE
National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies Inc.
Dr. Anthony M. Penaso is the incumbent President of Bohol Island State University (October 27, 2022- present). He was former President of Caraga State University (July14, 2014- August 16, 2022). He was also the President of the Caraga Association of State Universities and Colleges and Regional Chair, Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Caraga (2016-2019). He is now the new Regional Chair of PASUC 7 (Central Visayas). He has served as the President of the Caraga Higher Education Institutions Association of Presidents and Heads (2019-2022). He is a member/Chair of the Advisory Council of the Northern Mindanao School of Fisheries (2020-2022). He has served as Auditor of both the Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools, and Association of Caraga Executives. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP) from 2020-present, and the National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies (NNQAA) from 2023- present. He has served as Chairperson of the Regional Research and Development Coordinating Council of the Caraga Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development (CCAARRD) from 2018-2022 and of the Central Visayas Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CVAARDEC) from 2022-present.
Prior to his stint as University President, he has held various administrative positions at Central Mindanao University in Musuan, Bukidnon, namely as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Research and Extension, Director of Instruction and Chair, University Scholarships and Awards Committee; and in concurrent capacity, as OIC- Vice President for Administration, Consortium Director of Northern Mindanao Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development (NOMCAARRD), Director of Research, and Dean of the Graduate School.
He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Education degree major in Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude in 1992, first in Central Mindanao University’s history; and Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics degree in 1997 also from the same university. He holds six doctorate degrees from different universities, namely Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics, Doctor of Science in Mathematics Education, Doctor of Education major in Educational Planning and Management, Doctor of Management, Doctor of Public Administration, and Doctor of Christian Education. He also holds three honorary doctorates (honoris causa), namely Doctor of Humanities, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Arts in Education.
He finished six post-graduate certificate courses, namely: Sustainable Environmental Management at the University of California, Berkeley as a USAID- Beahrs ELP fellow; Leadership and Management of Higher Education Institutions at Maastricht School of Management as a fellow of the Netherlands Fellowship Programme; Minerals Policy and Economics at the University of Western Australia as fellow of the AusAID - International Mining for Development Centre; Entrepreneurial University Transformation in Southeast Asia in Bandung, Indonesia also as MSM- Netherlands Fellowship Programme fellow; Presidential Leadership Program at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan as CHED-JICA fellow; and Leadership Development Program for Higher Education Institutions in Southeast Asia at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and HEAD Foundation. He was a Fulbright scholar at the Pennsylvania State University, USA and Climate and Development Knowledge (CDKN) Fellow at Oxford University, UK. He was a visiting research and development (R&D) Management fellow at the Rural Development Administration, South Korea and at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. He also was a young ambassador to Japan under the JICA Youth Invitation Programme. He has participated in international leadership programs such as the Honda - International Association of Traffic and Safety Science Leadership Program for Young Asian Leaders (Japan) and UNEP-Tongji University –Asia Pacific Leadership Programme in Environment for Sustainable Development in Shanghai, China. He was also a SIDA grantee for the International Training Programme on Education for Sustainable Development at Stockholm University and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. He has extensively traveled to prestigious universities and institutions in 36 countries around the world as a scholar, visiting fellow, researcher and paper presentor.
He was a national topnotcher in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (2nd Place) with a rating of 91%, School Superintendents Examination/Educational Management Test (3rd Place), and Management Aptitude Test Battery of the Career Executive Service Board (3rd Place). He has co-authored books on Methods of Research, and Research Methods.
He has served as accreditor for full-fledged professors in NBC 461 Zonal Centers of Regions 6, 9, 10, 11, and Caraga and CHED JC3 professional accreditation around the country. He also has served as member of search committees for Presidents in around 20 state universities and colleges and local colleges, and member/Chair of evaluation committees for Presidents seeking for second term in six state universities and colleges in the country. He is a senior program and institutional accreditor of AACCUP, an accredited institutional sustainability assessor (ISA) of public and private universities in the Philippines by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and a trained Philippine Quality Award (PQA) assessor.
As a four beads holder, he is an active scout leader trainer of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP). He has served as Council Deputy Program Commissioner for Rover Scouting of BSP Bukidnon Council; Council Training Commissioner of the BSP Agusan Council; Deputy Regional Training Commissioner of the BSP Eastern Mindanao Region, and now serving as Executive Board Member of the BSP Bohol Council. He was a recipient of Bronze (1997), Silver (2001) and Gold (2005) Service Awards; Bronze Usa (2021) and Silver Usa (2023) Awards of the BSP National Court of Honor.
Because of his exemplary contributions in the field of education, Dr. Penaso was awarded as an outstanding alumnus in four universities, namely: the Centennial Outstanding Alumnus in the field of Education given during the Centennial Celebration of Central Mindanao University in 2010 and as CMU’s Distinguished Alumnus (Silver Jubilarian) in 2017; the Madame Laureana San Pedro Rosales Outstanding Alumnus given during the 40th Foundation Anniversary of Capitol University in 2011 and Most Outstanding Graduate Alumnus of the CU Graduate School in 2015; The Outstanding MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology Alumnus (TOMA) in 2011; and Outstanding Alumnus in the field of Education of the University of Southeastern Philippines in 2014. He was the first recipient of the Honorable Elisa Rosales Ochoa (HERO) Achievement Award in 2018 awarded by the heirs of HERO, the first woman elected to the Philippine Congress in 1941. Dr. Penaso is also as recipient of the 2020 Butuanon Choice Award as Outstanding Transformational Leader of the Year; 2020 Most Outstanding Mindanaoan for Excellent Leadership and Governance (Academe Category) Award by the Mindanao Daily News and Veterans Bank; 2020 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award given by the Civil Service Commission Caraga; Top Performing Grantee of the Coursera for Government Scholarship Program for having completed 65 MOOC certificate courses from prestigious universities around the world awarded by DOST Caraga; the Magkuno Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Higher Education awarded by the Caraga Association of State Universities and Colleges; Honorable Antonio Rosales Tupaz (HART) Award of Distinction for Exemplary Leadership and Institutional Development by the heirs of the late Assemblyman Tupaz; and Most Inspiring Teacher of the Republic of the Philippines 2021 by the Saceda Youth Lead, among others.
At age 31, he was designated as Vice President of CMU earning the distinction as the youngest SUC Vice President in the country. At age 35, he earned his full professor rank. He was conferred as Profesor ad Honorem Vitasta Ambassador Distinction (honoris causa) of the Universite Henry Dunant, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in 2022. He is happily married to Abigail Noemis T. Tecson and blessed with three children.
