[Good Business] DLSU’s 7th Agora Award: A culture of mentorship behind the medals

2026-02-26 - 00:03

The De La Salle University (DLSU), through its Department of Marketing and Advertising (DMA), has long been a fixture at the Agora Awards, which is widely regarded as the most prestigious recognition in Philippine marketing. Over the years, DMA faculty members have been individually honored six times for excellence in marketing education. The roll of awardees reads like a living history of the department. Dr. Luz Suplico-Jeong was named Marketing Educator of the Year in 1998, followed by Dr. Felix Lao Jr. in 1999, Mr. Benison Cu in 2008, Ms. Julie Balarbar in 2012, and Dr. Reynaldo Bautista Jr. in 2020. In 2024, DLSU marked a new milestone by becoming the inaugural recipient of the Agora Award for Marketing School of the Year. Then, on February 11, 2026, the university earned its seventh win — the Agora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Education. This distinction represents DLSU’s second institutional win and another milestone for DMA. ANIMO LA SALLE. The De La Salle University (DLSU) bags the Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Education of the Year Award at the 44th Agora Awards on February 11, 2026. The award was received by Dr. Miguel Paolo Paredes together with Dean Reynaldo A. Bautista Jr., alongside the dedicated faculty members of the DMA. Courtesy of DLSU Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business Facebook At first glance, these achievements may appear as a simple accumulation of awards. But running beneath every citation and trophy is a quieter, more enduring theme — mentorship. Each recognition reflects a lineage of educators standing on the shoulders of those who came before them, while deliberately making space for others to climb higher. It is mentorship practiced not as hierarchy, but as fellowship rooted in the Lasallian values of faith, service, and communion in mission. Our most recent Marketing Educator of the Year awardee from DMA, Dr. Reynaldo “Reyn” Bautista, Jr., now serves as the dean of the DLSU Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business (RVRCOB). Before assuming this role, he was the chair of DMA, mentored by another former chair and Agora awardee, Dr. Luz Suplico-Jeong. Together, Dr. Luz and Dr. Reyn intentionally recruited accomplished graduates from RVRCOB’s Master of Marketing Communications and Master of Science in Marketing programs into the DMA faculty. Their vision was clear in bridging academic theories with real-life industry practices through collaborative and solutions-driven research. Under their guidance, many faculty members, myself included, published our first SCOPUS-indexed journal article, and earned our maiden publication incentive from DLSU. In good humor, we call this milestone “the 100k Club.” More importantly, this sparked a department-wide research culture that nurtures both seasoned practitioners and early-career academics in basic and applied research. This momentum was sustained under the leadership of succeeding department chairs, Dr. Rayan Dui and Dr. Miguel Paolo Paredes, who alongside Dr. Reyn and Dr. Luz were later recognized by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) for Outstanding Scientific Paper. Notably, both of DLSU’s institutional Agora Awards were earned during their respective terms. These efforts are further strengthened by the Marketing and Advertising Research Sub-Center (MARS) headed by Dr. Jovanie Tuguinay. Through workshops and hands-on guidance, MARS supports faculty members from project conception to publication, significantly boosting DLSU’s research productivity. The ripple effects of mentorship extend well beyond faculty circles. Not long after I benefitted from the guidance of my seniors and peers at DMA, undergraduate and graduate students who I mentored, began presenting and publishing their research papers in local and international conferences, even semesters after our classes ended. This is part of the invisible work we do as educators — mentoring beyond class hours, on weekends and holidays, without expectation of recognition, only the hope that our students will continue to thrive. Admittedly, heavy teaching load often leaves limited time for research. Yet DLSU continues to provide competitive support systems for faculty development, including research chairs, publication incentives, deloading arrangements, conference funding, and recognition programs that acknowledge our scholarly contributions. These mechanisms help place DLSU firmly on the global academic map. And the most fulfilling part of all this? Many of my former mentees are also now my colleagues in DMA, who themselves have answered the call to mentor and nurture the next generation of marketers and advertisers doing business as a force for good. True to the vision of St. La Salle, we remain lifelong learners, constantly learning from everyone, everywhere, all at once. As with DLSU’s previous historic win, let our hallways once again echo “Viva Agora, Animo Agora!” We share this honor with the entire Lasallian community. – Rappler.com Noel Sajid I. Murad is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Advertising at De La Salle University (DLSU) and serves as the director for research of the Philippine Association for Communication and Media Research, Inc. (PACMRI). The perspectives shared in this piece are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the official views of De La Salle University, its faculty, or its administration.