𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗹
We at the UP Los Baños College of Development Communication (UPLB CDC) are crestfallen at the passing of Dr. Nora Cruz Quebral on Saturday, 24 October 2020. She was 94.
We mourn the loss of an esteemed educator, institution builder, colleague, mentor, mother, and friend. Though difficult this time may be, we take this opportunity to commemorate a life well-lived, with a smile.
A Filipina communications scholar, Dr. Quebral is world-renowned as a veritable pillar of development communication. Her 1971 seminal paper “Development Communication in the Agricultural Context” is one of the first written works on this field of practice. Moreover, Dr. Quebral founded the first faculty of development communication in Asia. From a lean department to a growing institute to a full-fledged college, UPLB CDC became the first institution in the world to offer a three-tiered academic program in development communication. The Devcom Los Baños school of thought is well-attributed to Dr. Quebral, among other eminent forebears.
A Professor Emeritus of development communication at UPLB, Dr. Quebral earned her PhD in Communication from the University of Illinois and her MS in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin. Her journey in the academe began at the UPLB College of Agriculture where she served as editor of the Philippine Agriculturist. Soon after, she chaired the Office of Extension and Publications and the various departments from which UPLB CDC would emerge.
In recognition of her invaluable contributions to the field of development communication, Dr. Quebral was conferred an honorary doctorate by the London School of Economics in 2011. It was during the Honorary Doctorate Celebration Seminar that Dr. Quebral delivered her lecture “Devcom Los Baños Style.” To borrow some lines from her paper:
“[𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯] 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴.”
While Dr. Quebral is no longer with us, her legacy lives on. Her passing only inspires us to honor her memory by enriching the practice of Devcom Los Baños Style. Armed with new knowledge, skills, and tools, we remain ever true to our roots of harnessing the power of communication to better the lives of disadvantaged communities. For the meaningful decades we have shared with her and her with us, we pay tribute to Dr. Nora Cruz Quebral—without whom our institution and, perhaps more importantly, the field of development communication would not have flourished.
#RememberingNCQ #MaramingSalamatNCQ
Memorial website: https://www.forevermissed.com/nora-cruz-quebral/about
Devcom Los Baños Style: http://bit.ly/NCQLegacyLect
The NCQ Factor: http://bit.ly/TheNCQFactor
Source: UPLB Devcom FB Page