For a Law College that prides itself in being founded by Atty. Elpidio Quirino, who went on to become the sixth president of the country, having one illustrious dean after another is the proper mode of succession.
The newly-appointed dean, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, takes the reins of Adamson University’s College of Law from outgoing dean Atty. Antonio H. Abad, Jr., who has been appointed member of the Legal Education Board.
Dean Austria-Martinez is a product of the UP College of Law and passed the bar in 1962. She holds a Master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines and attended the 31st Program of Instruction for Lawyers at the Harvard Law School. After serving in the Court of Appeals as Division Clerk of Court, Associate Justice and Presiding Justice, she became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2009.
The previous dean, Dean Abad, is an icon in Labor Law and a luminary in legal education who turned the College of Law around by inviting a powerhouse faculty lineup. He thus sustained a steady enrolment of aspiring lawyers and improved the passing rate in bar exams – at par if not above the national passing percentage.
The Adamson community proudly welcomes Dean Austria-Martinez as it gratefully bids farewell to its dearly loved outgoing dean. RDA
