UP Asian Center and TriCollege alumni, Associate Professor Dr. Noel Christian A. Moratilla has been appointed Dean of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman for a term of three years from 29 October 2024 to 29 October 2027.

His appointment came through a Special Meeting held by the Board of Regents, the highest governing body of the university, on 29 October 2024, and was announced through the Notice of Resolutions of the Board of Regents at its 1394th Meeting.

Noel Christian A. Moratilla, Ph.D. serves as an Associate Professor of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines-Diliman. Endearingly called by his students as “Sir Noel,” he teaches courses on Philippine Studies such as, Theories and Perspectives in Philippine Studies (PS 202), Filipino Identities (PS 212), Seminar: Philippine Society and Culture (PS 219), Perspectives in Philippine Studies (PS 301).

Before his appointment as Dean, he served as the Deputy Director of the UP System Office of International Linkages. He also served as AC Coordinator of the TriCollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program Council. He earned his Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from UP Diliman where he also obtained his MA in Language Education. He took his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 1999.

Dr. Moratilla specializes in resistance literature and Marxist studies, critical pedagogy,  testimonial writings, diaspora, and postcolonial theories. He has been actively publishing his works in various local and international journals. His latest publication is a journal article in the Social Science Forum, “Fugitive Witnessing: Stories of Indonesian Migrant Workers" and a book chapter, “Talakayang Panel Hinggil sa Philippine Studies ng mga Akademikong Institusyon" in Hugpungan: Katutubong Kaalaman at Interdisiplinaridad sa Panahon ng Krisis published by the PUP Center for Philippine Studies. View his other publications. 

Dr. Moratilla succeeds Dr. Henelito A. Sevilla Jr., who served from 2021 to 2024. As the new dean, he will also serve as a council member of the TriCollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program, alongside the deans of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and the College of Arts and Letters. A new set of College Executive Board will also support his term as dean. 

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The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.