Nora C. Quebral
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nora Cruz Quebral was a pioneer in the discipline of development communication in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and is often referred to as the "mother of development communication", giving birth to an academic discipline and training many scholars in that field. Among her students were internationally known devcom educators and practitioners such a
Felix Librero
Pedro Bueno
Antonio Moran
Alexander Flor
Rex Navaro
an

Her landmark 1971 paper entitled ''Development Communication in the Agricultural Context'' and her leadership of what was then the UP College of Agriculture's Department of Agricultural Communication, paved the way for academic programs in development communication at the
University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay ...
(UPLB). That institution later became the UPLB College of Development Communication (CDC), where Quebral served as Professor
Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
. In three separate terms spanning 17 years, from 1966 to 1985, Quebral served as the chairperson of the various earlier incarnations of what later became the CDC, where her colleagues referred to her by her initials, "NCQ". She also served as a
consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...
and founded the Nora C. Quebral Development Communication Centre, Inc., which conducts development communication projects in health, the environment, and agriculture. She received the first Hildegard Award for Women in Media and Communication in 2007.


Development communication

The former dean of the UPLB College of Development Communication, noted that: Quebral has, time and again, redefined development communication over the years, rethinking its basic tenets and reorienting her definition to fit the evolving challenge of development. These revisions to her definition of the field have served as guides towards new directions for the numerous scholars and practitioners of the field. While she first gave a definition for the development communication in 1971, her latest revision, presented in 2001, delineates the field as:


Educational background

Quebral graduated
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
with a BA in English from the
University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...
in 1950. She then earned her MS in agricultural journalism at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
as US International Cooperation Agency and Philippine National Economic Council scholar in 1956-57, and then received her
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in communication at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...
as
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
scholar in 1963-66.


Early career

While a student, Quebral worked as
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
at the Claims Service of the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. When she graduated in 1950, she served as a debate stenographer of the Labor Management Advisory Board. In 1952, she became a
copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...
of the journal Philippine Agriculturist, starting her career in what was then the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA), now the University of the Philippines Los Baños. In October 1954 UPCA, then 45 years old, instituted the Office of Extension and Publications (UPCA-OEP) with Quebral was one of its three Filipino staff members, adding an extension component to its mission, in addition to instruction and research. This office became an academic department in 1960, founding Quebral's career as a faculty member.


Pioneering the field of development communication

In 1971, she delivered her paper ''Development Communication in the Agricultural Context'' at a UPCA symposium in honor of its outgoing dean, Dioscoro L. Umali. Drawing from the works of Alan Chalkley,
Wilbur Schramm Wilbur Lang Schramm (August 5, 1907 – December 27, 1987) was a scholar and "authority on mass communications". He founded the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1935 and served as its first director until 1941. Schramm was hugely influential in establish ...
, and
Daniel Lerner Daniel Lerner (1917 - 1980) was an American scholar and writer known for his studies on modernization theory. Lerner's study of Balgat Turkey played a critical role in shaping American ideas about the use of mass media and US cultural products to p ...
, among others, she coined a definition of the field outlining its basic theory and practice. In that paper she noted that: The UP College of Agriculture was declared an autonomous unit of the University of the Philippines system the following year, 1972, and was reborn as the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Quebral's department was renamed the Department of Development Communication the following year, 1973, and opened the Master of Science in development communication program — the Philippines' first academic degree program in Communication. The next year, UPLB's university council approved the
bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...
program in development communication. When the PhD program in development communication received approval in 1976, the DDC became the first in the world to offer degree courses in development communication at the undergraduate, masters, and doctorate levels. She also founded a development communication program in
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born ...
in the late 60's.


Retirement

The DDC was elevated into the Institute of Development Communication in 1987, and Quebral took an early retirement the following year, after 28 years in the academe. She set up the Nora C. Quebral Development Communication Center, Inc. (NCQDCCI) and focused on professional practice and research. She was later named Professor Emeritus at UPLB CDC, where she consulted with experts and scholars in development communication. She was awarded an LSE honorary doctorate in 2011. In 2013, she was given the UP Alumni Association’s Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award.


See also

* Development communication


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quebral, Nora 1926 births 2020 deaths Academic staff of the University of the Philippines University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Filipino women academics Filipino media scholars University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni