Danilo L. Concepcion, BS, LLB, LLM

Atty. Danilo Lardizabal Concepcion, Professor and Dean of the College of Law and 21st president of the University of the Philippines, was born on February 7, 1958 in Manila, the fourth of seven children of Raymundo Wilfredo Concepcion and Natalia Santiago Lardizabal. Concepcion graduated valedictorian in 1970 from Bancal Elementary School in Meycauayan, Bulacan, and again in 1974 from the Araneta University Foundation high school, where he excelled as a campus leader, journalist, and editor.

He applied for the full national scholarship offered by the National Science Development Board, taking agricultural engineering at the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation (later renamed De La Salle-Araneta University). He graduated summa cum laude in 1979, topping the board exam that same year.

He continued to work throughout college as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan ng Valenzuela and president of the Kabataang Barangay Federation of Metro Manila from 1976 to 1978, and as an elected member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa representing the Youth Sector from 1978 to 1984.

He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the UP College of Law, graduating cum laude in 1983. Later, he received a grant to study for a year in the UK through the Chevening Scholarship offered by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He earned his Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of London, Queen Mary College in 1986.

He decided to come home and was recruited in 1987 as a regular faculty member of the UP College of Law by then Dean Bartolome S. Carale. There, he met Ms. Gaby Roldan, whom he eventually married in 1992.

In time, he became a member of the Board of Trustees of what was then the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation. He became president of De La Salle-Araneta University from 2000 to 2002, just as his four-year term as an Associate Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission ended. Later, he became a Regent of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, a position he holds to this day.

He briefly served as Vice President for Legal Affairs during UP President Alfredo Pascual’s term before becoming Dean of the UP College of Law in June 2011. He immediately instituted reforms to improve the UP College of Law’s performance in the Bar Exams. He addressed staff issues and raised employee benefits, and built up a fund to support faculty development and student activities. He also improved the College of Law’s physical structures to create an environment more conducive to higher learning.

He assumed the presidency of the University of the Philippines on February 10, 2017. Concepcion sees UP embracing its role as the national university, serving its various constituencies and the Filipino people by producing world-class education, research, and public service—upholding honor and excellence with compassion.