By Dr. Cristina G. Gallato, CPA
Dean, School of Business

As an offshoot of the International Conference on Management Education and Practice (ICMEP 2009) which was organized and conducted by Saint Mary’s University Graduate Programs in Business in collaboration with the Commission on Higher Education-RO 02 and the Council of Deans and Educators in Business – RO 01, 02, 03 and CAR on February 20-22, 2009, SMU organized the International Association of Management Educators, Researchers and Practitioners (IAMERP). The organizational meeting was held at SMU on March 20, 2009 with the following officers:

President	Dr. Cristina G. Gallato	Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
VP Internal	Dr. Reynaldo Bautista	Saint Louis University, Baguio City
VP External	Dr. Andres T. Malinnag	University of Northern Philippines-Vigan City
Secretary	Mrs. Caroline M. Acosta	Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
Treasurer	Dr. Leopoldo Valdez	Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
Auditor	Ms. Jocelyn Carag	Saint Paul University Philippines
PIO	Dr. Lolita Sicat Dr. Marita Sanchez	Tarlac State University Cagayan Valley Computing and Information Technology College
Business Managers	Dr. Peter Paul Cagatao Dr. Rosario C. Garcia Dr. Venus Bunagan Mr. Don Vito Valle	University of La Salette, Santiago City Saint Louis College, San Fernando City, La Union University of St. Louis, Tuguegarao City DLSU-Lipa City

The registration of the association with SEC is still in process.

The association’s second meeting was held at the University of Northern Philippines (UNP), Vigan City on May 23, 2009. Rev. Manuel D. Valencia, CICM, president of SMU and Dr. Lauro Tacbas, president of UNP Vigan were present in the said meeting.

The third meeting of the association was conducted at Saint Louis University (SLU), Baguio City on August 15, 2009. Among the discussion highlights were the forthcoming 2nd Northern Luzon Business Research Forum to be held at SLU on November 29, 2009, and the 2nd ICMEP 2010 which shall be held in Kao Hsiung City, Taiwan on February 19-21, 2010.

The theme of the 2nd Northern Luzon Business Research Forum is “Bridging HEIs through Research, Business Education and Practice,” while the theme of the international conference is “Crossing Boundaries . . . Exploring New Horizons through Business Education, Research and Practice.” Since the 2nd Northern Luzon Business Research Forum is the jumpstart of ICMEP 2010, both shall cover the following tracks: 1) Business Practices, 2) Management of Technologies, 3) Corporate Social Responsibility, and 4) Management and Business Education.