New CHED Chairperson is from Aparri, Cagayan

Cagayan, Philippines – One of the government agencies that recently had a change in leadership is the Commission on Higher Education ,with the appointment of Dr. Shirley Agrupis as its new Chairperson.

Agrupis’ designation came after President Ferdinand Marcos accepted the courtesy resignation of Dr. Prospero De Vera III, who had been the CHED Chairperson for the past 7 years. 

The newly assigned cabinet member to lead the higher education institutions in the country hails from Aparri, Cagayan. She finished elementary at the Bangag Elementary School in 1977 as the Class Valedictorian and completed high school at the Bukig National Agricultural and Technical School, again, as the Valedictorian.

It was in college when Agrupis left her hometown to pursue her biology degree, then later her Master’s degree in Plant Morpho-Anatomy and Physiology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She also went to get her Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences at the Shizuoka University in Japan.

Described to be a seasoned and published academician, researcher, and public servant, Agrupis became the 7th University President of the Mariano Marcos State University, one of the leading institutions in the Philippines, before she was appointed as CHED Commissioner on September 6, 2024.

Being one of the four commissioners, she is responsible for 22 state universities and colleges across Northern Luzon, Central and Eastern Visayas, Central and Southern Mindanao, CARAGA, and the BARMM.

Agrupis took the highest post of CHED after she was named by President Marcos last week of May 2025 as the Chairperson.