The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) expressed its strong commitment by allocating US$3-million total fund to rehabilitate the Visayas State University-Tolosa Campus that was totally wrecked by the super typhoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013. This development surfaced after a KOICA Team visited Tacloban City a day after the typhoon, and two weeks later a six-member KOICA Team visited the area where some Korean volunteers were deployed which include the VSU-Tolosa Campus where Miss Juhee (Olive) Kim serves as KOICA Volunteer.

Dr. Othello B. Capuno, VSU’s Vice President for Research and Extension, together with Dr. Suzette B. Lina, a soil science faculty of the Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, participated in the Scientific Visit and Planning Workshop on Yamang Lupa Program (YLP) for Samar. Organized by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the activity was conducted on February 12-22, 2014 at the ICRISAT Headquarters in Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Sinulog Foundation, Inc. (SFI) through its Executive Director, Mr. Ricky R. Ballesteros, and the Cebu City Government invited the Visayas State University (VSU) to join in the Sinulog Launching on January 10, 2014. Considering that the junior Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education MAPEH major students usually conduct an educational tour in Cebu as part of their curriculum on festival management, the occasion was an opportunity for the MAPEH majors to have an actual experience dancing the Sinulog along the busy streets of the downtown area of Cebu City and at the same time to observe how the festival is being managed.

A total of twenty-seven third year and fourth year college students of the VSU System have availed of the Bright Future Scholarship Program for Typhoon Yolanda affected students initiated by the International Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (IPI) Foundation in collaboration with the Visayas State University.

The VSU Choral Ensemble members, together with the five IRRI-Landbank scholars at VSU, under the baton of Mr. Jesus Freddy M. Baldos, entertained the super typhoon ‘Yolanda” victims as they sang Christmas songs during the launching of the Mobile Cash Transfer System on December 23, 2013 at the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)–Tacloban.

Miss Eula Dee A. Lañada, 2013 VSU graduate of BS in Development Communication major in Development Journalism, won the Best Undergraduate Research Paper Award during the 3^rd National Communication Research Conference (NCRC) held on February 6-8, 2014 at the College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.

The destruction caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda did not hinder VSU community to celebrate annually the advent season. Though the celebration this year was quite different from the previous years wherein there were fireworks displays, the occasion salvoed with a thanksgiving mass officiated by Rev. Fr. Brian C. Flandez, Co-Pastor of the Holy Spirit Parish, and a candle lighting ceremony on December 17, 2013.