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A
Filipino was among 298 individuals who were formally
awarded their doctoral degrees in a conferment ceremony
at Lund University in Sweden on May 30.
Maximo
Quibranza Mejia Jr. was formally conferred his Ph.D. in
solemn rites celebrated in Latin, following medieval
academic tradition.
Held
only once a year, the ceremony officially bestows the
title of “doctor” to all Ph.D. candidates who
successfully defended their dissertations in the
previous twelve months. Dr. Mejia defended his
dissertation entitled “Law and Ergonomics in Maritime
Security” in public proceedings in the summer of 2007.
Leading
the examination team at Mejia’s public defense was Prof.
Samuel Menefee of the University of Virginia, one of the
world’s foremost academic researchers and authors on the
subject of maritime piracy.
The
other members of the exam team were Prof. Lars-Göran
Malmberg (Lund University), Prof. Inge Svedung (Karlstad
University) and Prof. Clemens Weikert (Lund University).
Lund University is one of Sweden’s most prestigious universities
and Scandinavia’s largest institution for education and
research, frequently ranked among the world’s top 100
universities. The university was established in 1666 but
traces its roots back to a studium generale founded in
1438.
Dr.
Mejia is an assistant professor in maritime law and
policy at the World Maritime University (WMU), where he
has been a member of the resident faculty since 1999.
Before joining WMU, he saw duty onboard various naval
and coast-guard vessels, as well as in shore-based
facilities in the Philippines.
He
served on the Philippine Navy destroyer escort BRP Rajah
Humabon and the Philippine Coast Guard search-and-rescue
vessel BRP Besang Pass. His past assignments with the
Philippine Coast Guard include, inter alia, commanding
officer of Port State Control Office Manila, commander
of Coast Guard Station Iligan, deputy executive director
of the Presidential Task Force on Maritime Development
and assistant chief of staff for Navigational Safety.
Dr.
Mejia received his formal education in three continents.
He attended Don Bosco Technical College in Mandaluyong
for his elementary and high school studies. He was
already in the third year of studies in the LiaCom
program at De La Salle University when he decided to
join the Maringal Class of 1988 at the Philippine
Military Academy.
While a
cadet in Baguio, he received an appointment as a
midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Maryland, where he majored in political
science and minored in Chinese. He went directly to
graduate school, attending the Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy (Tufts University, Massachusetts, the USA)
where he was awarded a Master of Arts in Law and
Diplomacy.
Some
years later, the Philippine Coast Guard sent him to WMU
in Malmö, Sweden, where he earned a Master of Science in
Maritime Safety Administration.
The
Ph.D. from Lund University is his latest academic
achievement. Aside from teaching maritime policy,
maritime law, human factors and security-related courses
at WMU, Asst. Prof. Mejia has led workshops in a number
of different countries.
He is
the editor/co-editor of three books on maritime security
and author/co-author of a number of published articles.
He is assistant editor of the WMU Journal of Maritime
Affairs.
His
father is Col. Maximo A. Mejia PC (GSC) (ret.) of
Concepcion, Tarlac, and the former Thelma Quibranza of
Tubod, Lanao del Norte. Dr. Mejia is married to Mrs.
Rebecca Hayes Mejia of Malmö, Sweden, with whom he has
three children—Jemima, Maxine and Isaac. |
