• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Olivia Villaflores Yanson, matriarch of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies, will be conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management (Honoris Causa) by the University of Negros Occidental –Recoletos on August 30 in Bacolod City.
Yanson, known as OVY, is known for being an entrepreneur and a philanthropist.
The conferment of the degree to Yanson will be led by UNO-R president Fr. Joel Alve, with the hooding and capping ceremony to be officiated by Fr. Romeo Ben Pontencio Jr, to be assisted by Dr. Dennis Madrigal, Dean of Recoletos de Bacolod Graduate School.
Fr. Amadeo Lucero will award the medallion and diploma, while Dr. Angelus Diamante will induct Yanson to the Blue and Gold Alumni.
Prior to her scheduled conferment of honorary doctorate, Yanson has received numerous recognitions from various institutions for her accomplishments, charity, and socio civic works.
She was a recipient of the 2001 First Hamiling Bayawanon Award in the field of business and entrepreneurship, 2006 Oriental Negrense Award for outstanding achievement in social entrepreneurship, the 2007 Signum Lasallianum (Award of Excellence), 2007 Go Negosyo Outstanding Negrense in the field of Entrepreneurship, Most Outstanding Silimanian Award in the field Entrepreneurship, the Order of Horace B. Silliman Award, the 2007 Banwahanon Award as Outstanding Entreprenuer (Bacolod City), the 2008 Making a Difference for Women Award (Soroptimist International of Bacolod), the 2008 La Gran Dama de Negros ( The Negrense Heritage Society), The Outstanding Bayawanon award, and the 2018 Outstanding Negrense Award for Humanitarian Work.
Yanson also founded the OVY Educational and Health Care Foundation, Inc. to extend educational and health assistance to the underprivileged.
As an environmentalist, Yanson also reforested more than 750 hectares of denuded land in cities of Basay and Bayawan in Negros Oriental, and Talisay City in Negros Occidental.
Yanson is also a benefactor of several orphanages in Negros.*
