"Nora Cruz Quebral's passing on 24 October 2020 came at the heels of a mild frenzy when a Philippine senator said that the discipline attributed to her is “cute and archaic" (Nakpil, 2020 para. 1). This prompted various higher education institutions (HEIs), particularly the University of the Phili ... ppines Los Baños (UPLB) College of Development Communication (CDC), to issue statements that it is alive, thriving, and relevant (Magsambol, 2020). The UPLB CDC statement stressed that development communication (devcom) remains important for three reasons: “First, devcom has a long and established history, which is recognized by thought leaders around the world. Second, devcom is a vibrant academic program being offered by numerous local and international academic institutions. And third, driving positive social change through communication has always been at the heart of devcom. For as long as there are social issues to be addressed, devcom will remain ever relevant" (UPLB Devcom, 2020, para. 2). Quebral, or simply NCQ to her colleagues and students, is recognized for founding the discipline of devcom. In 1971, she delivered the paper “Development Communication in the Agricultural Context" (Quebral, 2006) to honor the outgoing dean of the UPLB College of Agriculture, Dioscoro L. Umali. She coined development communication to mean “the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfilment of the human potential" (Quebral, 2006, page 101). At this time Quebral was chair of the UPLB Department of Agricultural Communication. In 1973, the department was renamed Department of Development Communication and the degree Bachelor of Science in Development Communication was approved to be offered." more

"This article gives a critical review of the evolution of the concept ''development communication'' in the 1970s under the influence of professor nora quebral. As part of this retrospective, we also reprint the original 1971 article ''development communication in the agricultural context'' by nora q ... uebral, with a new foreword by her." (Editor's note) more