MANILA, Philippines -- When an allegedly misbehaving school professor is censured by the academic community and the public, the name of the innocent institution where he was connected suffers in terms of tarnished reputation and integrity.

This is exactly what befell St. Jude Medical Colleges. A professor then was denounced by the school community after one of his students accused him allegedly of posting indecent photos of her in a social networking site.

The damage caused by the incident reeled SJMC administrators, academic faculty, studentry, and alumni, said a statement e-mailed to this columnist.

Apparently, to pre-empt the harsh suspension that higher school administrators would impose on him, the professor reportedly resigned. But not after the reputable medical school was subjected to criticism it did not deserve in the first place.

Almost helpless from the adverse publicity heaped on respected college, its administrators said at the first crack of the incident, St. Jude officials acted quickly to sanction the professor. The professor allegedly immediately resigned after being handed out the preventive suspension.

The school warned its faculty and employees that they would be meted with the same punitive action at the slightest indication of irregularity to ensure the protection of its students.

It also assured the public that the school and its teaching staffers continue to undergo anti-sexual harassment seminars.

To be sure, St. Jude Medical Colleges will suffer some fall-out from the incident, but that is inevitable.

For happenings like these serve to test the resolve of institutions like St. Jude, and it will ultimately be judged on how it dealt with the issue.

School officials are also reportedly mulling a separate complaint against the professor, not so much for besmirching St. Jude’s reputation but more of a sign of support to the complainant.

These quick acts by the school officials serve to assuage concerns of parents and students and reassure them that St. Jude adheres to highest educational and moral standards.

That it will not tolerate erring staff and officials, that the interest of students is of prime importance, with an appeal that it should not be judged by solely this incident, taking into account the school’s rich history and track record.

“St. Jude Medical Colleges, its officials and board of directors, upholds the highest educational standards and remains committed to providing affordable private school education for our students,” it said.

In fact, such incident can happen in all professions and vocations — among government officials, law enforcement authorities, the medical sector, the media and, heck, even the Church and the most conservative religious sects.

These “bad eggs” exist among us, and they spoil the hard work that the “good eggs” have painstakingly labored to improve the image and stature of their ranks.

There is no question that the unfortunate incident is a cause of embarrassment, but it is also an opportunity for St. Jude Colleges to shine, by proving it can rise above this adversity.

It is on the right path.