Nora Cruz Quebral is a pioneer in the discipline of development communication in Asia and is often referred to as the "mother of development communication", giving birth to an academic discipline and training many scholars in that field. Among her students were internationally known devcom educators and practitioners such as Felix Librero, Pedro Bueno, Antonio Moran, Alexander Flor, Rex Navaro and Maria Celeste Cadiz. Her landmark 1971 paper entitled "Development Communication in the Agricultural Context" and her leadership of what was then the UP College of Agriculture's Department of Agricultural Communication, paved the way for academic programs in development communication at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). That institution later became the UPLB College of Development Communication (CDC), where Quebral still serves as Professor Emeritus.