History of Silliman University Throughout The Years Since 1901

 

THE HISTORY OF SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY

Gathered by: Natalya Eleni M. Songcal Course: BM-Composition-1 GE2 WF 10:00-11:30AM

In 1899, Dr. Silliman appeared at the office of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions with the conviction that the Filipino people would need a new kind of education. To support this, he contributed the initial sum of $10,000 toward the founding of o f an industrial school. Legend has it that the Board Secretary was surprised and explained that the Board had only begun to consider a mission in the Philippine islands. At that time, news was fresh on the naval victory victor y of Admiral Dewey over the Span Spanish ish fleet in Manila Bay. The Board Secretary thought it would be too early for a school. But he persisted. In August 28, 1901 Silliman Institute ( now known as Silliman University) was founded with the successful efforts of Dr. Horace B. Silliman, Silliman, thus making it the first Protestant school founded in the Philippines and an d the oldest American University in Asia. It began as an elementary school composed of only 15 all male students and having only the very ver y basic amenities- several desks, a couple o off tables and two chairs. Enrollment in the university grew gradually to include students from Asian countries. The year 1912 marked the admission into the university of the first female student, Pura Blanco. The student population steadily increased as th thee years went on and in the year 1938, Silliman officially became a university. When World War 2 came to the Phillipines, Japanese troups turned the university into a garrison. At the height of the war, Silliman faculty members and students evacuated evacu ated to four localities in Negros Oriental, and continued rendering professional services whenever there was an opportunity. This led to the establishment of the "jungle university" in the mountain of Malabo -- the first community school in the Philippines. Some of the evacuees hid equipment and kept up u p university operations in the mountains of Ne Negros gros Oriental. And in 1945, American and Filipino forces liberated the university from Japanese occupation. However, in 1972, when martial law was declared, Silliman was one of th thee first two universities closed. It was also one of the last universities allowed to resume operations after the closure. closu re. Despite the threat to life and democracy, martial law did not, however, stop students from gathering and keeping their patriotism aflame. At the basement of the Silliman University Church, in a room named the Catacombs, the 'secret' campus rendezvous of students continued. 1|Page  

 

THE HISTORY OF SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY

Though developments on campus were interrupted by two significant events in Philippine history: World War II and martial law. Silliman braved these historic historic events and left dents on the pages of Philippine history. The rich contribution of Silliman to Philippine history has earned it the distinction of National Landmark from the  National Historical Institute Institute on June 19, 2002. Growth of Silliman in the early period was greatly attributable to the support of the local community. Local families shared in the vision of Dr. Silliman and believed in the educational pursuits of Dr. and Mrs. Hibbard, and accordingly offered their properties through sale and donation to expand the campus. Later developments were characterized by more infrastructure development and initiation of student activities, ranging from  journalism, public speaking, performing arts, and athletics. Silliman continues to be nurtured under administrations admin istrations headed by presidents of character and tested credentials. The incumbent President, its twelfth, is Dr. Ben S. S . Malayang III, an expert in environmental env ironmental policy and governance. A Silliman alumnus, he holds two Master of Arts degrees from the Ohio University: one in International Affairs (Southeast Asia Studies; Major in Economics, Minor in Political Science and Philosophy); and a Doctor of Philosophy in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Three American presidents and eight Filipino presidents have previously p reviously served as elected Silliman  presidents: Dr. David Hibbard (1901-1930), Dr. Roy Brown (1932-1936), Dr. Arthur Carson (1939-1953); Dr. Leopoldo Ruiz (1953-1961); Dr. Cicero Calderon (1962-1971); Dr. Quintin Doromal (1973-1982); Justice Venacio Aldecoa (1983-1986); Dr. Pedro Flores (1987-1989); Dr. Angel Alcala (1991-1992); Dr. Mervyn Merv yn Misajon (1994-1996); and Dr. Agustin Pulido (1996-2006). In a 2007 report released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Silliman University was ranked 4th in the th e country, following three schools of the University of the Philippines (UP) namely, UP-Diliman, UP-Los Baños, and UP-Manila, which ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. The survey was based on average passing rates in Board examinations from 1991 to 2001 in all courses of all universities and colleges in the Philippines. The study is conducted every ev ery ten years. 2|Page  

 

HISTORY OF SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY THROUGHOUT THE YEARS SINCE 1901

In other board or licensure examination-related reports released by the CHED in the year 2009, Silliman was ranked 1st in the country in the field of Nursing Education and 2nd in the fields of Accountancy and Mechanical Engineering. Internationally, Silliman is ranked among the top 150 universities un iversities in Asia based on International Students' Review by the QS Quacquarelli Quacq uarelli Symonds, an institution that ranks the world's top universities. un iversities. All of the country's top universities would boast of offering quality education. Silliman is no different. But while it joins the ranks of prestigious Philippine universities, it is humbled by a gift of o f a location that bespeaks of the natural environment's complement to academic acade mic learning -- one feature that sets Silliman apart from the rest.

REFERENCES

Dumaguete Info Net Service, 2019. Retrieved from  from https://dumaguete.com/silliman-university-dumaguete/ https://dumaguete.com/silliman-university-dumaguete/   Dumaguete Info Net Service, 2019. Retrieved from  from https://dumagueteinfo.com/dumaguete-city/sillimanuniversity/   university/ Silliman University, 2019. Retrieved from  from  http://archive.su.edu.ph/page/10-history  http://archive.su.edu.ph/page/10-history  Silliman University, 2019. Retrieved from  from  https://su.edu.ph/2034-commencement-address/  https://su.edu.ph/2034-commencement-address/  on 15 June Wikipedia Official Website. 2019.  2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_University  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_University Last Edited on  2019   2019

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