University of San Agustin

The University of San Agustin, also known as San Agustin or San Ag, is a private Roman Catholic institution in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is operated by the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines, belonging to the Order of Saint Augustine. Founded in July 1904, it started as a school for boys with 40 students. In 1917, it became Colegio de San Agustin and later achieved university status in March 1953, becoming the first university in Western Visayas and the first Augustinian university in the Asia-Pacific region.University of San Agustin Historical Milestones Retrieved 10/13/13

The University of San Agustin offers a wide range of academic programs, starting from Basic Education up to post-graduate studies. These programs cover various fields such as Law, Business, Education, Computer Studies, Arts and Sciences, Performing Arts, Music, Engineering, Medical Technology, Nursing, and Pharmacy.USA Academic Programs. Retrieved 10-13-13 In 2013, the university celebrated its 60th year as an institution of higher learning.University of San Agustin, oldest university in Western Visayas, promotes cultural heritage. Retrieved 10-13-13 It is recognized as a Center of Development in Teacher Education by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

History

Founding

The Spanish Augustinians were the first Christian missionaries of any religious order to enter the Philippines and begin its conversion to Catholicism. Later after the revolution, Spanish Augustinian friars were removed from 194 parishes and left the Philippines in 1899, eventually turning over their churches and mission stations to secular clergy. The Order retained only a few parishes, including their main foundations in Cebu, Manila, and Iloilo, with American friars taking over them.

On 15 July 1904, American members of the order along with Filipino friars belonging to the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines, founded the university and established it with assistance from their confreres from the Augustinian U.S. Province of St. Thomas of Villanova. It began as a preparatory school for boys during the American colonial period. On 12 December 1912, it was granted government recognition for its various course offerings. Later on 5 February 1917, it was formally incorporated under the name Colegio de San Agustín de Iloilo. In 1928, one of the country's oldest campus publications, The Augustinian Mirror, was established, producing some of the country's well-known writers. The 1930s saw rapid growth with the opening of three colleges in quick succession: College of Liberal Arts in 1935, College of Commerce in 1936 and College of Law in 1937. In 1940, the college began admitting female students.

During the Second World War (1941–45), the college was temporarily closed as the Philippines fought a guerrilla war against the Japanese. The war led to the destruction of all the buildings, except for Urdaneta Hall, which at present houses the university theatre and the College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology. With almost the entire college in ruins, some friars advocated closing the school altogether while others pushed for its immediate rehabilitation. American Augustinians came on loan after the War to help the Order run the University of San Agustin for a couple of years while young friars from Spain of the Philippine Province were studying their master's degrees and learning English in the United States or Australia.

It was eventually reopened in 1945, followed by a decade of expansion that ushered in both the College of Pharmacy and the College of Technology (1945), the Normal (Teacher's) College (1947), the Graduate School (1950), and the College of Dentistry (1953). The school was granted university status on 1 March 1953, a year before its 50th anniversary, making it the first university in Western Visayas.

The following year, the Rev. Angel Dulanto, OSA arrived from Spain after completing his studies at Villanova University, an American sister school of San Agustin. As an impresario, he introduced the yearly velada, characterized by a weeklong festivity of artistic, religious, and cultural events. A zarzuela, staged by both professors and students, is the centerpiece of University Week from 14 to 20 February.

In 1965, the Rev. Nicanor Lana, OSA became rector of the university. His term was marked by vast improvements in the school's infrastructure. The same year he started his term as rector, he inaugurated DySA, the official radio station of the university, to help expand the reach of the university through mass media. The University of San Agustín Press, known today as Libro Agustino, came a year later. In the months leading to the centenary of San Agustín in 2004, it began publishing book titles by Augustinian authors, with an eye at producing a total of 100 different volumes over several years.

Poor enrollment forced the administrators to phase out the College of Dentistry in 1967. But a flowering of cultural and artistic activities on campus led to the founding of the famous Kawilihan-USA Dance Troupe, the USA Troubadours, and the Conservatory of Music. The Rev. Santiago Ezcurra, OSA, a Spanish musician who studied music in Rome, was formally installed as its first dean. In 1969 the USA Clinical Laboratory was opened, followed a few years later by the introduction of the College of Nursing in 1974. In 2010, the university announced the establishment of a new extension campus in Mati, Davao Oriental, Philippines.

1984 to present

The university maintains a Level III accreditation status granted by the PAASCU and is one of the two schools in the region having an autonomous status granted by CHED in early 2000. The university's campus, situated in the very heart of the city on General Luna Street, has a modern gymnasium, an auditorium, various conferences and seminar rooms, science, computer and speech laboratories, a museum, a bookstore, a library, an instructional media center, an Olympic size swimming pool and tennis and badminton courts.

In 1984 the all-Filipino Augustinian Province of Santo Niño of Cebu was formed, separating from the mother Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines based in Madrid, and ownership of the university was handed over to the latest circumscription of the Augustinian Order. A succession of rectors were appointed, including Bernardino Ricafrente, Eusebio Berdon, Mamerto Alfeche, and Rodolfo Arreza. During Arreza's term, he pursued linkages with various universities abroad and focused on research development.

San Agustín promotes literature in the region through the Fray Luis de Léon Creative Writing Institute, sponsor of the annual national writers workshop of the same name. The workshop awards a number of writing fellowships to writers in English, Hiligaynon, and other Philippine languages. Its official student publication, The Augustinian Mirror, has won various journalism awards and has produced some of the Philippines' highly respected literary minds, notably Augustinian poet Gilbert Luis R. Centina III, OSA.

Recent developments in 1980s to early 2000s of the university include the establishment of various research and communication centers, namely: The Institute for Augustinian Studies, Villanova Institute for Social Science Research and Cultural Studies, Mendel Institute for Natural Science and Technology Research, and Institute for Social Development Issues and Initiatives.

Over the years, school enrollment has increased, resulting in the decision to move the high school department to a new campus in the suburbs of Sambag, Jaro in June 1995.

In contrast to the Philippine government's implementation of the K+12 basic education program, which adds an additional two years of senior high education after a student graduates from high school, the university has reorganized and merged its tertiary schools and colleges. The College of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology merged to become the College of Health and Allied Medical Professions (CHAMP). The College of Architecture and Design and the College of Engineering merged to form the College of Technology (COT). The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education merged into the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Education (CLASE). Meanwhile, the College of Law maintained its structure, and the College of Business Administration and Accountancy was renamed the College of Commerce.

University Rectors and Presidents +No.NameTerm1st RectorFr. Bernabe Jiménez, OSA1904 - 19142nd RectorFr. Nicolas Merino, OSA1914 - 19223rd RectorFr. Mariano Cil, OSA1922 - 19264th RectorFr. Francisco Alvarado, OSA1926 - 19295th RectorFr. Vidal Yraeta, OSA1929 - 19356th RectorFr. Melecio Polo, OSA1935 - 19397th Rector Fr. Dolse García, OSA1939 -1946; 1949 - 19548th RectorFr. Mariano Sapiña, OSA1946 - 19499th RectorFr. Isaac Insunza, OSA1954 - 195910th RectorFr. Bienvenido Junquera, OSA1959 - 196411th RectorFr. Nicanor Lana, OSA1964 - 1967; 1967 - 197012th RectorFr. Luis Merino, OSA1970 - 197113th RectorFr. Juan Manuel Chaguaceda, OSA1971 - 197414th RectorFr. Ambrosio Galindez, OSA1974 - 197915th RectorFr. Eduardo Pérez, OSA1979 - 19821st PresidentFr. Bernardino Ricarfente, OSA1982 - 1986; 1986 - 19882nd PresidentFr. Mamerto Alfeche, OSA1988 - 19923rd PresidentFr. Eusebio Berdon, OSA1992 - 19964th PresidentFr. Mamerto Alfeche, OSA1996 - 20005th PresidentFr. Rodolfo Arreza, OSA2000 - 20026th PresidentFr. Manuel Vergara, OSA2002 - 20087th PresidentFr. Raul Marchan, OSA2008 - 20128th PresidentFr. Frederick Comendador, OSA2012 - 20249th PresidentFr. Arnel Dizon, OSA2024 - present

Research and extension Concurrent to the academic undertakings of the faculty and students, as a small-size research university, the University of San Agustin has adequate research centers each with their own focus of scientific and fields of studies. Several of such said centers were established in consortium with Philippine government agencies like the Department of Science and Technology (Philippines).

USA Institute for Augustinian Studies USA Villanova Institute for Social Science Research and Cultural Studies USA Mendel Institute for Natural Science and Technology Research USA Institute for Social Development Issues and Initiatives USA Center for Informatics (CFI) Center for Advance New Materials Engineering and Emerging Technologies (CANMEET) USA Center for Heritage and Indigenous Cultures (CHIC) USA Center for Chemical Biology and Biotechnology (C2B2) USA Center for Natural Drug Discovery and Development (CND3) USA DOST-PCHRD Tuklas Lunas National Magnetic Resonance Laboratory Visayas USA Mass Spectrometry Imaging Laboratory

Cultures and traditions

Patron Saint

The university is named in honor of fourth century saint Augustine of Hippo, a key figure in the doctrinal development of Western Christianity and a Doctor of the Church. Two of his surviving works, "The Confessions" (his autobiography) and "The City of God," are regarded as Western classics. Augustine is often considered to be one of the theological fountainheads of the Reformation because of his teaching on salvation and grace. Martin Luther, perhaps the greatest figure of the Reformation, was himself an Augustinian friar.

Other English speaking Augustinian Schools with the same patron saint include Colegio San Agustin-Makati, Colegio del Santo Niño (Cebu), Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, Colegio San Agustin-Biñan, St. Augustine's College, Brookvale in Sydney, Australia, St. Augustine College Preparatory School, Richland, New Jersey; St. Augustine High School, San Diego, California; and Agustin Preparatory School in Reading, Massachusetts – all three in the United States; and St Augustine College in Malta.

University seal Symbols and meanings in the University of San Agustin's seal: The Eagle represents the lofty intellect of St. Augustine as the soaring "Eagle of Hippo."