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XAVIER UNIVERSITY – Beginnings Founded in 1933 as a high school for boys named Ateneo de Cagayan by Jesuit missionary Fr. James T.G. Hayes S.J., Ateneo de Cagayan has grown steadily through the years in program offerings and number of students. Fr. Hayes became the first Bishop and Archbishop of Cagayan. The school had 614 students in Grade School, High School and undergraduate Liberal Arts, Education and Commerce when it was forced to close during World War II. Post-War Reconstruction From the ruins of World War II, postwar reconstruction began immediately under the untiring leadership of Fr. Edward J. Haggerty S.J., Rector, and Fr. Andrew F. Cervini S.J., his successor as Rector, with the assistance of many benefactors from the US and locally. University Status Ateneo de Cagayan became Xavier University in March 1958, the first Jesuit university in the Philippines and also the first university in Mindanao. Fr. Francisco Araneta S.J., Rector when Ateneo de Cagayan became Xavier University, explained that the change of name “merely crystallized an old spirit that always had been the soul of all Ateneos, the spirit of learning and service, the spirit of purposeful scholarship.” Today Xavier University is a dynamic academic institution committed to the integral education and formation of the nation’s youth, Total student enrollment is about 14,000: 2,254 in the Grade School; 1,845 in the High School; 8,805 in undergraduate Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Business and Management, Agriculture, Engineering and Nursing a Center for Industrial Technology; and 1,094 in the Graduate School and professional schools of Law and Medicine. All school units are co-educational.
Campuses The University operates on four campuses: the main campus for tertiary units at Divisoria in the heart of Cagayan de Oro, the Agriculture- support Manresa campus, the High School and Grade School Annex campus at Pueblo de Oro not too far from Manresa and the Grade School campus in Macasandig. Programs and Community Service The University has been closely involved with the life and growth, concerns and problems of Cagayan de Oro City and northern Mindanao. The College of Education has provided training to many teachers and administrators of northern Mindanao schools. The Institute for the Development of Educational Administrators has been training school administrators since 1972 through a master’s program in educational administration. The Research Institute of Mindanao Culture (RIMCU) was established in 1957 for research studies on Mindanao culture, especially from the point of view of population and the social sciences. The Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN), started in 1963 patterned after the Antigonish movement in Nova Scotia, Canada, trains leaders and organizers from various countries in agricultural extension work and the cooperative movement. In 1968 the University inaugurated its Philippine Folk Life Museum and Archives. This has since evolved into the XU Museum, with a building inaugurated by President Corazon C. Aquino in July 1986. Kinaadman, the University journal since 1979, publishes research and scholarly articles, especially centered on Mindanao. In support of growing industrialization of northern Mindanao, the Center for Industrial Technology was founded in 1983 for technician courses in automotive, electrical, electronics. Mechanical and refrigeration and air-conditioning technology. Now it offers computer technology. A Regional Science Teaching Center funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Science and Technology upgrades science and math teachers in elementary and high schools. Academic Excellence XU was among thirty private HEIs granted “full autonomy” in late 2001 for a five-year period by the Commission on Higher Education “for meritorious achievement in higher education in the provision of instruction and in the conduct of research and community services; for high performance of graduates in licensure examinations; and for maintaining a tradition of integrity and an untarnished reputation in the educational field.” XU has PAASCU Level III accreditation for the undergraduate Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Commerce and Accountancy and PAASCU Level II accreditation for Agriculture, Computer Science and Engineering programs, High School and Grade School. The Commission on Higher Education has named XU as a Center of Excellence for Teacher Training and for Sociology-Anthropology (honorific), a Center of Development for Chemistry, Business Education, Medical Education, various Engineering fields (Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical) and a Center of Development for Excellence in Information Technology Education. In the early nineties, with PhNet, Xavier University was the first school in Mindanao connected to the Internet. Governance The University operates as a nonprofit non stock educational institution governed by its own Board of Trustees. Mr. Elpidio M. Paras, Cagayan businessman and entrepreneur, is Chair, with Dr. Walter W. Brown of Manila and Cagayan de Oro, as Vice Chair. Fr. Antonio S. Samson S.J. has been President since June 1993. In June 2005 he will be succeeded by Fr. Jose T. Villarin S.J. as President. Like all other private schools in the Philippines, Xavier University derives its main support for operations from student tuition and fees. Scholarships and grants in aid are available top deserving students. Xavier in the New Millennium A major University planning exercise in preparation for its seventy-fifth year, XU @ 75, sought to renew and strengthen the University for the beginning of the new millennium. As it nears its seventy-fifth year of service in 2008, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan looks forward to stronger academic and community out-reach programs. As a Jesuit school it actively aims to form men and women for others, with due competence, with a Christian conscience and concern for their fellows and their communities, in service of the Church and the Filipino people. Present-day concerns include continuing quality education and the development of basic skills, continuing faculty development for the requisite graduate degrees, the strengthening of XU’s Jesuit character in the face of decreasing and ageing Jesuits, the preservation of the Catholic faith through relevant and effective religious studies programs and its continuing service to the Church, the preservation and proper use of the environment and suittable programs towards sustainable regional and national development. Programs Needing Financial Support The University’s College of Education, despite being named by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center of Excellence for Teacher Training, is a small college, with total enrolment in SY 2004-2005 of 742. The University cannot just compete with government schools offering teacher training at highly subsidized rates (about 1/5 of the $370/semester that XU charges). Of the 742 students, only 88 or 12% are scholars. The University is looking for more funds to take in more scholars and produce more competent teachers for basic education. This will in some way alleviate the problem of lack of competent teachers in the country, a key factor to the deterioration of our educational system. Another program needing support is the Center for Industrial Technology. This is a 3-year technical training, non-degree program. About 95% of the 343 CIT students come from poor families. Thus, the University subsidizes this program, collecting tuition which is equivalent to about 60% of what it charges college students. Still many are unable to pay the equivalent of $ 225 per semester. The University is now in the process of reviewing the viability of continuing this program taking into account the huge subsidy required (about $200,000 per year). It would be a big loss to the community if this program is closed, considering that 90% of its graduates immediately find jobs right after graduation. There are also two areas preferred by poor but deserving students but they cannot go into for lack of funds. These are Computer Science and B.S Accountancy. These are preferred courses as their graduates immediately land jobs. Scholarship funds for poor yet academically qualified students will help the community in general. An Appeal to Benefactors The worldwide economic crisis which started in 1997 has severely affected developing countries like the Philippines. While signs of slow recovery are now appearing, its trickle down effect is not yet felt on the ground as evidenced by the continuing drop in enrolment of the University since school year 2000-2001. This is forcing the University to rethink of its program offerings, especially the subsidized ones. But with the support of kindhearted friends, the University feels it will still be able to pursue its mission. A contribution of $100 a month will already support two college, or three CIT, students per year.
Name of School: XAVIER UNIVERSITY
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© 2003 Philippine Jesuit Foundation |
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