It was immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, by which Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States, that a retired businessman and philanthropist of Cohoes, New York, walked into the Manhattan offi ce of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church and presented a generous and totally unexpected proposal. The man, Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, wanted to establish an industrial school for Filipino boys, and offered the sum of $10,000. Although the board secretary reportedly felt it was too early to think of opening something like a school in that remote part of the globe, the visitor’s interest remained in the Philippines.
To Americans of zealous evangelical Christian sentiments, the relative swiftness with which the Philippines became a U.S. possession in 1898 served as an urgent invitation for them to come in to insure that a religious dimension, quite apart from political and military objectives, should be strongly felt in the administration of the new territory.
Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard, a Presbyterian pastor of Lyndon, Kansas, who sailed with wife, Laura, was commissioned to make the exploratory trip to determine the best location for the third mission station (Manila was their first station; Iloilo, second), as well as for the proposed school. A suggestion offered to him during his stopover in Cebu led him to Dumaguete in nearby Negros Island. Arriving in Dumaguete, he was greeted with the warmth and friendliness of the people. After meeting with the local folks and officials of Dumaguete, he went back to Manila, convinced that he had found the right spot.
On August 28, 1901, Silliman Institute was established. As Dr. Hibbard recalled 50 years later:
“There were 15 boys that first morning. The equipment consisted of four long desks about ten feet long, two tables, and two chairs, a few McGuffey’s Readers, a few geographies, arithmetics and ninth-grade grammars. I was President; Mrs. Hibbard was the faculty.”
As the student population increased, the Institute also struggled to put in place a suitable curriculum. It was in 1910 when Silliman was awarded government recognition and the right to grant a degree. In the same year, it was incorporated under the laws of the Philippines. By Board action in 1912, girls were admitted to the Institute. Silliman won full recognition as a university in 1938.
THE PRESIDENCY
Silliman University’s formative years from 1901 onto 1953 was under American administrations (Dr. Hibbard, 1901-1932; Dr. Roy H. Brown, 1932-1936; and Dr. Arthur L. Carson, 1939-1953). When the United States relinquished control over the Philippines in July 1946, the issue of Filipino leadership of Silliman University became an inevitable question. There was no lack of qualified candidates to the presidency, and nine agreed to be considered for the position.
On August 26, 1952, Dr. Leopoldo T. Ruiz of Banga, Capiz, Silliman alumnus (A.B. ’16) and former instructor (1916-17), was elected by the Trustees as Silliman’s fourth and first Filipino president. His qualifications included graduate studies in sociology at Columbia and Yale, with an M.A. from the former institution, a Ph.D. in sociology and anthropology from the University of Southern California, and long years of experience in higher education and in foreign service. He served the University up to 1961.
The election of Dr. Ruiz paved the way for Silliman to be headed by Filipino presidents from then on: Dr. Cicero D. Calderon (1962-1971), Dr. Quintin S. Doromal (1973-1982), Justice Venancio D. Aldecoa (1983-1986), Dr. Pedro V. Flores (1987-1989), Dr. Angel C. Alcala (1991-1992) and Dr. Mervyn J. Misajon (1994-1996).
From 1996 up to the present, the University continues its service of providing quality Christian education to all under president Agustin A. Pulido, an Outstanding Sillimanian whose leadership and management skills have been tested when he, prior to his position in Silliman, served as president of Central Philippine University for 25 years. Dr. Pulido graduated from the University magna cum laude in Chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Indiana University.
(Source: “Silliman University 1901-1976” by Drs. Edilberto Tiempo, Edith Tiempo and
Valentino Sitoy)
PRESENT TIMES
Welcome to Silliman University in the University Town called Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, a Christian institution of higher learning nestled in a 61-hecatre campus with the sea at its frontage and the majestic Cuernos de Negros mountains in its background.
As Silliman celebrates its 103rd founding anniversary on August 28 under the leadership of president Agustin A. Pulido, it stays committed to its mission of providing Filipinos and students across the globe with quality Christian education that will address the need for a strong human resource base that is spiritually enriched, socially concerned and professionally mature.
Silliman is home to around 7,100 students from around the Philippines and abroad. As a leading university in the South, it prides in its competitive academic programs and facilities complemented by an environmentfriendly ambience and highly qualified full-time faculty and staff numbering 710.
Eleven buildings of the campus are connected by underground fiber optic cable. The University Internet leased line has a bandwidth of 2mbps.
Campus life revolves around the motto Via, Veritas, Vita (the Way, the Truth, the Life). It is Silliman’s mission to develop the whole person within the Christian context and in a sound environment. Students are expected to put their education to work in service to others – a mark that distinguishes Silliman from other institutions of higher learning.
It is the conducive residential campus life that sets Silliman University apart from the other leading universities in the Philippines. The eight regular and six cooperative dormitories provide a home away from home for its students who come from outside Dumaguete.
In the dormitories, students belong to a “family”, a part of the bigger Silliman community, where spiritual nourishment is given importance. Corollary to this sense of community is
the “Silliman Spirit” – an atmosphere of personal closeness, warmth, friendship and concern that can only be found in a Christian institution that aims for the holistic development of the person.
LIVING UP TO
ACADEMIC STANDARDS
The University holds the distinction as one of the 30 private higher education institutions all over the Philippines that have been granted autonomy by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This, Silliman received for having established Centers of Excellence and Development, for the outstanding overall performance of its graduates in Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) licensure examinations, and for its “long tradition of integrity and untarnished reputation.” CHED has designated Silliman as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education and in Teacher Education, and a CHED Center of Development in Physics, Biology, Marine Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, and Business and Management Education.
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The new P36-million College of Business
Administration building | |
With outstanding works in marine conservation, Silliman is also a Center of Excellence in Coastal Resource Management with support from the United States Agency for International Development. The world-renowned Silliman University Marine Laboratory has established successful community-based coastal resource management programs in island communities that have encouraged local fi shermen to protect their marine resources. The University is also a CHED Zonal Research Center in Region 7.
Twenty-one of Silliman’s degree programs are duly accredited by the Association of Christian Schools and Colleges-Accrediting Agency, Inc. (ACSC-AAI), and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU).
Accredited Level III by the ACSC-AAI are the Nursing Program, College of Business Administration, and the High School Program. PAASCU granted Level III status to the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and the College of Nursing.
The educational system in the University is maintained by its 12 colleges and schools: College of Agriculture, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business Administration, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Information Technology and Computer Sciences, College of Performing Arts, College of Law, College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, School of Basic Education, School of Communication and the Divinity School.
EXPANDING SILLIMAN’S
FRONTIERS
To promote sharing of expertise and resources toward global development, Silliman maintains academic networks and partnerships with universities and institutions in the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and the United States, among others. The linkages that Silliman fosters with these academic institutions aim to elevate the level of evaluation, instruction and research through exchanges in faculty and students and through sharing of materials and resources.
Blessed with the generosity of benefactors and organizations, Silliman shares with the wider community its rich facilities and resources. The Main Library, considered to be one of the biggest in the country, opens its doors to the public, with the addition of the World Bank Knowledge for Development Center, the American Studies Resource Center, and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation Satellite Educational Advising Center. On the groundfloor, students can use the CyberLibrary where there are 80 Internet-ready terminals.
In education, Silliman endeavors to share its programs with other academic institutions. Through the aid of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, Silliman provides faculty members of small colleges in the country opportunities to pursue graduate studies in the University.
Silliman is also a “delivering” and “sending” institution of the CHED Faculty Development Program. As a “delivering” institution, it has developed non-thesis master’s programs in Teaching Biology, History, Psychology, English (TESOL) and Anthropology for recipients of CHED scholarships who come from other schools. As a “sending” institution, the University’s faculty members can take up graduate studies in other CHED delivering institutions.
In outreach, the Silliman University Extension Program (SUEP) helps communities in the hinterland areas in the Island of Negros establish sustainable livelihood programs. The SUEP is a partner of the Department of Energy and the Belgian and German agencies in its projects in nonconventional energy, agro-forestry, and child education, health and nutrition.
Research is also valued in the University. The Marine Laboratory, headed by Dr. Hilconida P. Calumpong, and the Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, headed by Director for Research and Development Dr. Angel A. Alcala, himself a former Environment Secretary, CHED Chairman, and Silliman president, continuously embark on research towards conservation, sustainable production and community mobilization. Another research arm of the University is the Silliman University Center for Tropical Conservation Studies, which specializes in captive breeding of endemic and endangered species of deer, the Visayan warty pig, and fruit bats.
THE FUTURE
As nurses go abroad and as doctors take up nursing, Silliman believes that there is a need to establish a School of Medicine with a strong Christian orientation. Its application papers for the proposed School of Medicine are now with the CHED. The University believes that despite the trend of Filipino doctors taking up nursing to qualify for jobs abroad, Silliman can still make a difference in the country by producing medical practitioners who are strongly grounded on their Christian faith and dedicated to service to the Filipinos.
The plan for a School of Medicine complements Silliman’s recognized quality pre-medical courses and the availability of excellent medical facilities, especially at the Silliman Medical Center.
