Silliman University Junior High School Study Guide on Silliman History PDF

JUNIOR CAMPUS AMBASSADORS SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDY GUIDE ON SILLIMAN HISTORY Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete, Philippines. Establish...

JUNIOR CAMPUS AMBASSADORS SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDY GUIDE ON SILLIMAN HISTORY Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete, Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is the first American and Protestant-founded institution of higher learning in the Philippines. The university was named after Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, a former businessman and philanthropist from Cohoes, New York who provided the initial sum of $10,000 for the establishment of the school. Starting as an elementary school for boys, the school expanded to become a college in 1910, acquiring university status in 1938. Silliman University was run and operated by Americans during the first half of the 20th century. After the Second World War, Filipinos began to assume more administrative positions, resulting in the appointment of the university's first Filipino president in 1952. In terms of accreditation, Silliman is one of top five universities in the Philippines with "Institutional Accreditation" by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP). The Institutional Accreditation is the highest accreditation that can be granted to an educational institution after an assessment of its number of accredited programs, its facilities, its services, and its faculty is conducted as a whole. Incidentally, Silliman also has the highest number of accredited programs in the country, twenty of which are on Level IV accreditation status, the highest level that can be granted to individual programs. Over 10,000 students attending the university from the Philippines and at least 56 other countries are enrolled in ten colleges, five schools, and three institutes. It is registered as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute and is one of the few private higher education institutions in the Philippines that have been granted full autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education. It is also a founding member of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia (ACUCA) and one of the recognized institutions in the U.S. Veterans Administration's list of approved educational institutions. The university offers programs in the fields of early childhood education, elementary education, secondary education, undergraduate education, as well as graduate education. Programs in the undergraduate and graduate levels cover disciplines such as arts, accountancy, agriculture, architecture, business administration, engineering, English, Filipino, information technology, law, medicine, nursing, anthropology, biology, chemistry, clinical sciences, pharmacy education, teacher education, economics, environmental science, fine arts, theater and performing arts, foreign languages, geology, journalism, library science, marine sciences, nutrition and dietetics, music, physics, theology, philosophy, psychology, public administration and social work. In addition to its academic undertakings, the university is involved in research and community extension projects. Silliman's stature in the fields of environmental and marine sciences has led to its being designated by the USAID as a 'Center of Excellence in Coastal Resources Management.' History Silliman University was founded on August 28, 1901, as Silliman Institute by Protestant missionaries under the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Originally established as an elementary school for boys, operations for the institute started through an initial $10,000 donation given by a businessman and Christian philanthropist of Cohoes, New York named Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, who wanted to establish an industrial school using the Hampton Institute of Virginia model. The person tasked by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions to establish the school was Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard, a man from Lyndon, Kansas who, after serving as a pastor in a Presbyterian church in that locality, offered his services to the Presbyterian Board as missionary. Upon his arrival in the Philippines, he was commissioned, with his wife Laura, to scout the southern part of the islands to determine the best location for the school. His original points of destination were Cebu, Zamboanga, and Iloilo. While in Cebu, a suggestion came to him to make a side trip to Dumaguete. On his arrival, he was met by a Rev. Captain John Anthony Randolph, chaplain of the sixth U.S. Infantry Regiment stationed at that time in Dumaguete, who later introduced him to Don Meliton Larena, the town's local president and to his brother Demetrio Larena, then the vice-governor of the province. Hibbard got attracted to the place and decided to establish the school in the locality. He would later write that the "beauty of Dumaguete and the friendliness of the people" helped in bringing about his decision. The institute had a modest beginning: Dr. and Mrs. Hibbard held classes in a rented house beside the sea until the institute's first building, Silliman Hall, was completed in 1903. Recalling how the university started half a century later, Dr. Hibbard described: “There were fifteen boys that first morning. The equipment consisted of four desks about ten feet long, two tables and two chairs, a few McGuffey’s Readers, a few geographies, arithmetic, and ninth-grade grammar. I was President; Mrs. Hibbard was the faculty.” Expansion and World War II Enrollment in the school grew attracting students from other Asian countries. In 1910, 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. Women started to be admitted in 1912, and 1921, the Silliman Bible School (later to become the Divinity School) was established in cooperation with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, largely representing the Congregational Churches of the United States. As enrollment in the institution grew further, a corresponding increase in faculty followed. These developments were accompanied with the use of a more developed curriculum and the construction and acquisition of more permanent buildings and equipment. By 1925, Silliman was already recognized as "the most influential Protestant institution of higher learning" in the Philippines, based on a report submitted by the Board of Educational Survey, which was created by the Philippine Legislature to conduct a study on all educational institutions in the country. The institute was re-incorporated in 1935, and in 1938 became the first school outside of Manila to be granted university status. After its recognition as a university, Silliman continued to receive from the Presbyterian Board and the American Board (now the United Church Board for World Ministries) grants for land, buildings, and equipment. In addition, these boards provided the university with American faculty and staff personnel. Two other American boards have contributed personnel and funds: the Board of Missions of the United Methodist Church and the United Christian Missionary Society of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ). Life in the university was interrupted when World War II came. On May 26, 1942, some three weeks after the fall of Corregidor, two Japanese transports anchored in Dumaguete. Silliman was occupied by the Japanese forces and was converted into a garrison. One of its buildings, Channon Hall, became the headquarters of the dreaded Japanese kempeitai or military police where many Filipinos were tortured and killed. During the occupation, many members of the faculty and the student body were forced to evacuate to four localities within the province. Under the leadership of Dr. Arthur Carson, then president of Silliman, the remaining members of the faculty continued the operations of the university in the mountains of Negros Oriental. This led to the formation of what was then called the "Jungle University" in Malabo, Valencia, one of the localities in the province. University Professor Roy Bell became a major in the Negros Island guerrilla forces, established a Free Government, printed te Victory News, and used his radio transmitter to establish contact with the South West Pacific Area (command). Many students, alumni, faculty members and ROTC officers joined the resistance forces, while theology professors Alvin Scaff, Proculo Rodriguez, Paul Lindholm, and James McKinley "carried on pastoral and teaching duties for the resistance soldiers and civilians in guerrilla-dominated territory." The Carson and Bell families, plus other faculty members, were evacuated by the USS Narwhal (SS-167) on February 7, 1944. American and Filipino forces liberated Dumaguete on April 26, 1945. A few days later, the Faculty Emergency Committee took charge over the campus and began preparations for the resumption of classes and the challenge of reconstruction. Postwar Years For the first half of the century, Silliman was run and operated by Americans. After the Second World War and until the early 1950s, moves for the Filipinization of the university administration began to come closer to the surface. Filipino faculty members began to assume more important positions and, as more of these faculty members took administrative roles, the board of trustees elected the university's first Filipino president, Dr. Leopoldo T. Ruiz, on August 26, 1952, officially taking office in April 1953. A Silliman alumnus (A.B. 1916) and the University of California at Berkeley alumnus (B.A. 1920), Ruiz had a long experience in higher education and the foreign service. Before his appointment, he took up graduate studies in sociology at Columbia and Yale, with an M.A. (1924) from the former institution, as well as a Ph.D. (1942) from the University of Southern California. In the same decade of Ruiz's appointment, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) in New York, an interdenominational group, assumed responsibility for channeling all church aid to Silliman. The United Board is an international organization supported by ten Protestant mission boards. Long after Ruiz's appointment, however, Americans and other nationals still constituted a considerable portion of the faculty. Up to the present, American and foreign visiting professors are still regularly assigned to specialized areas. In the early 1960s and toward the beginning of the Martial Law years, the university embarked on a "Build a Greater Silliman" program in response to the growing student population and the corresponding need for more facilities. With much help from many donors, mostly alumni, and entities from abroad, the program saw the construction of more academic buildings, dormitories, housing units for the faculty, and other facilities. These constructions included the now famous Luce Auditorium which was funded largely by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Science Complex, equipped with an observatory on top of the third floor, the Engineering Complex, and the Silliman University Medical Center. Martial Law era When Martial Law was declared in 1972, Silliman became one of the first two universities ordered by the government to be closed and one of the last to be opened. On the morning of September 23, 1972, some faculty members and many students were rounded up by the local Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine National Police), some of whom were detained for one to six months. Many offices of the university, including the Weekly Sillimanian, the student paper, were raided by the PC. Journalist Crispin Maslog, who was teaching at the university at the time, recalls that Marcos himself had complained about instances where members of the political opposition such as Senator Jovito Salonga and Senator Juan Liwag were invited to speak at the university. The year 1979 became a landmark year for Silliman when its Van Houweling Research Laboratory, then headed by Dr. George Beran, produced a dog vaccine that gave a three- year immunity from rabies, making it the first and only laboratory to produce a rabies vaccine with long-term immunity in the whole of Southeast Asia. The development of the vaccine resulted in the elimination of rabies in many parts of the Visayas and Mindanao Islands and was later on used by other countries in their fight against rabies conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization. 1980s to recent history The 1980s saw the restoration of the university's Student Government and the approval of its constitution. After years of suppression by the Marcos regime, students were again allowed to self-organize in 1981. The decade also witnessed the 100% board exam ratings of the Electrical Engineering, Nursing, and Accountancy programs and the installation of solar-powered light posts on the campus in the years 1986 and 1989 respectively. In the 1990s, the university shifted its grading system from alphabetical to numerical. In 1994, eleven Sillimanians landed in the top ten of that year's nursing board exam, with twenty two other Sillimanian takers occupying the top twenty posts. In that same year, Silliman alumnus Gonzalo O. Catan Jr. was awarded Most Outstanding Inventor in the fifth National Technology Fair. The decade also witnessed Silliman being cited as the university with the best published scientific paper in the Dr. Elvira O. Tan Awards; and in 1995, the university hosted the first ever International Conference on Biology and Conservation of Small Cetaceans of Southeast Asia, as well as the International Coral Reef Initiative Workshop. Toward the end of the decade, Silliman prepared for its centennial celebrations. To strengthen its local area network technology, the university installed fiber-optic cables that span the entire 62 hectare campus in 1999. In 2000, the Silliman Accountancy program ranked first in the country, culminating in its Physical Therapy program ranking first in 2001. Silliman University continues to draw support from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA), as well as from its alumni and other benefactors. The university has adopted a policy of providing education to the surrounding regions without depending much on tuition and other fees to meet its operational expenses. Recently, Silliman constructed the Portal West Building, a five-storey commercial building on campus, to help augment its operational expenses. In line with the same policy, it has leased portions of its properties to business entities to further raise its financial base. Because a significant portion of the student population rides on motorbikes and scooters, the university has also aggressively adopted a "No Helmet-No Entry" policy. Silliman has likewise adopted a "No-Smoking Policy" on campus. Owing to its rich history, the university was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute on June 19, 2002. A marker stating this declaration was installed inside the campus on September 23, 2022. Silliman is one of few private higher educational institutions in the country that have been granted full autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the same government agency that recognized some of its programs as Centers of Excellence and Centers of Development. To date, the university has the highest number of accredited programs, fourteen of which have been granted Level IV accreditation status, the highest level that can be granted to individual programs. Campus Silliman is located in Dumaguete, a quiet, peaceful seaside community with a population of 116,392. The university campus has a total land area of 62 hectares composed of the main campus along Hibbard Avenue, and the campus for the College of Agriculture and the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences to the north. Dotted by large acacia trees, the main campus is home to most of the colleges and schools of the university and is adjacent to the city's downtown district. Occupying almost one-third of the downtown area, the campus faces the sea to the east, flanked by its portals which are now considered symbols of the school and city. The three most prominent portals are the Gates of Knowledge, Opportunity, and Service. The Gate of Knowledge is the current and main entrance; it is the starting point of the two-kilometer-long Hibbard Avenue which was named after Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard, one of the founders of the institution. The other prominent landmarks on the main campus are the Silliman Hall, which now houses the Anthropology Museum; the Silliman University Church; the Robert B. and Metta J. Silliman Library; and the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium, the largest theater outside Metro Manila. It is frequented by tourists so the university maintains a campus cruiser, a 15- seater golf cart or tram-like vehicle, to ferry visitors around the campus. It is used to transport students during regular days. Two kilometers to the north (the other end of Hibbard Avenue) is the campus for the College of Agriculture and the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences. It has a land area of 29 hectares, and houses the College of Agriculture Complex, the Silliman Farm, a number of dormitories (known as the Cocofed Dormitories) and the Marine Laboratories of the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences. Adjacent to it is the Silliman Beach. Silliman has off-campus facilities located in Camp Lookout, Valencia, and on Ticao Island, in the Province of Masbate. The Camp Lookout facility houses the university's Creative Writing Center which now serves as the venue and permanent home of the Silliman National Writers Workshop. The center has a two-storey main function hall and five duplex cottages. The university's Ticao Island facility, on the other hand, is a 465-hectare property in the Province of Masbate, another island in Bicol Region. Donated by the family of Elizabeth How, the facility is a combination of a working ranch, agricultural plantations, and patches of secondary forests. A framework for a long-term development plan has been made and is now the subject of validation by local stakeholders. The plan includes programs for agriculture, Christian ministry, coastal resource management, and public health. Dumaguete has been called a "center of learning in the south" or a "university town" due to the presence of Silliman and other universities that have made their mark nationally and abroad. The city has become a melting pot of students, professionals, artists, scholars, and the literati coming from the country and the world. Museums Silliman maintains six museums: the SU Anthropology Museum, the SU Heritage Museum, the Gonzales Museum of Natural History, the SU Marine Mammal Museum of the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences (IEMS), the Ariniego Art Gallery, and the SU-ROTC Museum. The Anthropology Museum was relocated from Silliman Hall to Hibbard Hall in 2015. Established in 1973, it was opened to bring the importance of the Filipino's cultural heritage to the attention of the public. The bulk of the artifacts displayed came from fieldworks, excavations, purchases and donations. The museum has seven galleries. The first three, contain exhibits which have been collected from known cultural or ethnic groups all over the country. These items or artifacts include simple tools and instruments such as basketry, agricultural and aquatic tools, weapons, clothing and ornaments as well as musical instruments. The display is based on two general criteria: the type of social organization (incipient, tribal, or sultanate) and the type of economic subsistence (hunting, and gathering, marginal agriculture or farming) under which ethnic group is categorized. The exhibit on the last four galleries are artifacts excavated from different parts of Negros Island and in the mountain areas of Cotabato. A number of excavations done by Sillimanian anthropologists in the 1970s yielded ancient artifacts, like burial urns, and porcelain pieces which date back to the Sung period in the twelfth century. The SU Heritage Museum which was opened in August 2020 and housed at the Silliman Hall, is a repository with exhibits on the university's history since it was founded in 1901 by the Americans. Collections such as memorabilia and set-ups (e.g. classrooms) on what the life the founders had during the institution's infancy are showcased in the various sections the museum has. The other two museums are the Gonzales Museum of Natural History and the Marine Mammal Museum. The Gonzales Museum of Natural History is located on the first floor of the Science Complex. It showcases a collection of preserved animals traditionally found in the tropics such as different kinds of fishes, crustaceans, snakes, eagles, birds, flying lemurs, etc. The museum was named in honor Prof. Rodolfo Gonzales, a former biology teacher at the university. The Marine Mammal Museum on the other hand contains a large collection of whale and dolphin bones. It is located at a facility of the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences two kilometers north of the main campus. In 2015, the university opened its SU-ROTC Museum located on the first floor of Roman Yap Hall which houses the rare artifacts and equipment used in the Second World War and military uniforms of high-ranking Sillimanian military officials over the years. Zoo The A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Gardens or the Silliman University Zoo is the university zoo. It is also the home of the Center for Tropical Conservation Studies. The garden started in the 1960s as a tree planting project and field laboratory studies facility by the Silliman University Biology Department. In 1990, it became the country's first captive breeding center for the Philippine Spotted Deer (Rusa alfredi). Since then, the garden's captive breeding program has expanded to include other endangered wildlife unique to the Philippines such as the Critically Endangered Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons) and the Negros Bleeding-Heart Dove (Gallicolumba keayi). By 1996, the garden had grown to include over twenty animals and twenty-four plant species. The place was named the A.Y. Reyes Zoological and Botanical Garden after the late botanist, Prof. Alfredo Y. Reyes who helped start and develop the garden. Beach Silliman University has its own beach. It is situated at the front of the university's marine laboratory building. Extension programs like local fishing has been a project to the university and to the local fishermen in Dumaguete. Administration Silliman is governed by an independent Board of Trustees composed of fifteen members. Five of its members come from the Silliman University Foundation Incorporated (SUFI), five from the UCCP, and another five from the alumni. The president of the university sits as an ex-officio member. Under the board are the administrators composed of the University President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Finance & Operations, Vice President for Development, Enterprise and External Affairs, the University Registrar, Treasurer, Director for Human Resource Management, University General Counsel and Senior Minister. Assisting the vice-presidents are the deans, directors, department chairpersons, coordinators, officers and unit heads of the various colleges, schools, institutes, units, research centers, offices, programs and extension projects of the university. Though historically Protestant, the university is academically nonsectarian. Its learning environment has remained generally liberal and its religious orientation has in no way discouraged the expression or exercise of other beliefs. A majority of the university's student and faculty population are Roman Catholics, with a significant portion of Muslims from Mindanao and the Middle East. Presidents of Silliman University David S. Hibbard, 1901–1930 Roy H. Brown, 1932–1936 Arthur L. Carson, 1939–1953 Leopoldo T. Ruiz, 1953–1961 Cicero D. Calderon, 1962–1971 Quintin S. Doromal, 1973–1982 Venancio D. Aldecoa Jr., 1983–1986 Pedro V. Flores, 1987–1989 Angel C. Alcala, 1991–1992 Mervyn J. Misajon, 1994–1996 Agustin A. Pulido, 1996–2006 Ben S. Malayang III, 2006–2018 Betty Cernol-McCann, 2018–Present Cultures and Traditions 1. Via, Veritas, Vita "Via, Veritas, Vita" is a Latin phrase that means “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.” Chosen by the university as its motto, this phrase is attributed to Jesus Christ and is found in the Gospel of John chapter 14, verse 6, which reads, “5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (New International Version) The choice of the motto is firmly rooted in the university's belief that religious instruction, particularly in the teachings of Jesus Christ, is essential to the moral development of every young person. Incidentally, the motto has been adopted by the Province of Negros Oriental by incorporating it in its provincial seal. Galilean Fellowships Once every semester, the Silliman academic community celebrates the University Christian Life Emphasis Month (UCLEM). In this month-long celebration, the university encourages all students to participate in the different Bible study or fellowship activities held in the homes and cottages of assigned members of the Silliman academic or religious community. Conducted after classes, these sessions are called the Galilean Fellowships. Galilean fellowships are brief devotional sessions where participants are given the opportunity to reflect on the teachings of the Bible, relax, share their thoughts and experiences, and have fellowship with other members of the academic community. Founders Week Founders Week is part of a two-week-long event conducted by the Silliman community to commemorate the founding of the university. This event is held in the last week of August. The celebration is characterized by class reunions, alumni, fraternity, and organizational gatherings, concerts, exhibits, booth-building, awarding ceremonies (e.g. the Outstanding Sillimanian Awards), and invitational games with other schools. The week-long celebration traditionally commences with an early morning worship service called Sunrise Service at the Silliman University Church and culminates with a citywide parade held on the anniversary of the university's founding, August 28. The parade is referred to as the "Parada Sillimaniana" and August 28 is referred to as the "Founders Day" in honor of the pioneers. For the past few years, however, the university moved the parades to August 27. Traditionally, the parade is characterized by the use of floats, with each representing a particular college, department, or school. Silliman Song Before the end of an important event or ceremony the Silliman Song is sung by the attendees. The lyrics were written in 1918 by Dr. Paul Doltz, then the vice-president of Silliman Institute and pastor of Silliman Church. The tune of the song is an adaptation or modification of "The Orange and the Black" of Princeton University, Dr. Doltz's alma mater. The melody is based on the original song "Sadie Ray" composed by J. Tannenbaum late in the 19th century. The Silliman Song briefly describes Silliman's tranquil location; the student's college or university experience; the student's victories, whether it be in the classroom, the court, the track, or the field; the highs and lows in life; and the principles that the graduate brings as the latter leaves the halls of the university. Sang by the Silliman community for almost a hundred years, the Silliman Song has popularized the phrases "Dear old Silliman" and "Silliman beside the sea". Reference: Wikipedia contributors. (2024, September 4). Silliman University. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_University