Ateneo de Manila University

About

Ateneo de Manila University (Filipino: Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila; Spanish: Universidad Ateneo de Manila), commonly referred to as the Ateneo de Manila or the Ateneo, is a private Catholic research university in Quezon City, Philippines. Established in 1859 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), it is one of the oldest Jesuit-administered institutions of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region. The university offers primary and secondary education, as well as undergraduate and graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and business. It offers professional degrees through the Graduate School of Business, the School of Government, the School of Medicine and Public Health, and the Ateneo Law School. The university follows the Jesuit tradition of liberal arts education, with an emphasis on the humanities across all levels of education.

In 1581, the first Spanish Jesuits arrived in the Philippines. They established Colegio de San José (College of St. Joseph), a seminary, in 1605. In 1768, King Charles III decreed the expulsion of the Jesuit order from Spain and its colonies. Following their banishment, control of the college was transferred to the Dominicans. The Jesuits returned to the Philippines in the 19th century after their suppression, and were tasked with managing a small public school in Manila called the Escuela Municipal in 1859, renaming it Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865 to reflect its elevation to a secondary education institution. Initially situated in Intramuros, the school, which forcibly became privatized in 1902 at the start of the American colonization, was renamed into Ateneo de Manila to reflect the transition. Ateneo moved to Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila, after the original campus was destroyed by fire in 1932. However, the new campus was destroyed during the Battle of Manila by Japanese forces in 1945. After World War II, in 1952, the university relocated to its present campus in Loyola Heights, Quezon City. The law and graduate business schools remained at the Padre Faura campus until 1977, when both moved to Makati City, and the Ermita site was sold (now Robinsons Manila). Fr. Pacífico Ortíz, SJ became the first Filipino president of the university in 1959 and again for his second term on September 25, 1969. During his tenure, the Graduate School was divided into the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and what would later become the Graduate School of Business. In July 1964, the Educational TV Center of Ateneo was organized and began operations, becoming one of the first educational television channels in the country. In 1968, the Ateneo co-founded the Asian Institute of Management. Women were first admitted to the college in 1973. By 1976, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences had moved to Loyola Heights, and the Padre Faura campus was finally closed in 1977. In the 1970s, Ateneo students became active in protests against the Marcos dictatorship and its imposition of martial law, and many later participated in the 1986 People Power Revolution. In 1991, the Ateneo Law School became the first in the country to offer the Juris Doctor degree. The School of Government was established in 1996, and a new campus for the Graduate School of Business, Law School, and School of Government opened in Rockwell Center in 1998. Significant developments in the 2000s include the establishment of the Loyola Schools and completion of various educational and recreational facilities. The university continued to expand and innovate, launching the Pathways to Higher Education initiative in 2002, and consecrating the Church of the Gesù at the Loyola Heights campus in July 2002. In 2003, the Ateneo formalized its partnership with Gawad Kalinga for university-wide social action. The Manuel V. Pangilinan Center for Student Leadership opened in 2006, and the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health began operations in 2007. In recent years, significant events include a shooting incident in July 2022 that led to the cancellation of the law school's graduation ceremonies, and the consolidation of the university's higher education units in October 2022.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.