Silliman University

On a day trip to Dumaguete, one of the stops had to be at the historical Silliman University.

The first American university in the Philippines, and Asia, the school was established on August 28, 1901 as the Silliman Institute by Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard. Hibbard and his wife were sent by Dr. Horace B. Silliman on a mission through the Presbyterian church to expand education and establish a school in the Philippines.

After originally considering Cebu, Zamboanga, or Iloilo as a site for the school, a side trip to the city of Dumaguete, in the province of Negros Oriental, Hibbard was so taken by the area, Dumaguete became the chosen home of the Silliman Institute.

The campus is very much like an American university, an enclosed complex of buildings with co-eds walking back and forth between classes on the small roads that meander around.

The first class consisted of 15 boys, with growing enrollment as the years went by, in 1912, the school admitted their first female student and in 1938, was officially granted university status.

On June 19, 2002, Silliman University was granted National Landmark status by the National Historical Institute.

Velez College

Established in 1966, Velez College was founded from the Cebu General Hospital School of Nursing. The original nursing curriculum was phased out after the 1968 academic year into a five-year program; a year after the College of Liberal Arts opened.

The first class of the Cebu General Hospital School of Nursing, the Class of 1955, boasted 26 graduates.

Recently, the school participated in National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week with a theme focusing on “Making the Rights for the Filipinos with disabilities.” Student participated in a parade, a Buddy Walk, along with Medical and Dental missions.

The school is located a short walk from the Fuente Osmeña Circle in Cebu City in the Philippines.

Velez College was named for Dr. Jacinto Velez, Sr., then-Chairman of the Board of the Trustees of Cebu General Hospital School of Nursing.