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BEGINNING...

Founded in 1933 as a high school named Ateneo de Cagayan by Jesuit missionary Fr. James T.G. Hayes S.J., who later became the first bishop/archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, Ateneo de Cagayan has grown steadily through the years. A college department was added in 1938, with course offerings in liberal arts, education and commerce. The Grade School was started in 1940. Ateneo de Cagayan had 614 students when it was forced to close during World War II.

Fr. Edward J. Haggerty S.J., school Rector, who served as a military chaplain during the war years and as Military Vicar for the U.S. Armed Forces from Borneo to Okinawa, wrote in his diary: "in fifteen minutes the American liberator bombers destroyed our labor of 15 years."

POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION...

From the ruins, postwar reconstruction began immediately under the untiring leadership of Fr. Haggerty and Fr. Andrew Cervini S.J., who succeeded him as Rector, and with the assistance of many benefactors from the U.S. and locally.

The College of Agriculture was started by Fr. William Masterson S.J. in 1953 and the College of Law and the Manresa farm in 1955.

UNIVERSITY STATUS...

In March 1958 the Ateneo de Cagayan received university status and its present name, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, in honor of St. Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary to the Indies and companion of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Fr. Francisco Araneta S.J., Rector when the Ateneo de Cagayan became a 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, especially in Northern Mindanao. It has a grade school with over 1,500 and a high school with over 1,160 students. There are six undergraduate colleges with a total enrollment close to 9,000 (Arts and Sciences, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Nursing, and Engineering), a Center for Industrial Technology for professional technician courses, and three professional schools (Law, Medicine and Graduate School), with a total enrollment of about 1219 students. As of SY 2002-03, total university student enrollment stands at about 14,000.

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 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 and, patterned after the Anigoish Movement in Nova Scotia, Canada, trains leaders and organizers from various countires in agriculture extension work and the cooperative.

In 1968 the University inaugurated its Philippine Folklife Museum and Archives. This has since grown into the XU Museum, with a building inaugurated by President Corazon Aquino in July 1986. Fr. Francisco R. Demetrio S.J., himself an alumnus of the Ateneo de Cagayan in its early years, is Museum curator.

The Institute for the Development of Educational Administrators (IDEA), started in 1972 with support from the Ford Foundation and the Fund for Assistance for Private education, is a graduate masteral program for training of school administrators.

Kinaadman, the University journal since 1979, publishes research and scholarly articles, especially centered on Mindanao. Ms. Hilly-Ann Quiaoit serves as its Director.

In support of the growing industrialization of Northern Mindanao, the Center for Industrial Technology was founded in 1983 for technician courses, both short-term and longer-term, in automotive, electrical, electronics, mechanical and refrigeration/ airconditioning technology.

In 1987, the College of Medicine and the Community of German Doctors worked together in answering the medical needs of the poor. In 1989 the hospital building was completed and inaugurated

CAMPUSES...

The University operates on four campuses: the eight-hectare main campus in the heart of Cagayan de Oro City houses all the academic units, except for the Grade School, High School, and the support farms and extension works of the College of Agriculture; the grade school shares another campus with the grade school of Lourdes College; the grade school and high school annex campuses at Pueblo de Oro; and the 60 hectare Manresa Complex on the way to the airport includes the experimental and demonstration farms and extension works of the College of Agriculture, SEARSOLIN and dormitories donated by the Coconut Producers Federation of the Philippines (COCOFED).

LINKAGES...

The University houses a Regional Science Teaching Center funded by the Department of Science and Technology for the improvement of science and math teaching in elementary and high schools.

Various engineering programs are supported for improvement by the Engineering and Science Education Program of the Department of Science and Technology. It cooperates with the Department of Interior and Local Governments for the training of local government officials.

The undergraduate Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Education, Commerce have Level III accreditation with the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU); the Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering (including Computer Science), the High School and Grade School have PAASCU Level II accreditation.

The Commission for Higher Education has granted XU full autonomy. It also designated XU as Center of Excellence for Teacher Education and for Sociology-Anthropology (honorific), a Center of Development for Chemistry, Business, Medical and Information Technology Education. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has named XU-CIT a Center of Excellence in Region X. XU is also authorized to participate in CHED's "Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program" in Engineering and Commerce.

Starting in 1992, XU has allocated some of its land in Upper Balulang on the way to the airport for housing both to provide greater housing opportunities for Cagayan de Oro and for additional funds for its own educational programs.

GOVERNANCE...

The University operates as a non-profit non-stock educational institution governed by its own board of trustees. Mr. Elpidio M. Paras is Chairman and Dr. Walter W. Brown is Vice Chairman. Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin S.J. became President of Xavier University on 2005.

One of five Jesuit colleges and universities in the Philippines, XU works in consortium with Ateneo de Davao University and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.