Silliman University

Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private Protestant research university in Dumaguete City, Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is the first Protestant institution of higher education in the Philippines and in Asia.

The university was named after Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, a retired 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, culminating in the appointment of the university's first Filipino president in 1952.

More than 10,000 students 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.

History

Founding and Early Development

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, the institute began operations through an initial $10,000 donation from Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman, a retired businessman and Christian philanthropist from Cohoes, New York, who sought to establish an industrial school based on the Hampton Institute model of Virginia.

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 Board as missionary. Upon his arrival in the Philippines, he was commissioned, along with his wife Laura, to scout the southern part of the islands to determine the best location for the school. His original destination were Cebu, Zamboanga and Iloilo. While in Cebu, he received a suggestion to make a side-trip to Dumaguete. Upon his arrival there, he was met by a Rev. Captain John Anthony Randolph, chaplain of the sixth U.S. Infantry Regiment stationed at Dumaguete at the time, who later introduced him to Don Meliton Larena, the town's local presidente and to his brother Demetrio Larena, then the vice-governor of the province. Hibbard was drawn 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, arithmetics and ninth-grade grammars. I was President; Mrs. Hibbard was the faculty."

Enrollment in the school grew attracting students from other Asian countries. In 1909, Silliman Institute was visited by US Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks. In 1910, it 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 began to be admitted in 1912, with Pura Blanco as its first female student, and in 1921, the Silliman Bible School (later to become the Divinity School) was established in cooperation with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which largely represented the Congregational Churches of the United States. As enrollment in the institution continued to grow, a corresponding increase in faculty followed. These developments were accompanied by the adoption of a more advanced curriculum and the construction and acquisition of more permanent buildings and equipment. Of note was Emilio Aguinaldo's decision to send his sons to Silliman Institute. By 1925, it was already recognized as "the most influential Protestant institution of higher learning" in the Philippines, according to 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.

Campus

Silliman is located in Dumaguete, a quiet and peaceful seaside community with a population of 142,171. 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 Heritage 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. Since then, Silliman has established a technical-vocational school in partnership with TESDA. Under its most recent structure, it is facilitated through the SU TEVEC.

Administration

Silliman is governed by a Board of Trustees with fifteen members. Five of its members are elected from the Silliman University Foundation Incorporated (SUFI), five from the UCCP, and five from the alumni. The president of the university sits as an ex-officio member. Under the board are members of the administration, including University President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, Chief Finance Officer, Human Resource Management Chief, University General Counsel and Senior Minister among others.

Academic policies are implemented by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research together with various deans, directors, department chairpersons, coordinators, officers and unit heads of the 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.

Academics

Recognition

The Commission on Higher Education (Philippines) (CHED) designated Silliman as a Center of Excellence in Information Technology, Teacher Education and Nursing Education, and a Center of Development in Anthropology, Biology, and Medical Technology Aside from these, the university was also named by the United States Agency for International Development as a Center of Excellence in Coastal Resource Management, and by the Haribon Foundation as an Academic Center of Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation. Due to the university's community-based coastal resource management program, Apo Island, a small island off the coast of Dauin, was recognized as one of the best diving spots in the world.

Rankings and reputation

Silliman is one of few schools in the Philippines that are included in international academic ranking tables. In 2011 it was listed as one of five (5) Philippine schools in the category for Life Sciences and Medicine. It maintained its spot in comparison with other Philippine schools from 2012-2016. It slightly dipped in 2017 in relation to other schools in Asia although still landing 6th among Philippine schools that remained in the list. It ranked 7th in 2020, 5th in 2021, 5th in 2022, and 5th in 2023. In relation to other Asian universities, it ranked 88th in Southeastern Asia, and 551st-600th in the whole of Asia, respectively. It landed 6th among Philippine schools in 2024, and 9th for 2025.

Webometrics, also ranks Silliman among the top schools in the country, landing 13th in 2016 and 9th in 2021. In a non-academic ranking, Silliman was listed by Christian Universities Online as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Christian College and University Campuses in the World". Meanwhile, the university is Top 10 in the Philippines' Best Universities for 2026 by EduRank.

International linkages

On top of its strong affiliation with the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) and other international development organizations, Silliman maintains linkages on collaborative research as well as on faculty and student exchange, with universities in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Its longest running student exchange programs are with three Japanese universities: International Christian University, Ferris University and Shikoku Gakuin University. Silliman also maintains research and academic linkages with the University of Washington (USA), California State University, East Bay (USA), Gordon College (USA), the Smithsonian Institution (USA), Texas Tech University (USA), Old Dominion University (USA), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan), Chonbuk National University (South Korea), Hanshin University (South Korea), Sookmyung Women's University (South Korea), Soongsil University (South Korea), Hanyang University (South Korea), Sam Ratulangi University (Indonesia), the Asian College of Nursing and Health (Malaysia), Hannam University (South Korea), Madras Christian College (India), Kinki University (Japan), and Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany).

Culture and traditions

Silliman Song

Before the end of an 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 song is an adaptation of The Orange and the Black of Princeton University, Dr. Doltz's alma mater. The song utilizes the tune of Orange and the Black but with the lyrics written by Doltz. 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".

Orange and the Black was written by Clarence Mitchell, Class of 1889, to a tune arranged by Ernest Carter, Class of 1888.

Student life

Athletics

Silliman has several athletic facilities. The university Gymnasium is a multipurpose facility used for basketball, volleyball, badminton, rock-climbing, table-tennis, cheering, and other indoor activities. The Cimafranca Ballfield is primarily used for football, and for track and field events. Other athletic facilities include an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, pelota courts, and an archery range.

Silliman has varsity teams for almost every major sport. A regular participant of the Philippine University Games (UniGames) and the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA), Silliman is represented by a red and white Stallion or Mare. In the recent Beijing Olympics, Mark Javier, a Sillimanian, represented the Philippines in the field of Archery. He was the lone male archer that represented the country. Other notable Philippine Olympians that came from Silliman include Jennifer Chan, who recently won a gold medal in the 25th SEA Games, Lisa Ygnalaga, and long jumper Simeon Toribio.

Student government

The Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) traces its origins to 1912. Its existence was interrupted in World War II and briefly suspended during Martial Law. As presently structured, it is divided into three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial departments. The executive power is exercised by the President with the assistance of the Cabinet. The Cabinet is composed of the President, Vice President and the respective heads of the executive committee who are appointed by the President. The legislative power of the SUSG is vested in the Student Assembly. It is composed of elected representatives of the different schools and colleges. The Judiciary exercises judicial power. It is composed of the Prime Justice, who must be a junior Law student, and six other justices appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Committee on Appointments. Election of Student Government officers are held before the close of the academic year.

Currently, there are two student political parties in the university, the Students' Union for Reforms (SURE) Party and the Concerted Action for the Upliftment of Student Endeavors (CAUSE) Party, established in 1980 and 1981, respectively.

The Student Government is under the supervision and oversight of the Student Organizations and Activities Division (SOAD).

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)