Ateneo de Davao University

The Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) is a private Catholic university founded administered by the by Jesuit priests in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in 1948. It is subdivided into eight colleges including the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Governance and College of Nursing. It also runs grade school and high school units. It has two sprawling campuses, the Jacinto Campus (which houses the various colleges of the university, including the Graduate School and the Ateneo Law School) and the Matina Campus (elementary and high school) - all located in the center of Silicon Gulf, Davao City, the de facto business, trade, commerce and education capital of Mindanao.

Academic and government recognition


The grade school, high school and college units of the university have been granted Level III accreditation by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU). It also enjoys full autonomy status granted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Philippine government agency in-charge of institutions of higher learning.

Similarly, CHED recognized the university as a regional center of excellence (COE) in Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Information Technology and Business Education in southern Mindanao and also identified as a Center of Development (COD) in Information Technology. the Ateneo de Davao College of Law is ranked among the top four law schools in the Philippines.

School of Arts and Sciences
The School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) was opened in 1951 with 130 students enrolled in various offerings namely: liberal arts, commerce, education, associate in arts, pre-law, secretarial, and elementary teacher's certificate program.

In subsequent years, other College programs were added. After the University obtained University status in 1977, a number of other programs were included in the list.

Today, the SAS is subdivided into seven divisions namely: Engineering & Architecture, Humanities, Natural Science and Mathematics, Philosophy, Social Science and Education, Theology and Computer Studies.

School of Business and Governance
The undergraduate business courses of the Ateneo de Davao University were under the School of Arts and Sciences; the MBA, MPA and MAN programs were under the Graduate business Programs and the MGA program was under the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In an effort to have all the business courses of all levels be vertically articulated and in an effort to integrate the business and governance courses into one school, the AdDU School of Business & Governance (SBG) was born.

April 1, 2000 was the date the SBG was launched. It aims at providing a dynamic learning environment for responsible and humanistic business education, research and administration. It strives to be comparable to the best business schools in the world in the quality of its teaching and research and in its impact. Under its aegis are accountancy, business management, entrepreneurship, human resource management, finance, management accounting, marketing and graduate business programs as well as support programs in computer literacy and research and extension offices.

The college distinguished itself in its excellent classroom and out of classroom instruction, experienced and qualified faculty with a business research orientation, and strong academe-industry linkages. It seeks to establish itself as a Center of Excellence in business as it develops competent, development focused and service oriented youth and professionals for business, government and other sectors of the global community.

SBG Undergraduate is subdivided into two divisions namely BSA-MA Division and Business Management (B&M) Division with 7 current academic programs: BS-Accountancy, BS-Business Management, BS-Entrepreneurship, BS- Finance, BS-Human Resource, BS-Management Accounting and, BS-Marketing.

College of Nursing
In the past, the Ateneo de Davao University offered a college degree program in Nursing in consortium with other institutions in Davao City. In time, the program was passed on to the other members of the consortium. Yet, the Ateneo maintained its graduate nursing program through the years. The reopening of the college nursing program completes the academic nursing program in the University.

The establishment of the Nursing Program is in pursuit of the mission of university itself: to be of service to the community by providing high quality education in the tradition of Jesuit education efforts over the centuries and all over the world. Characteristically, the program centers on the total formation of students, imparting not only the technical skills required by the nursing profession but also critical communication and computer skills, which are vital in today’s environment. Above all, the program focuses on the value formation of the student. The nursing profession is, after all, a service profession. Contextualizing this service career within one’s personal development and its impact on the care receivers and the community at large is an important concern of the program.

All Ateneo nursing students begin with the two-year Associate in Health Science Education (AHSE), a program promulgated by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education. A preparatory course, the AHSE leads up to another two-year program, the completion of which earns for the students a degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Students register for professional nursing courses until they finish the prescribed number of units in nursing theory and render the required hours in Related Learning Experience.

College of Law
In June, 1961, then Rector Rev. Hudson Mitchell, S.J. established the Ateneo Law School. The first students who enrolled in first year were only sixteen (16). The first Dean of the law school was Atty. Leon M. Garcia, Jr. who headed it for two years (1961-63). He was followed by Atty. Epifanio E. Estrellado who had been in the faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences since 1952. Atty. Estrellado was dean for 27 years (1963-1990), one of the longest serving deans in the history of the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS). In 1990, Atty. Hildegardo F. Iñigo, one of the first graduates of the Ateneo Law School and member of its faculty since 1967 assumed the position of Dean of the College of Law. The first graduates of the Ateneo Law School took the bar examinations in 1965.

Throughout the years, the Law School has endeavored to produce competent Christian Lawyers. Its graduates continue to distinguish themselves in private practice, government service, and professional organizations.

Official Student Publication
The offcicial student publication of the Ateneo de Davao University is the Atenews. The publication was founded way back in the 1950's and has long since been a steadfast guardian of student rights. Currently, the Atenews is headed by Nisa Opalla as Editor-in-Chief, Santigo Pascual as associate Editor-in-Chief and Hyangelo Henry Hao as the Managing Editor. The publication is moderated by Dr. Macario Tiu(Atenews Alumnus) and Dr. Victoria Tatad-Pre.

Noted alumni

 * Antonio Carpio (B.A. 1970 Economics) - Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court
 * Raymundo Yu (B.S. 1970 Business Administration) - Asia-Pacific Chairman of Merill Lynch
 * Emmylou Taliño-Santos (B.S. 1996 Accounting) - Philippine congresswoman and chairman of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Public Information
 * Norberto B. Gonzales (Pre-med) - OIC July 1 – August 3, 2007 Department of National Defense (Philippines)