Ateneo de Zamboanga University

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University began in 1912 as Escuela Catolica, a parochial school run by Spanish Jesuits at the old site of the Immaculate Conception Church across from the Sunken Garden.[6] Fr. Manuel M. Sauras, S.J., was the first director and served in that capacity up to 1926. Escuela Catolica served as the parochial school of the Immaculada Concepcion Parish headed by Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata, S.J. Classes were held on the ground floor of the rectory of the parish, which was adjacent to Plaza Pershing. While the curriculum was similar to that of the public elementary school, the Spanish Jesuits emphasized religious teaching alongside quality education. Catholic education later became a factor in the decision of the Jesuits to open a school that was empowered to issue the titulo oficial upon completion of studies.

In 1916, the Escuela Catolica expanded and became the Ateneo Elementary School. Its grade school opened that year with seven grades. The school name was changed to Ateneo de Zamboanga when its high school opened in 1928. High school classes were held on the top floor of the three-story Ateneo building along I. Magno corners P. Reyes and Urdaneta streets. The building was the Mindanao Theater, now the site of the City Theater. Five lay teachers and the Jesuit director made up the faculty. The elementary school occupied the lower floors. The first high school students graduated from Ateneo in 1932. The ten young male graduates belonged to Zamboanga City's crème de la crème, one of whom was Roseller T. Lim who would become the first Zamboangueño senator of the Philippines.

The American Jesuits took over from the Spanish Jesuits in 1930, with Fr. Thomas J. Murray, S.J., as the first American director. In 1932 the government gave official recognition to the high school.

In 1938, AdZU opened night classes in commerce and pre-law, thus pioneering its expansion to college, later interrupted by World War II. Pre-war Ateneo expanded with an enrollment of 230 in the grade school and 376 in the high school under Fr. Eusebio G. Salvador, S.J. A Zamboangueño and a product of Escuela Catolica, Fr. Salvador was the first Filipino director of AdZU. In 1938 a library was built on the first floor of the Knights of Columbus building. A façade, an auditorium, and an annex were also built. Fr. John Shinn, S.J., was appointed headmaster of the grade school and Fr. Francis X. Clark, S.J., became the principal and dean of discipline of the high school.

The school was closed during World War II when the Japanese used it as a public school until it was shelled and bombed by American forces on March 8 and 9 in 1945, before the liberation of the city.

The high school and intermediate classes (grades 5 and 6) reopened in 1946, in a nipa-sawali building on a new site outside of the poblacion called the Jardin de Chino near Camino Nuevo. It was providential that shortly before the outbreak of the war, Fr. Eusebio G. Salvador, S.J., had bought 18 adjoining lots in Jardin de Chino on Bailen Street (now La Purisima Street). In 1947 he bought an additional 1.5 hectares along Camino Nuevo St. adjoining the Bailen St. property to bring to a total of 4.3 hectares the La Purisima campus. Together with Frs. Kyran B. Egan and Cesar E. Maravilla, he reopened high school classes.

In 1949, Ateneo became independent of the Jesuit mission in Zamboanga, separating itself from the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. It was officially recognized as a Jesuit school apart from the parish. The post liberation years were a period of rapid physical, curricular, and enrollment expansion of the school. By 1949, AdZU underwent a major make-over. A solid structure of fine wood replaced the nipa-and-sawali classrooms. The gymnasium-auditorium (now Brebeuf Gymnasium) was constructed in 1950, making it the oldest structure on campus today.

A college was established in 1952 and a graduate school in 1976.

In the years between 1946 and 1952, a total of 2,766 students graduated from high school. The college opened in 1952 with a two-year collegiate program, which offered pre-law courses and a degree in Associate in Arts. The college gradually expanded to include four-year bachelor's programs in the arts, commerce, education, and nursing. In 1956, the college and high school became separate departments.

AdZ experienced a “building boom” beginning with the completion of the Jesuit Residence in 1959, Sacred Heart Chapel in 1961, Gonzaga Hall in 1964, and Canisius Hall in 1967. In 1972, the two one-storey grade school buildings, Berchmans and Kostka halls, were built. By the mid-70s, basic education was well established with an enrolment reaching 381 students in the grade school. In 1976, higher education expanded to include the graduate school which opened an MBA course, the first graduate program in business administration in Region IX. Soon after, other master's degrees followed: public administration, nursing, guidance and counselling, and education. These programs were offered under the guidance of Fr. Ernesto A. Carretero, S.J., the first president elected by the Board of Trustees of AdZ.

In the years that followed, more changes and developments took place. Campion Hall and Bellarmine Hall were built in 1979 and 1980. The Fr. Jose Ma. Rosauro, S.J., Center was finished in 1986. The Learning Resource Center was inaugurated in 1987 to accommodate the library, book center, audio-visual unit, and various offices. Fr. Carretero, S.J., obtained the PAASCU accreditation of the high school in 1975, the liberal arts and commerce in 1981, and education, nursing, and the grade school in 1982. AdZ attained Level III in the accreditation of these colleges, the highest rank given to tertiary schools in the Philippines at that time.

In 1984, girls were accepted for the first time in the grade school. Twenty-two girls were part of the grade six graduating class in 1992. They became the first batch of girls to study at the Ateneo High School in 1992.

The facade of the Bellarmine-Campion building facing La Purisima St.

Fr. Carretero, S.J., and after 1989 Fr. William H. Kreutz, S.J., Ateneo presidents, sought university status for the school. By this time and into the mid-90s the school had added undergraduate programs including accountancy, arts and sciences, business management, and computer science.

In 1994, a group of Zamboanga-based doctors entered into a consortium with the Ateneo de Zamboanga under Fr. Kreutz's presidency to establish a medical school named Zamboanga Medical School Foundation (ZMSF). It was on the La Purisima campus. In 2004, ZMSF was turned over to Ateneo. The medical school became the Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine. Partnering with the universities of Calgary, Laos, Nepal, and Cambodia, the School of Medicine uses problem-based learning and community-based approach to medical practice with emphasis on serving communities in Western Mindanao.

On August 20, 2001, AdZ was officially declared a university by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In the same year it was granted autonomous status by CHED, making Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) one of only thirty higher education institutions in the Philippines, and the only one in Western Mindanao, to be granted full deregulation and autonomy. The new College building and the Multi-Purpose Covered Courts were inaugurated in 2001.

On July 31, 2005, groundbreaking was held for the new high school building in Savanah, Tumaga, Zamboanga City. Fr. Kreutz's 18-year presidency came to a close together with the completion of the new campus in Tumaga, which was later named Fr. William H. Kreutz, S.J., campus. The high school was transferred to this new site in 2006 for school year 2006–2007.

On October 11, 2006, Fr. Antonio F. Moreno, S.J., was elected as the second president of the University, replacing Fr. William H. Kreutz, S.J. He assumed office on May 21, 2007, and was officially installed on September 22, 2007.

Meanwhile, AdZU and Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan launched the Xavier University College of Law – Zamboanga on 25 June 2011. The College of Law is in a new four-storey building named in honor of Fr. Manuel Ma. Sauras, S.J. Sauras Hall is also home to the new university cafeteria.

The school's Sacred Heart chapel, built in 1961, was replaced after 50 years by a new Spanish-colonial University Church of the Sacred Heart in time for the university's centennial in 2012.

When in 2013 Fr. Moreno became Provincial Superior of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus, the University Board of Trustees elected Fr. Karel S. San Juan,[7] S.J., as its third president, on February 23, 2013. As Fr. San Juan was in his final year of Jesuit spiritual formation, he did not assume the presidency until October 8, 2013.

Groundbreaking for a new grade school building at the Tumaga campus was held on July 30, 2013; the new building was opened on June 13, 2015. Plans for this campus include construction of an auditorium, an amphitheater, sports facilities, and a chapel which will replace the chapel in the high school building.[8][9]

On June 13, 2016, the Senior High School unit was officially inaugurated at the Fr Salvador Eusebio Campus, La Purisima St, Zamboanga City. The unit originally occupied the Kostka and Xavier Halls.

On April 3, 2017, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University held the groundbreaking and contract-signing ceremonials for the construction of the new Senior High School (SHS) building. This five-story building, later named the Francisco Wee Saavedra (FWS) building, houses classrooms, offices, laboratories, a chapel, prayer room, cafeteria and commercial spaces.[10]

The FWS building was inaugurated on December 8, 2018,[11] coinciding with the last day of the Ateneo Fiesta that year.

On July 7, 2017, the historic 67-year-old Brebeuf Gymnasium was razed to the ground;[12] the Sauras, Kostka, and Gonzaga Halls were also affected.[13] The Zamboanga City government estimated the damages to amount to 5 million.[14]

In response, the University, led by the University Office for Advancement, initiated the RISE Capital Campaign[15][16] and adjusted its campus expansion plans. The campaign aims to rase PHP 1 billion, allocating PHP 700 million to infrastructure, PHP 200 million to scholarships, and PHP 100 million to research. The Gonzaga Hall was rebuilt, while the Sauras Hall was retrofitted with carbon fiber materials. In the former site of the Brebeuf Gymnasium, a second Multi-Purpose Covered Court was built.

The former Lantaka Hotel was donated by the Walstrom family to AdZU. The inauguration of the campus was held on March 19, 2019.[17][18]

AdZU offers academic programs at the kindergarten, elementary, junior high, senior high, undergraduate, and graduate levels.[19] As is the norm in the Philippine education system, instruction is primarily delivered in the English language with the exception of Philippine and foreign language subjects.

Consistent with the liberal arts tradition upon which all Ateneo schools draw from, AdZU's academic programs always have core subjects that educate students from all levels and specializations not only on the nationally mandated areas of history, social studies, and literature, but also on matters that are of importance to Atenean education such as Ignatian spirituality, Catholic theology, and Jesuit philosophy. In spite of this, AdZU welcomes students from differing faiths and traditions.

The AdZU Graduate School offers Masters-level and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs across the disciplines covered by the five undergraduate schools.[20] In addition, AdZU has career-specific professional schools, including the School of Medicine[21] and the College of Law.[22]

The AdZU undergraduate schools comprise the following:

• College of Nursing (CON) - offers a single degree program, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.[23]
• College of Science and Information Technology (CSIT) - confers four-year Bachelor of Science degrees in natural sciences, mathematics, information technology, and engineering,[24] including the Philippines's first fully fledged (non-minor) Biomedical Engineering program,[25] as well as a two-year associate degree program. CSIT is considered by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center of Development for Information Technology[26]
• School of Education (SEd) - offers degrees in education as well as a Certificate in Professional Education (CPE) program for graduates of other undergraduate programs.[27] SEd is considered by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center of Excellence for Teacher Education.[26]
• School of Liberal Arts (SLA) - offers programs in the humanities and social sciences.[28]
• School of Management and Accountancy (SMA) - facilitates programs in the realms of business and management.[29]

The graduation ceremony of the inaugural cohort of the AdZU Senior High School

AdZU offers education in the Grade School (GS), Junior High School (JHS), and Senior High School (SHS) units. The Grade School unit offers primary education in the 1st to 6th grade as well as two years of kindergarten (preparatory) education.[30] The Junior High School unit covers the 7th to 10th grade of secondary education,[31] and offers accelerated mathematics curricula to qualified students. Both units achieved the top level of PAASCU accreditation for their education levels.[32]

The Senior High School offers 11th and 12th grade education.[33] The unit was launched following the K-12 curriculum overhaul project of the Department of Education. It offers the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); Accountancy and Business Management (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); and Information and Communications Technology - 2D Animation (ICT-2DA) strands.

AdZU operates with a selective admissions policy.[34] All of the units of the University require, among other things, passing an entrance examination (which in the case of the Grade School is instead termed an 'assessment test'); past education records are also required for examination.[19] The School of Medicine requires results in the National Medical Admission Test while the College of Law requires results in the PhilSAT; all other units administer their own entrance examinations.

After receiving a five-year Level III Accreditation for the Arts and Sciences, Education, Business and Accountancy, and Nursing programs in May 2014, AdZU requested Institutional Accreditation, an evaluation process that looks at the overall quality of the school. In September 2014, the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) granted Institutional Accreditation to Ateneo de Zamboanga.

The University has also been declared by the Commission on Higher Education as a Center of Excellence (CoE) in Teacher Education and a Center of Development (CoD) in Information Technology.[35][26]

In May 2017, the Junior High School was conferred a Level III accreditation status from PAASCU accreditors.[32]

The Bellarmine-Campion building, with the FWS building behind it

The main campus (4.3 hectares) on La Purisima Street, named for Fr. Eusebio Salvador, S.J., houses the undergraduate and graduate schools and the Senior High School unit.

Buildings used as learning spaces include the Bellarmine-Campion building (home to the Bellarmine and Campion halls), the Canisius and Gonzaga halls (collectively colloquially referred to as the C building), the Xavier Hall, the Kostka Hall, and the Francisco Wee Saavedra (FWS) Building. The FWS Building permanently hosts the Senior High School unit, while other buildings are shared by the undergraduate, graduate, and senior high schools.

The Learning Resource Center on-campus houses the Fr. Jose Bacatan, S.J. library, the University's main library, as well as several important offices and the administration of the Graduate School. The campus also contains two Multi-Purpose Covered Courts, the Backfield, the Bellarmine-Campion Quadrangle, the Jesuit Residences, the Rosauro (JMR) Hall, and the Sauras Hall.

• 
  The Gonzaga Hall and the Multi-Purpose Covered Court 2
• 
  Kiosks in front of the Sauras and Xavier Halls, situated beside the campus backfield
• 
  The facade of the FWS building

The second campus (8.3 hectares) in Barangay Tumaga, which is outside Zamboanga City proper, named for Fr. William Kreutz, S.J., is home to the Junior High School and Grade School units.

The campus initially opened as the home of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School, which needed more space to expand than the constraints of the Main Campus could allow. Eventually, the Grade School was moved to this campus too in 2015, and the campus was given purpose as the basic education center of the University.

Aside from the junior high school and grade school buildings, the campus also includes a soccer field, a multi-purpose covered court, and a playground.

• 
  A courtyard in the Grade School complex
• 
  A walkway at the Junior High School building

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University Lantaka Campus is situated along the historic developed coastline of Zamboanga City. The campus was previously a resort hotel. The University will repurpose the site for educational, spiritual, religious, and social development purposes.[17]

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University seal reflects the institution's mission.

Surrounding the upper half of the seal is the school motto, "Pro Deo et Patria." This Latin phrase literally translates to "For God and Country," but is officially rephrased by the University to mean "In the Service of God and Country" to reflect the university's self-defined mission to produce men and women who are both nationalistic and grounded in faith. The name of the school is written on the bottom half.

In the circular field is the shield. The red and yellow stripes are derived from the coat of arms of the family of Oñaz, the maternal line of St. Ignatius. In the center are two wolves and a food pot. These are of the medallion of the family of Loyola, the paternal line of St. Ignatius of Loyola. This medallion stands for the generosity for which the house of Loyola was well known. The cross on the upper right portion of the shield symbolizes the Christian character of the Ateneo, while the vinta is meant to be representative of the various cultural communities of the South Western Philippines where the school is located. On the bottom left are the book and torch, traditional symbols of education.

Above the shield is the sunburst, in which the monogram of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) — JHS is positioned with the cross above and three nails below. The "JHS" wordmark is derived from the Greek ΙἨΣ, the first letters of Jesus' name. Emanating from the name of Jesus are blue and white rays signifying grace for all.

The name Ateneo is the Spanish form of Athenæum, which the Dictionary of Classical Antiquities defines as the name of "the first educational institution in Rome" where "rhetoricians and poets held their recitations." Hadrian's school drew its name from a Greek temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The said temple, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, was where "poets and men of learning were accustomed to meet and read their productions." Athenæum is also used in reference to schools and literary clubs. The closest English translation is academy, referring to institutions of secondary learning.

The Society of Jesus has established 16 schools in the Philippines since 1590 and named nine of them Ateneo. Ateneo de Zamboanga was the second school named Ateneo in 1916. Over the years, the name "Ateneo" has been recognized as the official title of Jesuit institutions of higher learning in the Philippines.

The college varsity teams compete in the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA), and the grade school and high school varsity teams participate in the Private Schools of Zamboanga City Athletic Association (PSZCAA).

AdZU holds a school-wide annual sportsfest called "Ateneo Fiesta," a week-long event beginning in the last week of November. Most of the high school and college competitors in the Fiesta are varsity athletes preparing for competition in sports events on the PRISAA agenda. The Fiesta itself is now considered the most important event of the academic year for student life.

The Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng Ateneo de Zamboanga University (SMADZU) was the College unit's student government before 2009. Currently in its place is El Consejo Atenista, which was created with the objective of being a more representative student government.[49] The basic education units also have their own student councils; the junior high school student government is called the Council of Leaders, while the senior high school government is called the Ateneo Student Executive Council (ASEC). The grade school's council is simply named Student Government.

Official student publications are The Beacon Magazine for the College unit, The Oculus Publications and Vista de Aguila for the Senior High School, Blue Eagle Publications and La Liga Atenista for the Junior High School, and The Quill for the Grade School.

The student publications of the University regularly compete in local, regional, and national journalism competitions.