A Resource of Church and Nation

Marking its 90th anniversary, De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU-M) launches Greenovation, a 10-year countdown to the centennial celebration.

In the nineties, DLSU-M started the bountiful harvest of accolades and praises of institutions in the country and in Asia Pacific. Social issues and research became priority concerns. With their fusion, the university earned respect from the communities they served and recognition from award-giving bodies. With nothing more to prove but more to achieve, DLSU-M looks forward to the next 10 years leading to its centennial and beyond.

Through the assistance of the Center for Social Concern and Action, DLSU-M was able to serve communities in the outskirts of urban and sub-urban areas. The university has, for example, initiated the re-greening of Talin Bay in Batangas with the planting of mangroves that help protect the shorelines. This project helps maintain the ecosystem in the environment, making impacts on the livelihood of the fishing community.

As DLSU-M gained ground in engineering, the school was tapped to create a low-cost and environmental energy source for the town of Malibcong in Abra. The Lasallian engineers created the microhydro power source that generated electricity for the community, while fueling their agricultural mills. This project eventually earned the grand prize in the “Search for the Most Outstanding Project Undertaken through Volunteerism in Higher Education Institution.”

The development of a strong research culture through the years paid off. DLSU-M ranked first in research output, based on the Asiaweek 2000 survey. The same survey also affirmed La Salle’s stature in the region. When ranked by peers in the Asian academe and top corporations, DLSU-M emerged as one of the most admired Philippine private universities.

DLSU-M has more than 20 university partners around the world. It is the only one of two universities in the country included in the Asian University Network (AUN), a conglomerate of ASEAN’s best universities and dominated by state schools.

La Salle also topped the category in the Internet bandwidth among Philippine universities. Recognizing the immense power of IT, the university provided access to students by giving all of them Internet accounts. Also part of the IT achievement, DLSU-M set up the Center for Educational Multimedia to help teachers integrate information technology in teaching.

The Commission on Higher Education awarded DLSU-M with 10 centers of excellence in the following areas: English, Filipino, Literature, Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. This center of excellence seal has recognized the university’s quality education, research and scholastic output, and community service.

The dynamism, sensitivity, and responsiveness of the institution to match the needs of Filipinos and the Philippines has placed DLSU-M at an advantaged position in the Philippine higher education scene. Ninety years of history may not be a long time, but consider how La Salle has earned the respect and reputation equally accorded its peers locally and internationally.

De La Salle University-Manila offers itself as a true resource for Church and Nation. It will continue to affirm its commitment to the education of future Philippine leaders. To sum up the 90 years and the future, DLSU President Brother Rolando Dizon, FSC, said, “The real challenge for us is to continue to educate a new generation of Filipinos truly committed to the common good.”