University Town

Dumaguete City offers a unique mix of small-city life
and healthy intellectual and industrial activity

By Veneeth Iyengar and Danah Fortunato

It is difficult to tell where the schools end and where Dumaguete City begins. They are so intertwined, their edges seamlessly stitched together by huge, yet graceful ancient acacia trees, that you could not tell them apart.

Silliman University is the oldest of the four universities in Dumaguete

Upon arrival in Dumaguete, the capital city of Negros Oriental in Central Visayas, you are greeted by so much green that first-time visitors instinctively look around for all the concrete and huge buildings that we have come to expect of a "city". Instead, you see all those towering trees lining major streets, and what seems to be a very young population.

Tracing roots

Dumaguete is built on the shores of Negros Oriental beneath the reassuring presence of Mt. Talinis, the second highest peak in the Visayas next to the more famous extinct volcano, Mt. Canlaon. According to historian Caridad Aldecoa-Rodriguez, the first recorded sighting of this part of the Philippines was by members of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi’s expedition in 1565. He had sent a frigate to check out the islands that could be seen from Bohol and they came back with stories of this lush island with dark-skinned people, hence the name "Negros".

Like most old places in the Philippines, the city features a historic landmark that echoes this connection with the Spaniards:

El Campanario, or the belfry of the Dumaguete Cathedral, whose patron saint is Catherine of Alexandria. Church historian Fr. Roman Sagun, Jr. states that the lower, older parts of this tower can be dated to the 1760s when it first served as a lookout post – an early warning device – for the fast sailing ships the Moros used to raid and pillage towns and kidnap citizens for slavery. In those days, the bells rang to warn of danger. Today, the bells ring at dusk to call parishioners to pray the Angelus.

Strong academic institutions

With a population of just around 100,000 people, 25 percent of Dumaguete’s residents are college students. There are nine higher education institutions, including four large universities, which address their educational needs within the city.

Silliman University, founded in 1901 by American Presbyterian missionaries, is the oldest of the four universities in Dumaguete. It is designated a Center for Excellence in the fields of biology, business, marine science, mechanical engineering, nursing, information technology, physics, and teacher education by the Commission on Higher Education. From its founding, Silliman has always attracted students from other parts of the country and abroad. Recently, the university signed agreements with some Korean universities for their students to take English courses in Dumaguete.

St. Paul University-Dumaguete will be having its Centennial celebrations in October this year, with colorful events lined up. The first school set up in the Philippines by the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, the system now includes seven university campuses spread out all over the country, and one hospital in Iloilo. Its strengths are in the areas of accounting, nursing, the arts, and education. Foundation University was founded by University of the Philippines’ eighth President, Dr. Vicente Guzman Sinco, in 1957. In recent years, the school has quietly positioned itself as a leading higher education institution in the areas of education, agriculture, the arts and sciences, and has put up a very robust sports program.

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