USA to celebrate 60th Anniversary as a University

BY RAY ADRIAN C. MACALALAG
an official university press release

The official logo of the 60th Anniversary Celebration unveiled to the media during the press conference held at the President's Conference Room. (USA Publications Photo / Jerson E. Elmido)

AUGUST 28, 2012 - A BIG TIME festivity is set on March 1, 2013 because the first university in Western Visayas, the University of San Agustin, will be marking its 60th anniversary of its elevation to a university.

RENTORIA
(USA Publications Photo / Jerson E. Elmido)

According to Rev. Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA, chair of the ad hoc committee for San Agustin’s 60th anniversary as a university and at the same time Vice President for Academic Affairs, the entire event will revolve around the theme ‘USA@60: A Commemoration of the Past, A Celebration of the Present, and A Commitment to the Future’.  The celebration tagline, echoed from the University Hymn, is  ‘Shout your glory across the sky.’

In commemorating the past, a ‘Garden of Firsts’ will be established in the campus which will showcase an outdoor gallery where the University was first in the various fields. Historical markers will also be set up around the campus and the Urdaneta Hall, the oldest intact building in the University built in 1939, will be declared by prospective authorities – such as the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the National Museum – as an Important Cultural Treasure or a National Cultural Treasure. A seminar-workshop on cultural heritage will also be held.

Research of the students, alumni, faculty, and other Augustinian institutions in the country will also be presented. The University will host regional, national, and international research congresses to develop further its relevance as a premiere educational institution in the Philippines.

Aside from researches, activities in culture and the arts will also be tapped with the program. A coffee table book on community service will be launched. The University will also participate in Tanghal: The National University Theater Festival, Dance Exchange (International Dance Festival). In partnership with the International University Theater Association (IUTA), the University will host the International Seminar-Workshop of University Theaters. The USA Band, that will also be celebrating its 60th anniversary on the same year, will also hold a concert in the University and conduct a concert tour around Panay.

University President and Coordinator for Alumni Affairs, Rev. Fr. Frederick Comendador, OSA, expects that the alumni will also take part in the international alumni homecoming which will be held sometime during the anniversary. A number of advertising and marketing activities will also be held such as the 2013 AdFest and the International Social Media Marketing.

The University of San Agustin was established on July 15, 1904 by the friars of the Order of Saint Augustine as the Colegio de San Agustin de Iloilo. It started out as an exclusive school for boys; most among them were called internos or student-boarders. On March 1, 1953, the Philippine government granted San Agustin the ‘University’ status making it the first university in Western Visayas. The University celebrated its centennial last 2004 which also had a lot of events in the local, regional, national and international levels.

For more information on the anniversary and its highlight events, please contact:

The Ad Hoc Committee
USA’s 60th Anniversary as a University
c/o Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of San Agustin
Iloilo City

Tel. No.: (033) 337 4841 to 44, loc. 251
Telefax No.: (033) 337 4403
Email: usa.03011953@gmail.com

(RAM / JL)