University of the Philippines

The University of the Philippines was founded on June 18, 1908 through Act No. 1870 of the Philippine Assembly. The UP was the result of the Secretary of Public Instruction, W. Morgan Schuster's recommendation to the Philippine Commission, the upper house of the Philippine Assembly. Act 1870 authorized the Governor General to establish the University of the Philippines in the "city of Manila, or at any point he may deem most convenient." The UP was to give "advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences and arts, and To give professional and technical training "to every qualified student regardless of" age, sex, nationality, religious belief and political affiliation. "UP first opened its doors at Calle Isaac Peral (now United Nations Avenue) and Padre Faura in downtown Manila in 1909 with the School of Fine Arts; The College of Liberal Arts; The College of Medicine; The College of Veterinary Medicine; The College of Engineering; The College of Law; And the College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Laguna. Its first president was an American named Murray Bartlett. He vowed that the UP must be "for the Filipino" and that it must be "supported by the people's money" with a charter framed by the people's representatives and "its hope based on the confidence and sympathy of the people." In 1913, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association was established by UP graduates after College of Law Dean George Malcolm conceived the idea. The student council was organized in 1914 as a body where cases on student discipline were referred to.