LSU History
The beginning of LA SALLE-Ozamiz City started during the Spanish times when Catholic Missionaries embarked on evangelization in Misamis Occidental and established parishes in Mindanao.
The fort or “cotta”, which Father Ducos began to build in 1755 grew around and became a mission area under the Jesuit missionaries. Later in 1879, the Recollect Fathers under Father Julian de Nuestra del Mayor Dolor took over the Misamis mission and established the Parish of Immaculate Conception. The parish priest conducted some kind of instruction in the convent.
Another Recollect Father, Constancio Arsenio opened a parochial class in his small convent as part of the church’s mission and evangelization. It was him who is credited for the founding of the Immaculate Conception School. The small convent then was the site for the parish convent and the classroom.
When Father Pascual Bermejo took over, he expanded the site to include the second floor of the convent. The classes in this convent included the Cartilla, the Misterio, the Tresagia and the Novena. Upon the completion of the Novena, the students then could teach the lower grades. They were the first teachers of that school. They were called Maestra or Maestro. Two of these teachers were Maestra Tiyay Gallordo and Maestra Sarya Consuelo.
In 1929, ten years after the Jesuits returned to Misamis and replaced the Recollects, Father Gabriel Font S.J. formally established the Immaculate Conception School, an elementary school. Thirty pupils were registered and enrolled under the mentorship of Mr. Juan Fuentes and his sister Cirila (Mrs. Sumatra). This year indicated the formal founding of the Immaculate Conception School although recognition came later in 1935. From 1931 to 1937, Thomas Gallagher S.J. was the head of the school with Miss Isabel Lapinig (Mrs. Agagon) as head teacher. She was later joined by Miss Rosario Bernad, (Mrs. Mercado), who also became head teacher from 1933 to 1941.
With more local teachers involved, the school offered complete elementary education and became the center for Christian education in the old town of Misamis.
In the 1940s, the Columban Fathers took over the administration of the Immaculate Conception School (later on called Immaculate Conception College). Father Martin Noane of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban became the director. About a year after, 20 April 1941, the Missionary Sisters of Saint Columban arrived and Sister Francis de Sales was installed as the first
Columban Superior Directress. In the same year, the school opened its secondary department and offered the first two years of the high school curriculum with 90 registered students.
Just before the Second World War, CEAP record showed that there were 39 Catholic Schools in Mindanao and Sulu in 1941. There were few secondary schools because during the American-controlled period of 40 years, the government had secondary schools in most capital towns and the Catholic influence on youth could only be exercised through dormitories and boarding houses run by the Sisters. Then came the war and the Japanese Occupation. From December 1941 to August 1945, most public and Catholic schools were closed. The old convent building was occupied and utilized by the Japanese Imperial Forces as headquarters. Incidentally, one of the Japanese Officers who had been billeted at the building, a Captain Saburo Yamanashi, who is now an officer of the Mindanao Friendship Society came back to Ozamiz on July 31, 1976 on a sentimental journey to view and take pictures of his old wartime quarters and take back home to his folks in Japan. He left behind a souvenir of his visit for the Immaculate Conception College Museum.
The Columban Sisters evacuated and continuously moved from place to place. They were accommodated and sheltered by Mr. & Mrs. Ismael Balverde in Lam-an, by Mr. & Mrs. Miguel Ferreren Sr. in Tangub and subsequently by Mr. & Mrs. Hilarion Conol in the same town. When the Japanese occupied the Shrine of El Triunfo de la Cruz (popularly known as Cotta) the Sisters left Tangub and went further to Silangit, where they stayed in the farmhouse of Mr. & Mrs. Pascual Quinahan before they finally settle down in the small island of Sumalig (now part of Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur) for the rest of the war years until the end of the Japanese occupation. It was the late Archbishop Patrick Cronin, then parish priest of the town of Bonifacio who took the responsibility of securing the safety and survival of the Sisters.
Shortly after liberation, the Sisters left their place of evacuation to resume their second year of operation of the Immaculate Conception High School. The close of the School Year 1947-1948 marked the first high school graduation. By June of the same year, Sister Mary Theophane Fortune opened a college department with 18 students for a start. Programs in Liberal Arts, Commerce, Education, Home economics and Secretarial were offered, all of which were complete courses and recognized four years later. The graduate school opened in 1954, starting with MA English Program and followed later with MA Education and in 1975, MA Social Work .
The shining moment in the life of ICC came in 1974 when Mr. Ricardo Alsim topped the CPA Board Examination.
Teaching Catechism in the public schools was an apostolate of the school which started with the High School department and still exists right now but under the College Department. Indeed, ICC was an instrument and continues to be such for the mission of evangelization.
At the early part of 1980, Ozamiz City was a victim of bombings. Some faculty members and pupils in the Grade School Department were among the victims. As a result, the High School batch of graduating students did not have a formal graduation ceremony for security reason. They were made to have a simple candle lighting and prayer service to mark their graduation.
In 1987, at the request of the Columban Sisters, Most Reverend Federico Escaler S.J., D.D. became the President of the Immaculate Conception College. This was in line with the Filipinization of Philippine schools.
Then in 1990, at the request of the Columban Sisters, the De La Salle Brothers agreed to assist in the Academic Supervision of the school. Brother Martin Simpson, FSC was the first to hold office as a Consultant. He became the School President from 1993 to 1994.
The Immaculate Conception College – La Salle in its desire to attain high standard of quality in its academic programs submitted voluntarily for accreditation to PAASCU. Thus, on March 2-3, 1992, a PAASCU team of six members visited ICC to inspect the departments of Liberal Arts, Commerce, and Education. As a result, ICC was given the Level I rating.
July 21, 1995 was the formal installation of Dr. Emma Villaseran as the first lay President of the Immaculate Conception College- La Salle, Ozamiz City. As a Catholic Institution of higher learning, ICC- La Salle did not only strive to become the center of Evangelization but also of academic excellence in the Province of Misamis Occidental and in Northwestern Mindanao. In this school year, the first batch of faculty from grade school, high school and college department was sent to De La Salle University, Manila for their graduate studies under the Summer Institute for Graduate Studies (SIGS). This program was part of the De La Salle system to train and give world class graduate studies to all La Salle faculty members.
For a standard and quality education led by Dr. Emma Villaseran, the school was working for the level II PAASCU Accreditation. Furthermore, the community of Ozamiz City and in Northwestern Mindanao in general had seen the significant role played by ICC-La Salle in teaching minds, touching hearts and transforming lives. This is indicated by the rapid increase of student population to 4, 125 in the first semester of school year 1996-1997 which was twice that of the previous couple of years.
On March 6 to 7, 1995, ICC- La Salle was again visited by the PAASCU Survey team led by Bro. James Adams, FMS and Mrs. Concepcion Pijano, a PAASCU Director. The college was granted a Level II – three year accreditation.
Then on August 5 to 7, 1998, another PAASCU team visited ICC La Salle and inspected the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Commerce and Education. This visit resulted in the granting of Level II Reaccredidation status to the college for a period of five years.
As Dr. Emma Villaseran retired on March 16, 1998, Brother Benildo Feliciano, FSC took over as President of ICC-La Salle. He led the ICC-La Salle Academic Community to actively take part in the national and local political, socio-economic affairs and issues. His Administration did not just focus on academic excellence, school and community service but also in increasing the level of social awareness of the school community. Thus, ICC-La Salle became the provincial headquarters of NAMFREL and served the May 1998 national and local elections.
On 15 May 2003, Bro.Narciso Erguiza Jr. FSC took over as president of ICC-La Salle.
On August 18-19, 2003, another PAASCU team visited the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business and Accountancy and Education. This visit was for the Level II Third Resurvey.
When the school was formally managed by the De La Salle Brothers, new horizons were also opened for new program offerings. Hence, from 1994 up to the present the new programs offered are: BS Criminology, BS Nursing, BS Accountancy, Hotel and Restaurant Management, BS in Geodetic Engineering, BS in Electrical Engineering, BS in Electronics and Communication Engineering, BS in Civil Engineering and BS in Computer Science, BS Office in Management, and Associate in Office Administration, BA Journalism, BA Communication, BS in Psychology, Bachelor of Library and Information Science and Teacher Certificate Program for Second Courses. New major subjects were also offered in addition to the new program offerings. Such as: Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Majors in Management Accounting, Computer Application, Legal Management, Agri-Business, Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing. Another is BS in Secondary Education Majors in Computer Technology, Technology and Livelihood Education, MAPHE. There was also Bachelor in Elementary Education Majors in Pre-School Education and Special Education. The Graduate School also started offering new programs and majors such as: major in Educational Management, Master in Business Administration (Non-thesis), Master in Public Administration, and MA in Education majors in Educational Management, Biology, Chemistry, Guidance and Counseling, Physics, Religious Education (Non-thesis), MAT majors in English (with thesis)and Filipino (with thesis). Language Teaching and Literature Teaching as majors in MA in English are also offered. Finally, masters in Teaching (Non thesis) majors in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Values and Religious Education, Religious Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Educational Management.
In 2004, the high school department applied for PAASCU preliminary visit for which it was granted level 1 status. The following year, the grade school followed suit and was likewise granted level 1 status. Schoolyear 2006, both grade school and high school were integrated into a basic education department in 2006.
Then, in 2005, after more than 10 years from the initial application, ICC-La Salle renewed its application for university status. After complying with all the necessary requirements, a CHED special team came to visit the school. The series of visits was culminated by the final visit of the commissioners themselves. During an en banc meeting of the members of the Commission on Higher Education on July 10, 2006 – Immaculate Conception College-La Salle was officially granted UNIVERSITY STATUS; subsequently, after consultation with various stakeholders, acquired a new name – LA SALLE UNIVERSITY OZAMIZ.