Central Mindanao University

Infobox_University
name = Central Mindanao University


motto = The Academic Paradise of the South
established = 1965
type = Semi-Public School Run by Government
president = Dr. Mardonio M. Lao
campus = Musuan Campus
city = Musuan, Maramag
state = Bukidnon
country = Philippines
students = 5000
grad = 300
faculty = 500
staff = 800
colors = Green
nickname = "The Academic Paradise of the South"
affiliations = Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges and Mindanao Association State Colleges and Universities Foundation, Inc.
affiliations2 =
website = [http://www.cmu.edu.ph www.cmu.edu.ph]

Central Mindanao University is one of the two universities in the province of Bukidnon, Mindanao Island in the Philippines.

History

Central Mindanao University was transformed from a settlement of farm schools organized by the Americans. It started as the Mailag Industrial School in 1910 and offered only the first four grades of the elementary agriculture curriculum.Citation |last=Lao |first=Mardonio M. |title=Bukidnon in Historical Perspective, Vol. 1 |publisher=Publications Office, Central Mindanao University |date=1985 |oclc=15243254] Situated in Mailag, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, this school was opened to address the necessity of training Bukidnons to teach in their own province as it was difficult to recruit non-Bukidnon teachers to serve in newly-opened public schools. In 1918, the school was renamed the Bukidnon Agricultural School and now offered the last three grades of the elementary agriculture curriculum. This was later relocated to Managok, Malaybalay, Bukidnon. After a few years it offered the secondary agriculture curriculum. By 1923, the Governor General renamed the school to the Bukidnon Rural High School and allocated 724 hectares for the school’s reservation by virtue of Proclamation No. 30. In 1928, the Philippine Legislature changed the named of the school to Bukidnon Agricultural High School, which was then a secondary agricultural school for male students. In 1938, it was renamed the Bukidnon National Agricultural School which implemented the secondary homemaking curriculum for female students.Citation |last=Quisumbing |first=Jose R. |title=History of Central Mindanao University] After the war, Superintendent Zosimo Montemayor reopened the school but due to its terrible condition ccaused by World War II, the school was transferred to Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon. Congressman Cesar Fortich of Bukidnon sponsored House Bill 3041, which elevated BNAS into an agricultural state college. On June 21, 1952, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act 807, otherwise known as the Mindanao Agricultural College (MAC) Charter which also installed Zosimo Montemayor as President. This law also paved the way for funding from national, as well as foreign sources. In 1957-1960, three Stanford consultants, namely James Wall, Donald Green and John McCleland, lived in the locality and provided technical assistance in agricultural technology.

In 1958, President Carlos Garcia, on recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, issued Proclamation No. 476 granting CMU 3,401 hactares of land. The titling of land began as early as 1961 before the Court of First Instance of Bukidnon to determine the rights of adverse claimants, if there were any. By June 19, 1965, R.A. 4498 catapulted MAC to the Central Mindanao University with Montemayor as the first President. In 1974, the 1971 Cadastral Court decision for the segregation of several hectares was amended for humanitarian reason and the government’s agrarian program. The 321.9 hectares were properly segregated and given to legitimate claimants and CMU was granted title for 3,080 hectares. This institution has withstood the crises in leadership. Dr. Mardonio M. Lao, on his second term, is CMU’s seventh president. He succeeded Dr. Montano Salvador acting as officer-in-charge. The former presidents are as follow: Dr. Amado Campos, Dr. Isabelo S. Alcordo, Dr. Rodolfo Nayga, Dr. Leonardo Chua and Dr. Jaime Gellor. CMU enjoyed for some decades the distinction of being the only state university in Region 10. Today, it is one of the top performing schools nationwide in the fields of veterinary medicine, engineering, forestry education, agriculture education, nutrition and dietetics and teacher education. The commission on Higher Education recognizes the College of Agriculture and College of Forestry as Centers of Excellence for agriculture and forestry education, respectively, while the Department of Biology of the College of Arts and Sciences as the Center of Development in Biology Education. The commitment for excellence not only in instruction but also in research, extension and production has earned laurels for this institution, enhanced by its collaboration with government and non-government agencies.Her graduates have brought honors and fame to CMU in local, regional, national and international competitions, be it quiz bowls, science fairs or leadership awards. Despite her meager budget from the national government, CMU continues to provide quality education at affordable tuition to deserving students in the “depressed, deprived and disadvantaged sectors” in the region. Presently, CMU implements three categories of tuition fees: P60 for new students, P40 for sophomores and P10 for the old students. These have been the tuition rate instituted to serve the poor because 80 percent of CMU students are children of farmers. The best University education that is not offered in neighboring schools and elsewhere in Mindanao is now available to these people at CMU. Increasing school fees would only drive the poor away from the University and become dissident elements of society who would add up to the number of people wallowing in poverty.

With the joint efforts of the administration and the constituents, the shared vision of making CMU an “academic paradise of the south” can be reached.

Present Times

Graduates of this institution have brought fame and honor to their Alma Mater. Most recently, a BSCE graduate, Theonette Maribijoc, placed fifth in the Licensure Exam for Civil Engineers. A mechanical engineering graduate from the College of Engineering, Engr. Angel Alagos also topped the 2004 Licensure Examination for Mechanical Engineers where CMU obtained an 88.89 percent passing rate as against the national passing rate of 45.21 percent.

The average performance of CMU graduates in the different professional board examinations in Engineering, Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, Home Economics and Education is 67.80 percent as against the 40 percent national passing percentage, last year. CMU students continuously brought laurels to this university as three youngest scientist namely Osmund Nino Amoroso, Leo Carillo, and Ryan Oco from the Central Mindanao Laboratory High School (CMULHS) who represented the Philippines in the International Science and Engineering Fair held inn Detroit, Michigan, USA in 2000 won fourth place among more than 1,000 entries worldwide. In October of the same year, another two young scientists, still from the CMULHS, competed in Germany in a scientist research contest sponsored by the World Young Researchers on Environment (WYRE) and emerged among the top 23 entries out of 73 entries worldwide. Among CMU alumnus, Dr. Glenn Gregorio, a plant breeder/geneticist of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) received one of the 2004 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award for his exemplary contribution in the field of plant breeding and genetics from the Junior Chamber International-Philippines. CMU consistently boasts of its faculty members, who were accredited by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as “scientist". Notably, among them is Dr. Victor Amoroso.

Dr. Amoroso, a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Scientists (TOYS) award in 1991, is a prolific research scientist and is internationally known as an expert in Philippine pteridology and in biodiversity conservation. To date, he has received fifty one awards and honors, has published fifty nine scientific papers, manuals, and handbooks. His leadership has also been influential in developing a dynamic research culture in the Central Mindanao University in Musuan, Bukidnon, where he has been a full professor for fifteen years and where he now heads the Mt. Musuan Zoological and Botanical Garden and University Museum. For his work, Dr. Amoroso was conferred Scientist III by the Department of Science and Technology and holds the distinction of "University Professor," the highest academic rank in the University and the whole of Region 10.

Another faculty member, Dr. Andrea Azuelo, received an award as Outstanding Teacher of the Philippines (Secondary Level) given by the Metrobank Foundation, adding more recognition and awards received by some faculty members who excelled in their fields. These are just some of the achievements that made CMU ranked second among the state colleges and universities, in institutional performance nationwide.

Academic Programs

*College of Agriculture
*College of Arts And Sciences
*College of Education
*College of Engineering
*College of Forestry
*College of Home Economics
*College of Veterinary Medicine
*College of Nursing

References

External links

* [http://www.cmu.edu.ph Central Mindanao University Official Website]