History
The De La Salle University-Dasmariñas was first established on July 18, 1977 as a private nonsectarian tertiary school named General Emilio Aguinaldo College (GEAC)- Cavite and managed by the Yaman Lahi Foundation in Dasmariñas, Cavite. The College had Dr. Paulo C. Campos as its president. It started with the Division of Health and Sciences with six faculty members and the Division of Arts and Sciences served by nine faculty members. Offered during its first semester were the following courses: Education and Elementary Education, Secretarial Administration, Nursing, Foods and Nutrition, Midwifery, Radiologic Technology and Business Administration.
Technical courses were later included in its program offerings to help the youth of the community who could not afford a costly four-year college education and to train them to be skilled and valuable citizens of the society. These courses included Agriculture Technology, Electrical Technology, Electronics Technology, and Refrigeration and Air-conditioning. Furthermore, a commitment to improve the lives of the underprivileged sectors of the community motivated GEAC-Cavite to offer courses in Dressmaking, High Speed Machine Operation and Ceramics structured either for six months or two of intensive study and training.
In 1987, ownership and management were transferred to Frere (Saint) Benilde Romancon Educational Foundation Inc., a nonstock, nonprofit sister corporation of De La Salle University, Inc. Under the new management, it became a Catholic institution and member of the De La Salle University System with a new name, De La Salle University - Emilio Aguinaldo College (DLSU-EAC). Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC was then the President and Dr. Oscar Bautista was the Executive Vice President. By this time, DLSU-EAC, has already instigated the colleges of Physical Therapy, Arts and Sciences, Nursing and Midwifery, and the Graduate School to address the escalating demand for additional courses. During the first year of DLSU-EAC, ninety percent of the freshmen came from Cavite specifically Dasmariñas, Imus, Silang and other Southern Tagalog areas. The other ten percent came form Las Piñas. On its second year, the number of freshmen who came from Cavite and other Southern Tagalog areas dropped to about sixty-five percent due to the increased percentage of Metro Manila enrollees, which was thirty-five percent.
Since DLSU assumed ownership of the college on June 1, 1987, the enrolment has dramatically kept increasing. Likewise, the number of faculty members has greatly increased and the teaching force's enthusiasm in pursuing graduate studies became very evident as shown in the statistics of faculty members who were enrolled in the master's and doctoral programs.
In 1992, the name DLSU-EAC was changed to De La Salle University - Aguinaldo. This period saw the term of Bro. Rafael S. Donato as president. The leadership of the University was likewise transferred from one dynamic leader to another. Mr. Cecilio Acasio was the executive vice president in 1994. Dr. Ambrosio Capayas had a short stint as officer-in-charge before Dr. Herminia Torres took the reins in 1995.
The advent of 1994 was typified by the return of Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC as president, who was re-elected to his second term in 1997. In line with Bro. Andrew Gonzalez's long-term plan to concentrate all the health sciences programs in one campus, the College of Physical Therapy was transferred to the College of Medicine in 1994. Consequently, the campus was renamed DLSU-Health Sciences Campus which eventually absorbed the remaining two health sciences programs namely Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Midwifery and Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology in 2000.
Eventually, the University's name became De La Salle University - Dasmariñas upon the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 20, 1997. The change of the name was triggered by the confusion brought about by the establishment of the new Emilio Aguinaldo College in Dasmariñas, Cavite, and the desire of the whole academic community to institute a distinct name and reputation for itself.
At present, DLSU-Dasmariñas offers several programs through its seven colleges: Business Administration, Liberal Arts, Sciences. Engineering and Technology, International Hospitality Management and Tourism, Law Enforcement and Public Safety, and Education. Its population has marked more than twelve thousand and is expected to increase in the succeeding years.
In the immediate future, the De La Salle University - Dasmariñas intends to achieve excellence in regional studies and academic programs relevant to the needs of the CALABARZON area. This will be addressed through adopting quality and effective instruction exerted by competent faculty members. Moreover, it aims to produce graduates who are globally competitive and to earn further distinction in board examinations. To strengthen research on Cavite studies, a museum has been constructed to house Cavite historical treasures and to generate research outputs on Cavite history and culture.
MikkaElla Bajaro
