Former names
|
Southwestern Colleges |
---|---|
Motto | Scientia Integritas Fidelitas |
Motto in English
|
Science Integrity Fidelity |
Type | Private, Co-educational |
Established | 1946 |
Chairman | Chito B. Salazar, Ph.D |
President | Noe G. Quiñanola |
Students | 13,000+ |
Location | Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines |
Campus | Main Campus Aznar Coliseum Complex South Campus |
Colors | Maroon and White |
Nickname | Southwesterners, SWU Cobras, Phinmanians |
Mascot | Cobra |
Website | www |
The Southwestern University (SWU), officially the Southwestern University PHINMA, is a private university in Cebu City, Philippines founded on 1946 by two pharmacists. It started as Southwestern Colleges in the summer of 1946 and became a university on December 11, 1959. It has three campuses in Metro Cebu.
In summer of 1946, when the Philippines was in the rehabilitation process after World War II, Southwestern University was founded with the name Southwestern Colleges. The founders were husband-and-wife pharmacists Matias Hipolito Chavez Aznar II and Anunciacion Barcenilla Aznar.
Southwestern Colleges started with 18 faculty members and 509 students in three two-storey buildings on an approximately two-hectare lot. It had the following courses: elementary, high school (day and night classes), first two years of Arts and Sciences (Associate programs), Education and Commerce, and first-year Law. In the school year 1946–47, the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and the Graduate School were opened. The College of Nursing was added in school year 1948–1949.
The school became a university on December 11, 1959 with its formal inauguration and the investiture of the co-founder and second president Anunciacion Barcenilla Aznar on February 13, 1960. The school year 1959–1960 also started with two new courses: Engineering and Optometry. The college of optometry then became a world class education for primary eye care physicians. lots of foreign students come to study optometry here, due to its outstanding education. The College of Medical Technology was opened in 1962. Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine came after a few years. The latest colleges added were Computer Studies, Physical Therapy, Maritime, and Criminology. In 2009, the university had 20 colleges and departments.
Southwestern University has continuously expanded its curricular offerings and its physical plant. The university now occupies more than 18 hectares. The Aznar Coliseum with a seating capacity of approximately 7,000–8,000 is the venue for sports and cultural activities.
In April 23, 2015, the Aznar clan of Cebu has given up the family’s flagship business as it completes the sale of 56.83 percent share worth P1.9 billion of the seven decade old Southwestern University to publicly-listed conglomerate PHINMA Corporation, an investment firm with interests in including property, energy, education, and business process outsourcing.
Southwestern University is in the south of the City of Cebu, Philippines. The university has three campuses. The main campus is located on Urgello St.; the Aznar Coliseum Complex is on Aznar Road; and the Basak Campus on Sabellano St., Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City.