text: Ateneo de Manila University - Wikipilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia
  The Ateneo de Manila University (also called Ateneo de Manila or simply "the Ateneo") is a private university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 as the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, and was then a state-subsidized school. It became a private school during the American occupation of the Philippines, and has moved from Manila to its current location. It received its university charter in 1959.
  The Ateneo offers programs in the elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate levels. Its academic offerings cover various fields, including the Arts, Humanities, Business, Law, the Social Sciences, Theology, Information Technology, Medicine, Public Health, and Pure and Applied Sciences. Aside from teaching, the Ateneo de Manila also engages in extensive research and social outreach work.
  The university seal is defined by two semi-circular ribbons. The crown (top) ribbon contains the school motto, "Lux in Domino", while the base (bottom) ribbon contains the school name, "Ateneo de Manila". These ribbons define a circular field on which rests the shield of Oñaz-Loyola: a combination of the arms of the paternal and maternal sides of the family of St. Ignatius.
  White and blue, Ateneo's school colors, are also the colors of Mary. Red and gold are the colors of Spain, home of Ignatius and the Ateneo's Jesuit founders. Together, these four tinctures mirror the tinctures of the Philippine flag, marking the Ateneo's identity as a Filipino University.
  The school's icon is the blue eagle. The choice of the color blue is clearly based on the Ateneo's colors. The choice of an eagle holds iconic significance. It is a reference to the "high-flying" basketball team which would "sweep the fields away" as a dominating force. Furthermore, there was some mythological— even political—significance to the eagle as a symbol of power.
  2.1 University Units
  2.1.1 Professional Schools
  2.1.2 Loyola Schools
  2.1.4 Grade school
  2.2 Auxiliary units and Research Centers
  2.4 Admissions and financial aid
  A Royal Decree was made in 1852 by Queen Isabella II of Spain. This decree ordered ten Spanish Jesuits to be sent on a mission to the Philippines mainly to do missionary work in Mindanao and Jolo. They arrived in Manila on 14 April 1859.
  With the Jesuits' reputation for educating the Filipinos on their last visit, the "Ayuntamiento" or city council requested the Governor-General to found and finance a Jesuit school using the public funds. On 1 October 1859, "Escuela Municipal", a small private school, opened by order of the Governor-General had its first 30 students, children of Spanish residents. Ten Spanish Jesuit priests and a Jesuit brother began operating the school on 10 December 1859. The Ateneo de Manila University considers this date its foundation day.
  Partly subsidized by the Ayuntamiento, the Escuela was the only primary school in Manila at the time. The Escuela eventually changed its name to Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, when it became accredited as an institution of secondary education. It began by offering a bachelor's degree, as well as courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business.
  In 1908, the American colonial government recognized the Ateneo de Manila's college status and licensed its offerings of a bachelor's degree and certificates in various disciplines, including electrical engineering. The Ateneo campus also housed other Jesuit institutions of research and learning, such as the Manila Observatory and the San Jose Major Seminary.
  The American Jesuits took over the Ateneo administration in 1912. Fr. Richard O'Brien led the relocation of the school after the fire destroyed the Intramuros campus. The campus was transferred to its new location in the grounds of the San Jose Major Seminary in Padre Faura, Ermita in 1932.
  World War II has brought destruction to the Ateneo campus. Salvaged ironwork and statues from the ruins were incorporated to various existing buildings such as the Ateneo monograms on the gates of the Loyola Heights campus, the iron grillwork on the ground floor of Xavier Hall, and the statue of the Immaculate Conception displayed at the University Archives.
  But even if the Ateneo campus was destroyed, the university survived. Following the American liberation, the Ateneo de Manila reopened temporarily in Plaza Guipit in Sampaloc, Manila. The Padre Faura campus reopened in 1946 with Quonset huts serving as buildings among the campus ruins.
  In 1952, Fr. William F. Masterson S.J., moved most of the Ateneo units to its present Loyola Heights campus. The Padre Faura campus continued to house the professional schools until 1976.
  In 1973, Jesuit Superior General Fr. Pedro Arrupe called for Jesuit schools to educate for justice and to form "men and women for others." In that same year, the Ateneo opened its doors to its first female students.
  The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences moved to Loyola Heights in 1976, and the Padre Faura campus finally closed in 1977 as the Graduate School of Business and the School of Law moved to H.V. de la Costa St. in Salcedo Village, Makati.
  In February 1978, the Ateneo opened the Ateneo-Univac Computer Technology Center, one of the country's pioneering computer centers. This later became the Ateneo Computer Technology Center. The Ateneo also joined the University Athletics Association of the Philippines.
  In 1996 the Ateneo relaunched the Ateneo Computer Technology Center as the Ateneo Information Technology Institute and established the Ateneo School of Government. In 1998, the Ateneo's Rockwell campus, which currently houses the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, the Ateneo School of Law, and the Ateneo School of Government, was completed in Rockwell Center in Bel-Air, Makati. The Science Education Complex was completed in the Loyola Heights campus.
  In 2000, the School of Arts and Sciences which comprised the College and the Graduate School restructured into four Loyola Schools: the School of Humanities, the John Gokongwei School of Management, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Social Sciences. The Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex was completed in the Loyola Heights campus to bolster the sports program.
  In April 2002, the office of the University President established Pathways to Higher Education-Philippines, one of the university's outreach initiatives, with the help of the Ford and Synergeia Foundations. On July 31, the feast of St. Ignatius, the University Church of the Gesù was completed in the Loyola Heights campus, and was consecrated by Jaime Cardinal Sin.
  The Ateneo earned the highest possible accreditation status, Level IV, from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU). That same year, the Ateneo de Manila celebrated its 145th anniversary, and the 145th anniversary of the return of Jesuit education in the Philippines. It also launched the countdown to its sesquicentennial in 2009.
  Midway through 2006, the Manuel V Pangilinan Center for Student Leadership was completed. The University also began ground-breaking for the development of several projects: the Ricardo Leong Hall, which will house several units of the Loyola Schools' School of Social Sciences and the Confucius Institute for Chinese Studies, as well as the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health facility in Ortigas. In December, the Ateneo also launched AGAP-Bikol in cooperation with other Jesuit-affiliated and civil society groups, in response to the devastation wrought by typhoons in the Bicol area.
  The Ateneo Professional Schools (APS) is the main professional education division of Ateneo de Manila. Listed below are the programs that the university offers for both bachelor and masters degrees.
  The High School is known for its religious formations programs which include the Christian Service and Involvement Program (CSIP), Tulong Dunong programs, recollections and retreats. The campus is also known for its various facilities such as a library, the Instructional Technology, a large athletics complex, and the Center for Math, Science and Technology.
  The Ateneo de Manila Grade School is an elementary school for boys with a current average population of 4000 students. Its facilities and classrooms cater to students from the preparatory level to the seventh grade.
  The growing international linkage of Ateneo with universities, institutions and organizations throughout the world has paved a way towards opening better opportunities to enhance the knowledge and skills of both faculty and students. Research conducted abroad has also brought improvements towards the growing knowledge of the world.
  The university also extends financial aid to students. Scholarships are available in all academic units, with funding coming from the university, third parties, and donations made by alumni, the government, and the private sector. The Loyola Schools offer Merit Scholarships for the top scorers in the Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET), and the San Ignacio Merit Scholarships are given to top ACET takers from public high schools. Applicants who belong to the top 2% of ACET takers are included in the Ateneo Freshman Director's List. However, they do not receive a tuition and fees scholarship.
  Ateneo de Manila University official website (accessed 6 November 2007)
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