University History

A Brief History of Liceo de Cagayan University

Founded in 1955 by Atty. Rodolfo N. Pelaez of Cagayan de Oro City and his wife Elsa Pelaez Pelaez of Cebu City, the University was established with the primary mission to impart professional education to the youth of Northern Mindanao especially those who are deserving, but are financially-challenged. Envisioned to make relevant and quality education accessible to the youth, this higher institution of learning was founded as a catalyst in their total human formation anchored on universal moral values and Christian precepts.

Distinctions

  • Most Effective Private Secondary School in the division and regional levels by the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
  • Elevated to University status by the Commission on Higher Education Center of Excellence in Nursing for Region X, XII and Caraga
  • 4th ranking Law School nationwide by the Supreme Court of the Philippines
  • Higher Education Institution in Mindanao conferred Category A, based on the Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation (IQuAME) by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
  • Granted the meritorious Autonomous Status Award by CHED, based on its consistent demonstration of exemplary performance in instruction, research, and community service
  • The University’s Asian Journal of Biodiversity (ISSN-2094-1519), indexed in Thomson Reuters Master Journal for 2011-2014, was declared as CHED Accredited... Research Journal (Category A-1), one of the first three (3) universities to earn this distinction; the other two included Ateneo de Manila University (Kritika at Kultura, ISSN-0119-3058) and UP Los Baños (Journal of Environmental Science and Management, ISSN-0119-1144) Read more
  • Center of Development in Information Technology and Radiologic Technology for Region X by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
  • Authorized by the Commission on Higher Education to be a Delivering Higher Education Institution (DHEID) for scholarships in the... K to 12 Transition Period for the various programs offered in the School of Graduate Studies. Read more

Accreditation

The University enjoys the distinction of having the highest number of accredited programs in Region 10 in 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.

In 2007, the University was the first school to have been granted Level III reaccredited status for her Liberal Arts and Business Administration programs in the region. The Master of Arts in Nursing, Master in Management, and Nursing programs achieved the first Level III status in the whole country in 2008. In 2015, Liceo U became the first school to have been granted Level IV reaccredited status nationwide for her Master of Arts in Nursing, Master in Management, and Nursing programs.

To date, the following 21 programs have been accredited in the different levels, with Level IV being the highest: Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Master of Arts in Nursing, Master in Management, and Nursing in Level IV; Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Biology, and Psychology in Level III; Doctor in Management, Radiologic Technology, Information Technology, Tourism, Accountancy, Junior High School, and Elementary in Level II; and Master of Arts in Education, Physical Therapy, Medical Technology, Criminology, and Pharmacy in Level I Status.

Curricular Offerings

On her 65th year this year, the University confers degrees in the baccalaureate level and professional degrees such as Law, School of Graduate Studies and Medicine.

Today, the University, prides herself in offering all levels in the educational system, from the K-12 of the Basic Education, Bachelor’s degrees to Post Graduate and professional studies including Law and Medicine.... Over the years, a menu of degrees in the Bachelor and Graduate levels were introduced. Her health-related degrees pioneered the offering of Nursing in both the Bachelor’s and Graduate levels in Northern Mindanao as did the other paramedical degrees Rehabilitation Sciences (Physical and Occupational Therapy), Radiologic Technology, Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy and in 2017, the Doctor of Medicine. The non-paramedical degrees are in Accountancy and Business Administration Management Accounting, and Real Estate Management, Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communications, Economics, International Studies, Literature and Performing Arts Political Science; the Bachelor of Science are in Biology, Library and Information Science, Criminal Justice, Education, Engineering, Hotel and Restaurant and Institution Management, and Information Technology and Law. The Conservatory of Music, Theater and Dance offers the degrees of Bachelor of Music in Pedagogy and in Performance. The Institute of Short Studies offers the following: Associate in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Diploma Culinary Arts, Diploma in Theater and Performing Arts, Certificate in Culinary Foundation, Certificate in Basic Patisserie, International Caregiver, Certificate in Professional Education, Certificate in Early Childhood Education, PC Operations/Hardware Servicing, English Immersion Camp and German Language.Read more

For the past 65 years, Liceo graduates have excelled professionally in different areas in meeting the manpower requirements of both developed and developing economies.

Track Record

    • Physical Therapy – 2014-2018, localpulse.net / Uguide – CollegeTIPSPH
    • Criminology – 2014
    • Medical Laboratory Science – 2015, 2017
    • Nursing - 1996
    • Pharmacy – 2019
    • Radiologic Technology – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2011
    • Center of Development - 2019, Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
    • First Place – 2019, localpulse.net / Uguide – CollegeTIPSPH
      • 7th placer – 2013
      • 16th placer – 2001
      • 20th placer – 2006
      • 6th placer - 2016
      • 10th placer – 2009
      • 6th placer – 2013
      • 4th placer - 1993
      • 6th placer - 1994
      • 7th placer - 1993
      • 8th placer - 1993
      • 9th placer - 1994, 2005, 2011
      • 10th placer - 1993, 2005, 2016
      • 20th placer - 1994
      • 2nd placer – 2014
      • 4th placer – 2013
      • 7th placer – 2018
      • 10th placer – 2015
      • 1st placer – 1996, 2000, 2008, 2014, 2016
      • 2nd placer – 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2018
      • 3rd placer – 2003, 2005, 2012
      • 4th placer – 1995
      • 5th placer – 1996, 2000
      • 6th placer – 2002, 2003, 2005, 2017
      • 7th placer – 2000, 2007, 2010, 2017
      • 8th placer – 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010
      • 9th placer – 2005, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
      • 10th placer – 2002, 2004, 2016
      • 11th placer – 2002
      • 12th placer – 1996, 1997, 2001
      • 13th placer – 2001, 2002
      • 14th placer – 1996, 2002
      • 15th placer – 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002
      • 17th placer – 1996, 2000
      • 18th placer – 2002
      • 19th placer – 1997, 1999
      • 20th placer – 2002
      • 4th placer - 1995
      • 6th placer - 2002
      • 11th placer - 1996
      • 15th placer - 1998
      • 17th placer - 1995
      • 19th placer - 1996, 1998
      • 20th placer - 1999
    • Accountancy – 2009, 2011
    • Civil Engineering – 2016
    • Criminology – 2014, 2017
    • Electrical Engineering – 2016
    • Librarian – 2016
    • Medical Laboratory Science – 2012, 2015
    • Nursing – 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2015, 2016, 2017
    • Pharmacy - 2019
    • Physical Therapy – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
    • Radiologic Technology – 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008

Community Service

Complementing the academic curricular offerings of Liceo de Cagayan University is a strong commitment to community development. Situated along the riverbanks of the Cagayan River enjoying a 600-meter long frontage, the University has made the protection, preservation, and conservation of the Cagayan de Oro River as her flagship community extension project. A government-private sector multi-disciplinary approach is in place to drum up support for community consciousness under the “Safer River, Life Saver” Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the Rodolfo N. Pelaez (RNP) Foundation, Inc. The RNP Foundation, Inc. enhances further the provisions of the scholarship programs to financially-challenged students and strengthens the promotion of the charitable activities for the welfare of the community. Expanding this thrust is a University-wide comprehensive effort to deliver social, educational, health, livelihood, sanitation, literacy, and environmental preservation consciousness through an immersion program in the rural communities.

Research

The Research and Planning Office created in 1993 renamed Research, Publication and Extension (RPE) Office in 2016 fulfills the knowledge – creation function of the University. It has produced world-class scientific journals that earned the acceptance of indexing companies.

In 2010, The Liceo Journal of Higher Education Research was ranked Category B by the CHED Journal Accreditation Service (CHED JAS). In 2012 the University’s Asian Journal of Biodiversity (ISSN-2094-1519), indexed in Thomson Reuters Master Journal for... 2011-2014, was declared as CHED Accredited Research Journal (Category A-1). Likewise, in 2013, the University’s Asian Journal of Health was accredited as Category B.

Other journals such as The Asian Journal studies of Business and Governance and the Asian Journal of Health also enjoy global readership. The Nursing Journal and the Advancing Information Technology Research are also indexed. The journals of Liceo de Cagayan University are international, peer-reviewed, ranked, indexed, cross-referenced for Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and accessed globally via online. These journals are presently indexed in the US Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Research Programs of RPE focus on Biodiversity, Social Sciences, and Health. The Biodiversity Research Program was awarded second place by CHED as Best HEI Research Program in Region 10. The Social Sciences research entry won first place in the REPUBLICA Regional Research Contest in Region 10, also awarded by CHED.

The Liceo University, Research Publication and Extension has continued to engage in various national and international linkages which include: CHED, Philippine National Museum, DOST, NorMinCoHRD, NOMCAARD, NorminCIEERD, DOH, PNRS, NRCP, BIOTA Philippines, Mosquito Dengue Fighter Association of the Phippines (MDFA), National University of Singapore, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand), Oklahoma State University (USA).

The Licean researchers continue to reap national and international awards and have engaged in various national and international linkages. The University is a member of PILA Cross Ref USA for Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The RPE copyrighted each volume of the journals and applied for trademark of the Journal titles. To be of better service to the research undertaking of the University, the RPE also extends assistance through grammar software, plagiarism detector, reference checker, SPSS software.
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Culture And The Arts

In 2005, the RODELSA Hall, a state-of-the-art performing arts theater was built to support various cultural and performing arts presentations by local, national and international artists. It complements the University’s goal to develop the quality of “humaneness” in the academic community through an exposure to, and appreciation for culture and the arts. A facet of international diplomacy of the European Union Philippine Commission, the Cine Europa, has been hosted by the University for the past six years at the RODELSA Hall. The La Castilla Museum was also opened for the Liceo community and the public to further appreciate the Filipino Lifestyle in the 20th century. Additionally, the Folkloric Dance Troupe continues to reap international accolade through its performances in Asia and Europe including Russia while the Next Moves Dance Company, and the G-Clef Society have been acclaimed for their feat in local and national competitions.

International Affairs

The Office of External Relations and Internationalization was formally established in 2013. Its main objective is to further enhance institutional visibility and international understanding by exposing the faculty and the students to various cultures through the University’s academic programs, and set the world’s best practices in different disciplines as its benchmarks.

International Linkages

Linkages with foreign embassies awarded Liceo with sponsorships such as a series of Mcluhan lectures on Journalism by the Embassy of Canada, one of whose lecturers included the Ambassador of Canada, Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation Country Representative Herr Goetz Heinickie, the British Council, the USAID Director for Education, a four-day workshop on Creative Writing by the US Embassy cultural specialist, a lecture series on the Japanese classical theatre and the Haiku, staging of a modern genre of comedy featured by the British Council and a common on-line newspaper of Liceo High together with Islington High, at Green Bend, London. The University has various international Research Cooperation with the National University of Singapore, Singapore Botanic Gardens (Singapore), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), the Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand), and the Oklahoma State University (USA).

Partnership With The Federal Republic Of Germany

The Liceo de Cagayan University Basic Education Dept. has been a partner of the Goethe Institut, the cultural arm of the German Embassy under the “Schools: Partners of the Future” program (Goethe Institut Philippinen), one of only a handful in the Philippines. The partnership became official upon the signing of the PASCH Memorandum of Understanding on September 10, 2013 by both parties. PASCH is an initiative of the Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZFA) the Goethe-Institut (GI), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Lander in the Federal Republic of Germany (PAD). The Goethe-Institut under the “Schools: Partners of the Future” program aims to promote and support the teaching of the German language at excellent schools throughout the world.

Offshore University Linkages

In 2018, LDCU forged another partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding and Academic Collaboration with the Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh to establish and develop partnership to promote academic and cultural exchange between the two institutions through mutual assistance, especially in the areas of teaching and research. The same partnership was established with the EMPI Group of Institutions, in New Delhi, India, the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, and with Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela, Manila, Recently, the University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Mental Health Training Center in Taiwan.

The Administration

Liceo de Cagayan University as a closed family corporation is headed by a President who is appointed by the Board of Directors. It has a flat and lean administrative structure, making governance and management responsive, action-oriented, and results-driven.

The University has stood the test of time through a strong, dynamic, and competent leadership at the helm. Succeeding Atty. Rodolfo N. Pelaez, who founded the University and served as the First President of Liceo de Cagayan, Dr. Jose Ma. R. Golez was installed as the Second President under whose leadership Liceo de Cagayan was elevated to University status in 1997. In 2002, Dr. Rafaelita Pelaez-Golez, was installed as the Third President of the University and continued to pursue tirelessly the ideals and aspirations of the University’s raison d’ etre. After five years, Dr. Mariano M. Lerin, CPA, was installed in 2007 as the Fourth President.

The investiture of the Fifth University President, Dr. Alain Marc Pelaez Golez, on February 28, 2020 highlighted the celebration of the 65th Foundation Day of the University. On a personal note, Dr. Golez is a home-grown Licean, a member of the fourth generation of the Neri-Pelaez clan and the youngest grandson of the Founders of the University. The new President assumes the mantle of leadership in taking the University towards greater heights into the 21st century. After 65 years, Liceo de Cagayan University continues to commit as a Filipino institution of higher learning, upholding the ideals of national identity by instilling in the heart of every student the pride of being a Filipino. The University is on course to stand for excellence, integrity, loyalty, discipline, and service as central to her pursuit of developing total human formation among her studentry in their journey towards leading a productive and fulfilling life.

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