About National University (NU)

 

History

A young man, barely 23 years old, had a vision of inculcating among the youth the qualities of competence and leadership, high moral and spiritual values and development of each individual into a total person. These would be acquired through an educational process guided by the philosophy of Dynamic Filipinism.

This philosophy has as its guiding tenets, the internalizing all that is good in the Filipino people: warmth, hospitality , innovativeness , and a high emotional quotient that has made Filipinos renowned in service oriented industries."

This young man , Don Mariano Fortunato Jhocson , guided by this vision , founded Colegio Filipino , now NATIONAL UNIVERSITY in August 01 , 1900 , in Quiapo, City of Manila . It was the first non – sectarian and co – educational institution then. There were only a handful of students at that time in the fledgling School, and they were in the elementary and secondary (High School) levels. Don Mariano, in order to help the school grow, was teacher, director and janitor rolled into one.

In a short span of 5 years, he offered courses in Business – bookkeeping and accounting, convinced that thus armed, his students would be financially secure and respectable after graduation. This led to the changing of the name to Colegio Mercantil , awarding the diploma of Perito Mercantil . A short time later, the Philippine Law School was opened with the collaboration of the Lacson brothers. Don Mariano saw the dire need for training the youth for leadership and responsibility. He firmly believed that the discipline of Law would turn out men and women who would eventually be advocates for Philippine self government.

In 1916, the Board of Trustees changed the name from Colegio Mercantil to National Academy. The growth of the Academy was continuous, added Liberal Arts which became the gateway to other disciplines that followed.