The Ateneo de Naga University began with a vision of Bishop Pedro P. Santos of Caceres. Bishop Santos reflected on the possibility of education as the key to spreading further and farther the Word of God. During his time, there were only three Catholic schools in the local Diocese, and so he envisioned establishing more.
Thus, in 1939, he sent an invitation to the Society of Jesus through Fr. John Hurley, SJ, Superior of the Philippine Missions. The response from the Jesuit was favorable, as the spirit of Bishop Santos’s request aligned well with the mission of the Society of Jesus. After a series of visits and consultations, the first rector – Fr. Francis Burns, SJ – arrived in Naga City in 1940 to administer the Ateneo de Naga’s first iteration through the Camarines Sur Catholic Academy. More Jesuits were sent to Naga City to help with the management of the school.
Construction of Ateneo de Naga’s building in Bagumbayan Sur began in May 1941. On 8 December 1941, Fr Burns formally announced its completion.
Ateneo de Naga’s history has been an intricate cycle of challenges and victories. The school has witnessed itself on the brink of ends and closures, only to fight its way back to rebirth and, at times, reinvention. It survived World War II and Japanese fortification in the forties, threats of closure in the nineties, and the great global pandemic in 2020. Through the years the university, due to its geographical location has experienced numerous storms. Its structure and community have been tested, time and again – with the school and the community coming back stronger.
From a small Catholic school in the 1940s, to a big (and still growing) university in the 2020s — complete with academic services from basic education to higher education, along with offices which have forged partnerships with government and private institutions, the Ateneo de Naga University continues to march forward, for the greater glory of God!
HIGHLIGHTS & DATES
1 June 1947 – Granted by the Department of Education full recognition as a standard four-year high school.
5 June 1947 – College was opened with 87 male students.
26 October 1953 – Became co-educational (college) with the admission of five women.
1979 – Ateneo de Naga College and High School were the first in Camarines Sur to be accredited by PAASCU.
1991 – the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports placed Ateneo de Naga in its list of excellent universities and colleges in the Philippines.
11 November 1998 – University Status was granted by the Commission on Higher Education.
14 May 2004 – ADNU established itself as the premier academic institution in the region by being the only school in Bicol with a PAASCU level III accredited status.
23 June 2003 – ADNU High School community moved to Pacol, and became co-education with the admission of 185 girls.
2 June 2008 – ADNU became the only university in Southern Luzon to be granted by CHED with Autonomous Status.
2013 – ADNU expanded its basic education community by opening Grade School campus in Pacol.
2013 – Piloted Senior High School (First semester began in 2015).
13 June 2017 – ADNU opened the College of Law.
2004 – ADNU retains its Autonomous Status.
PAST RECTORS AND PRESIDENTS
Fr Francis D. Burns, SJ
Acting Rector, 1940
Rector, 1948 to 1949
Fr Eusebio G. Salvador, SJ
Rector, 1949 to 1953
Fr Vincent M. McNally, SJ
Acting Rector, 1953
Rector, 1954 to 1959
Fr Vincent Towers, SJ
Rector, 1959 to 1960
Fr Robert A. Rice, SJ
Rector, 1960 to 1966
Fr Luis G. Candelaria, SJ
Acting Rector, 1966 to 1967
Fr Maximo S. David, SJ
Rector, 1967 to 1972
Fr Oscar A. Millar, SJ
Rector, 1972 to 1978
Fr Jose Ma. B. Fuentes, SJ
President, 1978 to 1982
Fr Eugene G. Moran, SJ
President, 1982 to 1989
Fr Raul J. Bonoan, SJ
President, 1989 to 1999
University President, 1999
Fr Joel E. Tabora, SJ
University President, 1999 to 2011
Fr Primitivo E. Viray, Jr, SJ
University President, 2011 to 2017
Fr Roberto E. N. Rivera, SJ
University President, 2017 to 2024