Adventist University of the Philippines

The Adventist University of the Philippines is a private coeducational Christian university located in Puting Kahoy, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. The university is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and holds an autonomous status recognized by the CHED (Commission on Higher Education). It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.HistoryThe Adventist University of the Philippines traces its beginnings from missionary-oriented people who had a strong desire to develop young people for usefulness in life, more specifically to prepare workers for the branches of Christian service.In 1915, A. G. Daniels visited the Philippine Islands and laid plans for the organization of an academic institution. Daniels was followed by L. V. Finster who reported that in 1916, I. A. Steinel and O. F. Sevrens and their families had arrived to supervise the building of the Philippine Seventh-day Adventist Academy on a five-acre land located at Calle Luna, Pasay, Rizal now known as Pasay City. The school formally opened on June 12, 1917, with 24 boys and 12 girls. The school building had classrooms on the first floor and a dormitory for the boys on the second floor. The girls stayed in an old mixed-material house which already stood on the land.In 1925, at the Spring Council of the Far Eastern Division, it was voted that the academy be authorized to carry fourteen grades, adding one grade each year towards 1927, and that the name be changed to Philippine Junior College. Elder W. B. Amundsen was elected principal in 1927 until 1931.At the end of 1927, 26 hectares of land was purchased in Baesa, Caloocan, then part of the Rizal province, to accommodate the increasing enrollment. Prof. L. M. Stump, president of the college in 1931 directed the construction of the buildings. In 1932 the school moved to Baesa Campus. In that same year FED permitted the junior college’s elevation to a senior one naming it Philippine Union College (PUC). Visionaries of the Baesa era inspired by a missionary spirit composed and adopted the school song “Shine on Forever” in 1934.