History
Mindanao State University (MSU) was established on September 1, 1961, through RA 1387, as amended. It was the brainchild of the late Senator Domocao Alonto, as one of the government's responses to the so-called "Mindanao Problem".
The original mission of the university was anchored on instruction, research, and extension. The 1954 Congressional Committee conceptualized it as a social laboratory for national integration.
The main campus in Marawi City which started with 282 students and 12 faculty members in its pioneering classes in 1962, has now grown to a multi-campus supra-regional university system, serving over 69,000 students in all levels with nearly 3,100 faculty members.
It is the only university directly charged by the government to advance the cause of national unity and actively pursue integration through education.
Today, MSU has units in areas which cut across the Mindanao regions. From a one campus university in Marawi City, MSU has grown to a multi-campus university of eight autonomous campuses: MSU-Main in Marawi City, MSU-IIT in Iligan City, MSU-TCTO in Tawi-Tawi, MSU-Naawan in Misamis Oriental, MSU-Maguindanao, MSU-General Santos, MSU-Sulu in Jolo, and MSU Buug in Zamboanga Sibugay. [13]
The mandates of the university are:
- To perform the traditional functions of a university namely: instruction, research and extension service.
- To help accelerate the program of the integration among the peoples of the Southern Philippines, particularly the Muslims and other cultural minorities.
- To provide trained manpower skills and technical know-how for the economic development of the Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) region in Bangsamoro.
The initial batch of students to enroll in the University on June 13, 1962, passed the scholarship examination administered by the National Science Development Board. The 282 freshmen students were in the top 5% of their high schools in the MINSUPALA region in Bangsamoro. Their teachers were 12 regular Filipino faculty members and a number of volunteers from the U.S. Peace Corps, British Voluntary Service Overseas, Volunteers in Asia, Ford Foundation, Fulbright Foundation and others. Baccalaureate courses were offered by the pioneering colleges: Liberal Arts, Education and Community Development to which four more were added in the subsequent school year 1964–65 – Agriculture, Fisheries, Business Administration and Engineering. In July 1969, the College of Forestry was added.
To meet the growing demands of the region, 16 major colleges were created offering 248 courses.
On January 10, 2001, three CHED supervised institutions — Lanao Norte Agricultural College (LNAC), Lanao National College of Arts & Trade (LNCAT), and Maigo School of Arts and Trade (MSAT) — were integrated into the MSU System by virtue of CHED Order No. 27 S. 2000 and Republic Act No. 8760.
Classes were temporarily suspended due to the Battle of Marawi which started in May 2017. Some students, faculty, and personnel were evacuated to nearby MSU-IIT in Iligan City while others went home to their provinces during the ongoing conflict. The school was unable to hold summer classes in the campus. However, regular in-campus classes resumed in August of the same year after a successful "Balik MSU: Somombak Tano sa Pantaw a Mareg" campaign to allow faculty and students to return to the campus amidst the ongoing war with security being strictly monitored. The battle in the city officially ended later in October.
On December 3, 2023, a bombing occurred in Dimaporo Gymnasium during a Catholic mass. Four people were confirmed dead and at least 40 people were injured. [14] Classes were temporarily suspended until further notice; [15] as a result, students, faculty, and personnel were repatriated to their home provinces following the incident. [16] [17] The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. [18]
