MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
1917
On November 11, 1917, Mr. H. O鈥橫ally, the superintendent of private schools, granted De La Salle College a charter and authorized it to confer the degree of Associate in Arts (A.A.), a two-year program.聽聽
1919
First A.A. degree holders graduated.聽
1931
A.A. degree was discontinued.
1953
Revival of the liberal arts program. The arts curriculum was expanded to a four-year program consisting of arts and sciences, leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The study of arts and sciences (a.k.a. general education) was integrated into the curricula of the different programs, encompassing several units of humanities (language, literature, philosophy, religious studies), the natural sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences. Br. Lambert Edward, FSC, was dean of the School of Liberal Arts. A double degree program in liberal arts and commerce (AB-BSC) was established.聽
1953-1964
The sole major field of concentration was the social sciences.聽
1959
The liberal arts-education double degree program was created, initially for those who intended to enter De La Salle brotherhood.
1963-1964
The University moved to liberalizing the professional courses.
Samuel Wiley declared that the students in the professional courses of engineering and commerce should be given a solid humanities foundation. He said: 鈥榃ithout a sense of human values, the greatest scientist or engineer in the world may be the world鈥檚 greatest menace.鈥� (Jimenez 94)
1964-1967
Ariston Estrada served as the Liberal Arts dean.聽
1965
The economics major program was devised.聽
1966
The literature major program was created. The 1966-68 undergraduate catalogue stated that literary study 鈥渂roadens and integrates the student鈥檚 awareness of reality鈥� with the concrete existential insights of the literary artist who thinks both with the mind and the heart, coupled with imagination.鈥澛犅�
1966-1968 聽 聽
The liberal education requirements contained: Religion (24 units), Philosophy (18聽聽units), Languages (18 units), History (12 units), Science (15 units), Mathematics聽(6 units).
1968-1975听
Mathematics, East Asian studies, behavioral sciences, and philosophy and letters聽degree programs were introduced. Mathematics phased out in 1988.聽
1969-1970
The general education program was redesigned to include: Religion (24 units), Philosophy (18 units), Languages: English Rhetoric, Spanish Grammar, Literature聽 (15 units), Humanities (3 units), History, Economics, Sociology (21 units), Sciences (15 units), and Mathematics (6 units).聽
鈥淎nother significant move made in 1970s was the implementation of an integrated humanities program, an inter-department effort involving six disciplines: philosophy, religion, history-political science, economics, language and letters, and behavioral sciences. Reducing the 33 units of humanities courses to 18 units, the program aimed to 鈥榠ntegrate the different subjects into one coherent and developmental whole,鈥� doing away with the traditional practice of teaching the stated subjects 鈥榠n an individual and compartmentalized manner鈥� and creating a 鈥榯apestry鈥� of intellectual development situated within proper historical periods and inspiringly treated in an interdisciplinary manner. Specifically, the humanities program for the School of Commerce took effect in 1973-1974. Focusing on the main theme 鈥淗uman Phenomenon,鈥� the school adopted the [subthemes], covering six disciplines (religious studies, philosophy, languages and literature, history, political sciences and behavioral sciences).鈥� (94-95)
1973
The School of Liberal Arts was renamed the School of Arts and Sciences, with Patricio Ceballos as the dean.聽
1974
The communication arts program was founded, with courses on theater, advertising, and cinema. The program was revised the following year to focus its theoretical grounding in print, film, photography, radio, and television.聽
1975
De La Salle College was granted university status. The School of Arts and Sciences became the College of Arts and Sciences.聽
1977
The humanities program of the College of Engineering had 鈥淭echnology in a Human Milieu鈥� as its theme.聽
1980
The humanities program, interdisciplinary in character, was introduced. It was first administered by the religious studies and philosophy departments before its transfer to the Filipino department.聽
1981
The Asian Studies program, with concentration in Japan and China, was launched.聽
1982
The College of Arts and Sciences split into two: College of Liberal Arts and聽College of Science. Samuel Wiley assumed the deanship.
1982
The Philippines studies program was implemented, administered by the history and area studies department. Its aim was to spearhead the teaching and scholarship of the Filipino culture, adopting interdisciplinary approaches. It was abolished in 1988.聽
1983-1986
Wilfrido Villacorta served as the dean.聽
1984
The history-political science major program separated into two programs. The political science department was established.聽
鈥淓volving from the College of Arts and Sciences, the CLA articulated the same set of objectives. The objectives, which are reproduced in the 1987-1989 to 1994-1996 catalogues, read:
The College of Liberal Arts provides the student with a liberal education background in the humanities and social sciences. It also develops in the student competence in any of the specific academic fields of study he or she chooses to pursue. The sense of national identity and Christian orientation which the College instills is the essence of a Lasallian education. Liberal Arts courses aim at instilling in students a strong sense of commitment and a concern for the social and political problems of the country.鈥� (90)
1991-1992
The restructuring of the behavioral sciences resulted in two departments: behavioral sciences (sociology and anthropology) and psychology.聽
1992
The international studies department was established. Japan studies, China studies, European studies, and American studies were subsumed under this department.聽聽
1993
The communication arts department was renamed the department of communication to include specialization in organizational communication.聽
1995-1996
The political science department implemented the development studies program.
鈥淭he College of Liberal Arts created programs and undertook curricular innovations leading to the combination of the liberal arts with other degrees. It also streamlined and strengthened existing programs in the past four decades, all of which were undertaken for the sake of service, national development, educational relevance, upliftment of human life, and promotion of knowledge.鈥� (106)聽
Above data and extracts are from:聽
Jimenez, Jose Victor D. 鈥淭he College of Liberal Arts at De La Salle University-Taft: In Retrospect鈥� Anuaryo/Annales. Journal of History, Volume XVII (1998): 84-113.聽聽聽