UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN

On February 12, 1949, a motorcade made its way fromPadre Faura all the way to a cogon-strewn expanse inQuezon City. At its head, borne on an open vehicle, was theOblation, bronzed symbol of the University of the Philippines, on its way to its future home. This ceremony marked the university's transfer from its original site in Manila to its 493-hectare campus in Diliman, which would have more room for the University's expansion as it fulfilled its role aseducator to the nation.

UP Diliman is the flagship university of the UP System. It is the administrative seat of the system as well as an autonomous university in its own right. UP Diliman is not only the home of diverse colleges, offering 94 graduate and undergraduate courses, it also runs several centers of research, many of which have been declared by theCommission on Higher Education as National Centers of Excellence.


By 1997, UP Diliman had 18,935 students distributed among 12 pre-baccalaureate, 74 baccalaureate and 8 post-baccalaureate programs, which in turn are handled by 2,441 faculty members. Students enjoy the low board and lodging rates at 10 residence halls and the extensive collection of publications, including those in multimedia format, in its libraries. Ensuring that all the administrative and academic functions of the university is a job that falls on the shoulders of its chancellors.
UP Diliman has also kept up with the information-driven culture all over the globe. Installation of a fiber-optic network linking the various colleges in the campus, or DilNet, which in turn serves as UP's gateway to the global network of the Internet, was begun in the term of Roger Posadas as Chancellor, and continues apace under Chancellor Claro T.Llaguno. The campus has also welcomed fledgling technology companies in its technology park.
As UP looks forward to the centenary of its founding in the year 2008, UP Diliman affirmed its own commitment to modernizing its facilities and services. Many of its the libraries are already computerized and are providing automated services. It has also identified specific growth areas, foremost of which are in engineering education, interdisciplinary programs such as Material Science, Technology Management and Archaeological Studies and International Studies. In concordance with the UP System's plans of serving the population in Northern Luzon, UP College Baguio will be expanded into an autonomous university, while the UP Extension Program in San Fernando will be upgraded to provide programs in technology training.
With the strengthening of its research base under an Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development, the construction of a Science Complex and an Engineering Complex, the development of various colleges into National Centers of Excellence, and an outpouring of investments into modernization, UP Diliman is poised to reassert its place among the leading universities in the Asia-Pacific region.