Strolling in Dumaguete’s Silliman University

For the longest time, Dumaguete City Philippines has always been known as the City of Gentle People. But this charming Visayan city is also known for another nickname: The University City.

Dumaguete earned the second moniker as the city is home to several top-notch universities and colleges. And visiting Dumaguete City will never be complete without strolling at the Silliman University.

A good number of land area of Dumaguete City (according to locals) actually belongs to Silliman University.

It is said that the university is the first Protestant School in the Philippines. Silliman is also the oldest American-established university in Asia.

Silliman Hall

And when visiting the university, one should never miss the most photographed structure: the Silliman Hall.

The hall was built in 1902 and is said to be the oldest surviving American structure in the Philippines. In fact, some of the materials used to construct this building were salvaged from an old New York theater and was then shipped to Dumaguete. The building was built using the American Victorian-style of Architectural design.

What I also like about Silliman University are the large centuries-old acacia trees all over the campus. This gives a cooler ambiance. The main gate of the campus is a bit far from the academic halls, this means the noise of the cars, and tricycles aren’t heard that much. The Place is really conducive for learning. I think I have some high school classmates who attended college here.

The main campus houses majority of the academic programs of the university, and another campus which is around 2 kilometers away houses the College of Agriculture and the Marine Lab (will do separate blog post on this). Do you know that Silliman is the first school outside of Manila to offer Journalism program? The College of Performing Arts Mass Communication is located the the Guy Hall inside the main Campus. And probably one of the university’s most famous alumni is former Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia.

Guy Hall

The 330,000 sqm Silliman University is located along Hibbard Avenue in Dumaguete City. The University is open to public. Just leave your ID at the aecurty guard house if you want to visit.