Central Philippine University

Central Philippine University (also known as Central or CPU) is a private Protestant research university in Iloilo City, Philippines. Established in 1905 through a grant from the American industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, as the Jaro Industrial School and Bible School under the supervision of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, it is "the first Baptist and the second American and Protestant-founded university in the Philippines and in Asia".

The university pioneered nursing education in the Philippines through the establishment of the Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses (now CPU College of Nursing) in 1906, the first nursing school in the Philippines. It also established the first student government in Southeast Asia, the CPU Republic (1906); the first government-recognized agricultural school outside of Luzon, the CPU College of Agriculture, Resources and Environmental Sciences; the first Baptist and second Protestant theological seminary in the country, the CPU College of Theology (1905), and the first Protestant and American hospital in the Philippines, the CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital (1901).

The university has been granted full autonomy status by the Commission on Higher Education (Philippines), the same government agency that recognized its academic programs as National Centers of Excellence in Agriculture and Business Administration, and as National Centers of Development in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, and Teacher Education. It is also an ISO Certified Institution.

Central has been recognized globally, ranking among the top universities in the Philippines and worldwide by two notable international university ranking agencies, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE). It has also been ranked by the World University Ranking for Innovations (WURI). In addition, AppliedHE recognized Central as one of the top private universities in Southeast Asia and Asia.

CPU's main campus is a Registered Cultural Property by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and a Marked Historical Site by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. The Hinilawod Epic Chant Recordings, housed at the university's Henry Luce III Library, has been inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

At present, the university is consist of eighteen schools and colleges offering academic programs from basic education up to baccalaureate and graduate studies. In tertiary education level, it offers courses in Agriculture and Environmental Sciencess, Accounting and Business Administration, Biology and Chemistry, Computer Studies, Engineering, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Library Science, Mass Communication, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Political Science, Public Administration, Psychology, Teacher Education, and Theology.

The university administers the Fortress College in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental and maintains overseas academic programs with Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration (TUEBA) in Vietnam.

Central's alumni include Filipino senators, congressmen, and legal luminaries; National Artists of the Philippines; laureates of notable awards like Ramon Magsaysay Award and Rolex Award for Enterprise; presidential cabinet members, military officials; provincial governors and city mayors; and business tycoons.

History

Incorporation and founding

200px|left|thumb|[[John D. Rockefeller, an American industrialist, philanthropist, and devout Baptist is Central's main benefactor. His benevolent grant to the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society for the purpose of establishing schools that will train ministers and other Christian workers and for boys in the Philippines, resulted to the founding of Central Philippine University.]]

In the early 20th century when the Philippines was opened to the American Protestant missionaries after the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United States through the 1898 Treaty of Paris after the Spanish–American War, a comity agreement by the Protestant American churches was established that the Philippine islands will be divided into mission territories, thus the Western Visayan region went to the jurisdiction of the Baptists.

The origins of Central Philippine University dates back in 1901 when the American Northern Baptists, through its foreign mission board, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, laid a plan to establish mission schools following the comity agreement of the division of the islands for the evangelical mission and through a benevolent grant given by John D. Rockefeller, an American industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller himself was a devoted Northern Baptist with numerous church related philanthropy works throughout his life, that is why he gave a grant to the Northern Baptists that resulted in the establishment of Central.

On the other hand, in 1901 also, four years before the founding of Central in 1905, alongside when the American Baptists came in Iloilo, the Presbyterians came and they established the Union Mission Hospital (Sabine Haines Memorial Union Mission Hospital) (which Central, since its founding until this day is closely associated with as its university hospital) under the Presbyterian Church in the United States by Joseph Andrew Hall, it is the first Protestant and American hospital in the Philippines. Since the hospital's founding, Presbyterians worked closely with the Baptists for the operation of the hospital. Following the years since its founding, in 1925, its administration was eventually transferred to the Baptists who also bought the land in the City of Jaro (now part and a district of Iloilo City) where the hospital now stands. The hospital was later renamed to Iloilo Mission Hospital in 1932. The hospital predates the schools founding by four years. It also serves since then as the hospital of Central. The hospital pioneered the Nursing education in the Philippines when it established the Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses (the present Central Philippine University College of Nursing) in 1906. The school also produced the first graduate nurses in the country.

190px|right|thumb|The [[Jaro Evangelical Church, founded in 1900 as the first Baptist church in the Philippines by the American Baptist Missionaries, has been closely associated with Central since the university's founding in 1905. Before the creation of the CPU Church, the early students of the university would go to this church every Sunday to worship.]]

Then in 1903, there will be two schools that will be established by the mission: an industrial school for boys and a Bible school to train pastors and other Christian workers was incorporated. Later, it was voted on December 2, 1904, to finally establish the two schools. The task to found both schools was given to William O. Valentine, an American missionary, who became the first principal and president with the help of the other co-founders. Valentine was in the service of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, where he first ministered as a missionary in Burma, first in Rangoon, then in Mandalay, where he became the principal of the Baptist Mission High School for Boys in 1895. The new mission was given to him by the mission society in 1903. During his eighth year in Burma he suffered severe sunstroke and returned to America for treatment. There he met his future wife, nurse Ina Jane Van Allen. Valentine and Van Allen were married in 1903 and the couple left for his new appointment in Iloilo in the Philippines.

The establishment of the Baptist Missionary Training School and the Jaro Industrial School is associated with the first Baptist church in the Philippine Islands, the Jaro Evangelical Church, which was established on February 28, 1900, by the Northern American Baptists also, now the American Baptist Churches. On June 1, 1905, the Bible School opened in the home of the Valentines under the auspices of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society from the United States along with other missionaries that are considered as co-founders. There were 12 pupils with some "Bible Women" who attended as auditors.

The benevolent grant given by the industrialist and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller was used to provide the school the facilities during the school's establishment along with the industrial school (which was later established in the fall of 1905) and to purchase a 24-hectare piece of land in the City of Jaro (now a part of Iloilo City) where Central's main campus is located at present.

In the fall of 1905, the Jaro Industrial School was opened as a free vocational boarding school for poor boys. The first class consisted of 20 boys who worked four hours a day to pay their tuition, room and board, and spent four hours in the classroom. One of the school's innovations was the adoption of student self-government, the first in the South East Asia, known today as Central Philippine University Republic, which is modeled on American civil government. Dr. William Orison Valentine, worked for its incorporation and recognition by the Philippine government.

A year later when Jaro Industrial School was established, one of the school's innovations was the adoption of student self-government which is modeled on American civil government, the Jaro Industrial School Republic. The Republic continues to this day as the Central Philippine University Republic. It still holds the distinction as the oldest student governing body in South East Asia. The original purpose of the founding of the industrial school for boys was quoted a century later in 2005 during the centennial celebrations of the university:

<blockquote>"The original purpose of the school (Jaro Industrial School) was to provide opportunity for poor Filipino boys to receive a good Christian education by working their way through school. Actual work experience and earnest study of the Bible were the core of the curriculum."</blockquote>

left|thumb|upright|The [[National Historical Commission of the Philippines|National Historical Institute of the Philippines historical marker at Central's main campus installed in 1980.]]

Later, the leadership of the Bible School was turned over to the Reverend Henry Munger, who conducted classes off campus.

right|185px|thumb|The [[Reverend William Valentine, the founder and first president of Central.]]

In 1912, Dr. Lund left the Baptist Missionary Training School and it was closed. Following that year, in 1913, Dr. Valentine's objectives were realized and in the same year the Jaro Industrial School also admitted its first female student; it was fully incorporated then by the Philippine government and enrolled 740 students. Then in 1915, Jaro Industrial School opened its first high school program, starting with first and second year classes, adding third and fourth year classes in 1920. As both two schools were founded by the Northern American Baptists from the American Baptist Churches, ordination for women is affirmed that resulted and eventually in 1917, the Jaro Industrial School elected its first female head and Principal, Mary J. Thomas, who tenured as a principal of the Jaro Industrial School from 1917 to 1918. The Baptist Missionary Training School later, however, was reopened in 1913 by Rev. Alton Bigelow. It was under Rev. Alton Bigelow's leadership that the Bible School began to have a definite direction in its development. In 1921, the following year after the Jaro Industrial School added fourth year high school classes, the school graduated its first high school batch.

The first Board of Trustees which was formed a year earlier before the founding of the two schools, is composed of five members from the mission conference which are selected by the mission conference in annual session. They remained American in composition until prior to the conversion of the Jaro Industrial School as a junior college. In the early years of the school's operation, building up qualified faculty and staff had been a great challenge. Some missionaries gave part-time service and Dr. David S. Hibbard, founder of the Silliman Institute, now Silliman University, also provided Filipino instructors who had trained at Silliman Institute.

In 1938, Baptist Missionary Training School (BMST) for women which was established independently on October 20, 1905, became part of the theology department of the college. In the same year also, students and interested sectors of the school began to press for the opening of a law school. Finally, on March 18, 1939, the board of trustees voted to apply for a permit to offer the first two years of the law course. It opened in the school year 1939–1940. thumb|200px|left|The old [[Rose Memorial Auditorium|Rose Memorial Hall in 1965.]] Attorney Pablo Oro, who had been one of the leaders in urging this move and in seeking patrons to help develop the law library, was given the responsibility for developing the program. Pablo Oro, a member of the Philippine Bar, was a graduate of Silliman University and of the University of Manila College of Law.

On September 19, 1931, the Union Mission Hospital started admitting and treating patients at its present location on Mission Road. The hospital plant occupied a lot of 29,283 meters or approximately 3 hectares in area. On October 21, 1931, became a joyous day. The new relocated hospital was dedicated with its founder, Dr. Joseph Andrew Hall came all the way from Tacloban City, Leyte, as the guest of honor on the said momentous occasion. Dr. Precy Grigg lost no time in developing the new hospital's buildings and its surroundings. On what used to be a deep rice field and swampy place was a green lawn and rose garden surrounding the new imposing and neat-looking concrete hospital. After office hours, Dr. Grigg loved to work on landscaping the surroundings with plants secured from the islands of Negros and Panay.

The missionaries who died in the massacre are today called the Hopevale Martyrs. The martyrs are: Dr. Francis Howard Rose (former president and head of Central), Jeanie Clare Adams, Prof. James Howard Clovell, Charma Moore Clovell, Dorothy Antoinette Dowell, Signe Amelia Erikson, Dr. Frederick Willer-Meyer, Ruth Schatch Meyer, Gertrude Coombs Rose, Rev. Erle Frederich Rounds, Louise Cummings Rounds, and Erle Douglas. Despite the order that these Americans should go home because of the war, they refused to leave their mission and eventually sacrificed their lives.

On the day Pearl Harbor was bombed on in December 1941, the American Baptist Foreign Mission and its affiliate Woman's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society had 21 missionaries in the Philippine islands. The mission works of the American Baptists had been rocked during the height of the World War II. On December 15, 1941, the two mission hospitals run by the mission on Panay – Iloilo Mission Hospital and Capiz Emmanuel Hospital, began to work in full co-operation with the United States Armed Forces. By January 1942, Manila had fallen in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army and had become clear that they would come to Panay. The two hospitals moved to separate inland areas, the Capiz Emmanuel Hospital to Dumalag, Capiz and the Iloilo Mission Hospital to Calinog, Iloilo where, April 1942, they continued to operate under their regular missionary and Filipino staffmen drawing more heavily on the armed forces for equipment and supplies.

Post-war years and reconstruction

thumb|right|240px|Principals and Presidents of Central Philippine University (which are all Americans) from its founding until 1966 when Rex D. Drilon became the first Filipino president.

After the war ended, the college was reopened by the remaining members of the faculty and by returning missionaries. When the Second World War broke out, the college's buildings were destroyed. Reconstruction was made possible through funds from friends at home and abroad. Since its founding, the graduate school has been chosen by the fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) as a graduate center for MBA, MA in English and Master of Engineering for the following fields of specialization: civil engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

thumb|left|250px|[[United States Navy personnel drop in at the main campus whenever a ship comes to the Port of Iloilo.]]

When the war ended, Dr. Henry S. Waters, the postwar director of Iloilo Mission Hospital and also principal of the Iloilo Mission Hospital School of Nursing in 1946–1947, pressed for the offering, with Central Philippine College (the forerunner of Central Philippine University), a collegiate course leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The director of the Bureau of Private Schools and the members of the board of examiners for nurses authorized the opening of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing four-year course in 1947 that resulted the school's operation transferred to the college.

The plan for a College of Pharmacy was presented by Mr. Plagata in response, as he said, "to insistent demands from a number of students." He reported that an outlay of 9,000 pesos would cover the initial cost because some equipment was already available in the Chemistry Department. The board voted to apply for a permit for the first two years if the college administration found it feasible. The administration at once made formal application for the permit, and this was given by the Bureau. The third year in Pharmacy was opened in 1948, and by 1949 four years of Pharmacy was offered, with Carmelina Jalbuena as dean.]]

On the other hand, Linnea Nelson became the first female university president, she was the person behind the establishment of the School of Graduate Studies back in 1951, where she was the first dean of the school. Nelson is an Ed.D degree holder from the University of California, Berkeley, and had been a missionary in China from 1935 to 1949. She served as the president of Central from 1956 to 1957 and was again re-elected in 1965–1966.

thumb|right|220px|The Dr. Rex D. Drilon Hall (Administration Building) is one of the modern-style halls at CPU and is named after the university's first Filipino president, Rex Divinagracia Drilon.

From its founding, Filipinos were gradually given larger responsibilities in its administration. celebrated its centennial year in 2005, where thousands of alumni from the world came home. The university's centennial celebration and followed by the foundation day on October 1 owes a lot to the American founders and missionaries who founded and sacrificed for Central, especially to the Reverend William Valentine, the founding father of the institution.

thumb|230px|right|The Dr. Alfonso A. Uy – Student Union Building was donated by Alfonso A. Uy, the first president of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Visayas and Mindanao.

CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital, the university hospital of Central in 2001, celebrated its centennial, commemorating its century of existence and its contribution since its founding in 1901 to the Philippine and American colonial history in the Philippines and in Asia as it pioneered the Nursing education in the Philippines, as the first Protestant founded hospital in the country and the second American hospital in Asia. The centennial building was inaugurated in the hospital area proper and the hospital acquisition of the Philips MX8000 CT Scan machine, the first of its kind in South East Asia

Augmented amounts from the Centennial Development Fund and the help of various individuals, was used to build and expand the various structures on the main campus, such as the Dr. Alfonso A. Uy – Student Union Building, a four-storey commercial building built through the fund and by Dr. Alfonso A. Uy (an alumnus of the university) on the campus, to help augment its operational expenses, and to further raise its financial base; CPU Lifestyle Learning Center (prior to the students and the people who wanted to manage their fitness lifestyle); and the CPU Alumni Promenade and Concert Park, which is structurally attached to the also newly built CPU Alumni Center, CPU Alumni Affairs Office, Educational Media Center (where the CPU TV Channel and Radio broadcasts still to this day) and the CPU Dining Hall, and the CPU Excel Center.

The Board of International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches has awarded Central a School of Excellence award.

Also, in the school year 2000–2001, the Central Philippine University College of Engineering introduced the Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering. This has earned the college another place in Engineering History in the Philippines. It is the first engineering school in the country to offer the course. On August 15, 2001, also, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles (BSEE 1964) (then-university president) and a former Milwaukee School of Engineering professor conducted a national seminar on a digital logic software known as the Altera Max + Plus II which was attended by different engineering schools in the Philippines and hosted by the Electrical Engineering and Electronics and Communications Engineering department of Central Philippine University College of Engineering. There were various new real properties also that is owned by the university when he was in his term as the president. The 24 hectares San Rafael Agricultural Land and the Guimaras Agricultural Land

thumb|200px|right|The Wall of Remembrance built before Central's centennial in 2005.

Central gained much attention and was lauded by various business and technology sectors in the field of Engineering, through its pioneer Packaging Engineering program and department in the College of Engineering, being the first such in the country and in Asia, organized and hosted the first National Conference in Transport Packaging in 2007 it was then followed also by the first Philippine International Packaging Conference, the Global Pack 2012. Thomas Schneider, President and CEO of the 51-member nation World Packaging Organization, is one of the delegates of the Global Pack 2012 event along with various people from other countries, government agencies and business sector. Along with the Global Pack 2012 conference, a packaging engineering testing center and laboratory and value-added facility of a UN-compliant and comprehensive was donated by US Packaging Hall of Famer and Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Philippines) Balik Scientist Dr. Lejo Brana, is also the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region, the CPU Philippine Center for Packaging Engineering and Technology (CPU-PC PET). The center is backed by the Department of Science and Technology, the industry's Packaging Institute of the Philippines and a private sector's packaging advocate, Systemat-PackEDGE.

thumb|240px|left|The CPU Lifestyle Learning Center built during the term of CPU President Juanito M. Acanto.

The university currently expanded its numbers of programs in business, agriculture, and medical and health sciences and the recent re-establishment of the pharmacy department. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), prior to the university as an ISO Certified Institution, recently conducted an external audit and surveillance for the university's renewal of ISO certification, based on the new standard. The university last upgraded its certification last 2010. The said University's certification, covers educational and support which is up to year 2013. Recently, through international collaborations with other institutions has made CPU to offer undergraduate programs in Business Administration and Accountancy, graduate programs in Business Administration and Public Administration, and doctorate degree in Management program at Thai Nguyen University (TNU) and Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration (TUEBA) both in Vietnam.

The university acquired also a Level IV accreditation status (the highest level of accreditation that could be given to an individual academic program in the Philippines) from Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities (ACSCU) in the programs of Business Administration, Accountancy and Education, among others, has made it the top university in the Western Visayan region with programs that has a said accreditation status and level. It ranks first in the Philippines in terms of tertiary academic programs with Level III level status. The university also ranks first among other universities based on Centers of Development and Excellence list in Western Visayas, where six of its programs designated by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Development and Center of Excellence, while the Department of Science and Technology designated its Civil Engineering program as Center for Civil Engineering Education. Central is one of the two leaders in the Visayas and Mindanao based on endowment funding, with 182 Endowment programs and a total of 433 Endowment funds in 2007 that is still on-going and expanding still to this day.

In 2019, it had 7,673 students.

thumb|210px|The three-storey Missionary Hall, donated by former CPU president, Teodoro Robles, was named in honor of the American Baptist Missionaries who became part of the university's history. It is now a residential commons.

In November 2020, the university's long continued run in academic excellence has resulted for it to be ranked by Quacquarelli Symonds in its list of Top Universities in Asia and the World for 2021, the first higher education institution to do so in the Western Visayas region. CPU placed in the 601+ bracket ranking (8th place in bracket ranking and 13th place in numbering in the Philippines) among other Asian universities in the list. Quacquarelli Symonds or QS is one of the big three world university ranking agencies along with Times Higher Education (THE) and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

On February 24, 2023, Asian Christian Outreach, Inc. (ASCO) and Fortress College, Inc. in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, donated their properties through a memorandum of agreement with Central Philippine University, thus creating the first presence of the university outside Iloilo.

On March 26, 2026, the four-storey CPU Law and Medicine Building officially broke ground. The state-of-the-art facility, designed with architectural influences from heritage structures on campus such as Franklin Hall and Weston Hall, aims to address the increasing student population and provide dedicated facilities for the CPU College of Law and the CPU College of Medicine. The building will consist of two sections, each housing one college. It will feature moot courts, specialized laboratories, a theater, a mechanical elevator, and air-conditioned classrooms. The project forms part of the university’s continuing commitment to the expansion and enhancement of its physical plant.

Campus

250px|left|thumb|The [[University Church, Central Philippine University|Central Philippine University Church (University Church), built in the 1970s, is the central and dominant structure in the main campus by architectural order. Its design is resonant of a Malayan style of house built on palm leaves and bamboo.]]

Central has an overall total combined land area of 195.13 hectares (482.17 acres), which is composed of the main campus (24 hectares), CPU Hopevale Agricultural Extension Land (95.8 hectares), CPU Zarraga Farm and Research Campus (19.3 hectares), CPU Leon Experimental Farm and Research Campus (7 hectares), CPU Centennial Village (2.9 hectares), the CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital (3 hectares), CPU-FA (Faculty Association) Heritage Ville Subdivision (4.7) San Rafael Land (24 hectares), and Guimaras Land (14 hectares), and CPU Fortress College in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental (0.43 hectares).

The CPU's main campus sits on 24 hectares (59.30 acres) of land in Jaro, the largest district of Iloilo City. The laid back-but-urban main campus's location is set between the Tigum River and Dungon Creek. It is near with necessary contacts, yet far away from the distraction of the metropolitan noise and dust of the progressive and bustling city center of Iloilo. The city, which has been dubbed the Asia's City of Love or The City of Love and Emerging Museum City of the Philippines, is the last capital of Spanish Empire in Asia and the Pacific; hence, the Spanish influence could be seen elsewhere, especially in the architecture, culture, and traditions.

200px|thumb|The Smile Hill denotes the university's foundation as a Christian institution established by [[Protestant Baptist American missionaries.]]

The 24-hectare land was bought by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, through a benevolent grant of the American industrialist and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller. From a swampy land where the school started in 1905, which grew to a campus housing more than thirty structures, is a veritable community by itself surrounded by different barrios. Several tree species such as palm and acacia trees dot the entire main campus, a unique feature the university has.

Some of the structures on the main campus which were built during the early American colonial period, possess designs influenced by colonizers from the United States. The main campus which follows a university campus plan modeled after the universities in the United States and in Europe, has a wide and big green open spaces or yards. A sample of which is the 'Big Field, which is bounded on both sides with heritage and modern-built edifices, a character unique to CPU that not only became a factor for the university being a haven conducive to learning, but also a place of interest for visiting tourists

Nine of the buildings on the main campus that were built in the 1900s especially during the American colonial period, were listed in the Philippine Registry of Heritage (PRH), which is also known as the “Talapamana ng Pilipinas”, under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). These buildings are the following: Franklin Hall (Bulwagang Franklin), Valentine Hall (Bulwagang Valentine), Mary Thomas Hall (Bulwagang Mary Thomas), Eugenio Lopez Memorial Hall (Bulwagang Eugenio Lopez), Roblee Science Hall (Bulwagang Pang-agham ng Roblee), University Church (Simbahan ng Pamantasan), Weston Hall (Bulwagang Weston), Stuart Hall (Bulwagang Stuart), and Johnson Hall (Bulwagang Johnson).

thumb|260px|left|Big Field with the CPU Church at the background. CPU's sprawling 24-hectare main campus, a property bought through a benevolent grant by the American business magnate, [[John D. Rockefeller, has more than a dozen collection of century-old structures built during the colonial American era and is dotted with acacia and palm trees.]]

The campus is flanked by various gates. The second gate is the university's main entrance. It bears the university's motto, Scientia et Fides, which in English means "Science and Faith" (lit. Knowledge and Faith). Central has been designated as a Marked Historical Landmark or Site by the Philippine government cultural agency of National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and a Registered Cultural Property of the Philippines under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Central has been declared by the local government unit of Iloilo City as Tourist site and has been recommended in the Western Visayas region as a place of interest, attraction, and landmark to visit by travel site Trip Advisor. Central has been also hailed as the second of all the 18 beautiful college campuses in the Philippines by American internet media company BuzzFeed.

By architectural order on the main campus, the Central Philippine University University Church (University Church) stands as the tallest building, and is meant by the campus's planners as a "central and dominant feature" of the university. The CPU Church which is notable for its Malay architectural design, stained glass and dormer windows, façade canopy, and flying buttresses, is a famous landmark in Iloilo City. Henry Luce III Library is one of the largest libraries in the Philippines, with more than a quarter of a million volume holdings. Inside the Henry Luce III Library is the Meyer Asian Collection holdings of artifacts and other museum and art exhibitions.

Other buildings on the main campus include the Rose Memorial Auditorium or Rose. The Rose Memorial was built to replace the old Rose Memorial Hall that was burnt down by a fire in 1991. The Rose Memorial Auditorium is the largest theater in Western Visayas and has been a famous venue for international and local concerts, musicales, band concerts, and conventions in Iloilo. Rose became the first annual venue during the early years of the prestigious national Bombo Music Festival. The Cultural Center of the Philippines has designated the Rose Memorial Auditorium for a three-year memorandum of understanding as one of the first batch of nine Cultural Center of the Philippines Regional Art Centers or Kaisa sa Sining Regional Art Centers in 2014, the theater/auditorium to research such recognition in the Western Visayas region

230px|right|thumb|The [[Rose Memorial Auditorium, the largest auditorium in Western Visayas.]]

Notable residential halls on the main campus include the Johnson Hall which houses the only residential-academic college in the university, the College of Theology; the Weston Hall, a dormitory for women; Franklin Hall, a residential hall for men; the Missionary Hall, a co-ed apartment type residence; and the Roselund Hall (Hostel). There are several residential houses and halls in the American Village which cater to foreign students who are studying at the university.

The Roblee Science Hall serves as a laboratory building for the science and laboratory experiment classes of the colleges and departments of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Pharmacy, and Chemistry (also, General subjects of other colleges held classes in Roblee Science Hall). Old Valentine Hall is a monument to Central's founder, William Valentine, a Baptist missionary. It now houses the Colleges of Education and Arts and Sciences of the university.

The main campus is a locally declared tourism site, and the university maintains a team of landscapers and gardeners. It is enhanced by parks, gazebos, gardens and open spaces, including the Big Field, Half Moon, Alumni Garden, Santos Park, Nuñez Centennial Garden, Caipang Tree Park, Rex A. Drilon Millenium Park, the Glen at the Catedral, the Prayer Garden, the CPU-CAS Butterfly Garden, and the University Botanical Garden.

194px|thumb|left|The Centennial Walkway.

Annually, the university showcases the Festival of Lights and Music at Central, a joint project of the university and the CPU Alumni Association. The event features lighted figurines, trees and buildings, nativity scenes, and colorful lanterns attracting thousands of local and foreign tourists during the Christmas season. The Opening of Lights (Festival of Lights and Music at Central) remains one of the notable features of the CPU campus. It opens in the first week of December and is highlighted with a fireworks display at the opening ceremony. Lighted trees, buildings and figurines, Pampanga, Capiz shells, and native lanterns placed along the major campus roads and nativity scenes add to its festive atmosphere.

The Central Philippine University–Iloilo Mission Hospital (CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital), located more than a kilometer away south of the main campus in the district of Jaro, Iloilo City, sits on 3 hectares of land. A tertiary, teaching and academic hospital, it serves as the university hospital of Central for its medical care and laboratory and clinical training center for the university's medical and allied health sciences students.

thumb|220px|Weston Hall is one of the American-named edifices built during the early years of the university and one of the few American-built structures in Iloilo.

Further north, in Katipunan, Tapaz, in the province of Capiz, is the Hopevale land of the university being utilized and to be developed into instruction, research, and extension of the College of Agriculture, Resources and Environmental Sciences (CARES). The CPU Zarraga Farm (in the municipality of Zarraga, Iloilo) which is also under the said agricultural college and is separate from the university's main campus, hosts being an agricultural farm for research and extension. The CPU Crop Research Laboratory and other agricultural research facilities and equipment of the agricultural college are located in the CPU Zarraga Farm.

The CPU Experimental Farm in Leon, Iloilo, which is under the college also is the site of the CPU Center for Research, Technology Development and Commercial Production of Philippine Native Chicken (CPU CRTDCPPNC), the largest research center for Philippine Native Chicken in the Philippines is located. The university villages for faculties and administration members of Central, the CPU Centennial Village (Aganan, Pavia, Iloilo) and 4.7-hectare CPU-Faculty Association (FA) Heritage Ville Subdivision (Anilao, Pavia), are located also separately from the main campus which is both located in the municipality of Pavia, Iloilo, north of the main campus. CPU has also properties in San Rafael, Iloilo (24 hectares), and in Guimaras (14 hectares) serving as agricultural lands for the future expansion of the university.

thumb|left|220px|The Johnson Hall was built in honor of Anna V. Johnson, the founder of Baptist Missionary Training School for women in 1904.

In the 1930s, the Lopez family of Iloilo through Don Ramon Lopez, donated a piece of 30,000 square meters (3 hectares) of land west of Dungon Creek in Mandurriao for the establishment of the CPU College of Medicine. It was supposed to be named Ramon Lopez Campus but the establishment of the medical school did not materialize until 2003.

thumb|right|200px|The Anahaw Road.

CPU's physical plant of campuses and properties are under the jurisdiction and management of the university. The three-hectare CPU-Iloilo Mission Hospital on the other hand which is separate from the main campus, has its own Board of Trustees and Corporation independent from Central Philippine University.

The main campus of Central Philippine University functions as both an academic institution and a site of historical and architectural interest in Iloilo City, featuring a combination of early American colonial-era buildings and modern academic and research facilities set within landscaped grounds. The campus is mixed of old and new structures which include the Henry Luce III Library, the Rose Memorial Auditorium, and the University Church, and is characterized by open green spaces and a variety of mature tree species. In addition to its educational role, the campus is occasionally noted for its cultural significance and serves as a venue for academic, religious, and community-related events.

Sustainability

thumb|left|Halfmoon drive and field are one of the few open and big green spaces in the university. Several programs have been initiated and adopted by the university for sustainability on its main, external, and research campuses

CPU's main campus buildings are predominantly painted with eco-friendly lighter shade of green color for environmental consciousness and green campus initiative plans for sustainability. The university has laid in place an Air Quality Monitoring System unit, which monitors air quality and is the only unit that serves the City of Iloilo. The unit is operated jointly by the university with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

thumb|200px|The view of the Big Field with the CPU Church and the Engineering Building in the background.

In 2011, the university's continued efforts in sustainability yielded when it won the Regional Tertiary Level of the National Search for Sustainable and Eco-friendly Schools of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau. The said award paved the way for the university's nomination at the national level of the said prize. The award is given to schools, colleges, and universities that have shown excellence through the campus sustainability programs it has.

The whole stretch of CPU's main campus is dotted with centuries-old acacia, anahaw, and royal palm trees. Two large lush and green open spaces, the Big Field and Halfmoon are the university's green yards, equivalent to what some university campuses in Western countries have. The university campus beautification program oversees the maintenance of the university's gardens and park.

The other sustainability programs of the university on the campus include a wastewater treatment facility for the wastewater that is emitted then will be processed to a safer level before it will be dumped back into the environment by the main campus buildings. Back in 2005, the university also launched the CPU New Millennium Tree (CPU NMT) for Sustainable Development. The said program is designed to heighten environmental consciousness in the university, where it seeks to plant thousands of mahogany trees.

Administration

{| class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; font-size:90%; line-height:1.4em; width:280px;"

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#191970;"| <span style="color:white">Principals and Presidents of<br />Central Philippine University</span>

| colspan="2" |<hr />

| William Orison Valentine, 1905–1906, 1907–1914

| Charles L. Maxfield, 1906–1907

| Francis H. Rose, 1914–1916; 1938–1941

| Henry W. Munger, 1916–1917

| Mary J. Thomas, 1917–1918

| Alton E. Bigelow, 1918–1922

| Harland F. Stuart 1922–1938

| R. Fred H. Chambers, 1941–1942

| Joseph Morris R. Forbes, 1947–1950

| Peter Hugh J. Lerrigo, 1950–1952

| Almus O. Larsen, 1952–1956; 1957–1961

| Linnea A. Nelson 1956–1957; 1965–1966

| Joseph T. Howard, 1961–1965

| Rex D. Drilon 1966–1971

| Agustin A. Pulido 1971–1996

| Juanito M. Acanto 1996–2008

| Teodoro C. Robles 2008–2023

|Ernest Howard B. Dagohoy 2023–present

| colspan="2" | <hr />

| style="font-size:70%" | References ||

240px|thumb|left|The Presidential House, the official residence of the university president.

The Central Philippine University is governed by a corporation under a non-stock and non-profit entity as Central Philippine University, Corporation. The university is administered by a Board of Trustees with members representing the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches.

CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital, the university's hospital, is also represented automatically in the university's corporation by its hospital director. Historically Protestant and maintaining an affiliation with the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches and fraternal ties with the American Baptist Churches USA, Central is independent in governance and academically non-sectarian, imposing no religious requirement on the admission of students.

The CPU Board of Trustees' structure and the corporation is headed by a chairman and vice-chairman alongside the university president, the vice-president for administration and finance, the vice-president for student affairs, the vice-president for academic affairs, and the vice-president for research, development, and extension. The General Secretary of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches sits as an ex-officio member. The CPU Alumni Association, the faculty, and staff are likewise represented on the board. The president of the university's student government, the CPU Republic, sits as a representative of the students.

120px|thumb|left|Mary J. Thomas, the first woman Principal of Jaro Industrial School, Central Philippine University's forerunner.

CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital is a separate entity from the university. Its board of trustees is independent of CPU's corporation but largely composed of personnel from the university. Former CPU president, Juanito Maca Acanto, seats as the chairman of CPU–Iloilo Mission Hospital Corporation and Board of Trustees.

The former and 17th president (and also the 4th Filipino president) of the university is Teodoro C. Robles. An alumnus of the university, he studied engineering and graduated in 1964. Dr. Teodoro C. Robles also earned his M.S. and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Electrical Engineering at Montana State University.

thumb|170px|right|Linnea A. Nelson, the first woman President of Central Philippine University.

The board of trustees unanimously elected him on September 5, 2008, to be the new president and was confirmed by the CPU Corporation in a special meeting on September 18, 2008.

Ernest Howard B. Dagohoy currently serves as the incumbent and 18th president of Central Philippine University (CPU) and is also recognized as the 5th Filipino president of the university. An alumnus of CPU, he holds a bachelor's degree in Theology. During his college years, Dagohoy held leadership positions, including Governor of the CPU College of Theology and later as a Senator of the CPU Republic. He furthered his education, earning a Doctor of Ministry from The Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth, as well as a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Asian Theological Seminary. Notably, he graduated with honors from the CPU Development High School Class of 1978 and held prominent roles, such as Corps Commander of the Citizens Army Training Corps of Cadets.

On October 2, 2023, the Board of Trustees and Corporation of Central Philippine University (CPU) announced the election and confirmation of Rev. Dr. Ernest Howard B. Dagohoy as the new president.

Central Philippine University maintains ties as a sister school with Silliman University in Dumaguete, the first American and Protestant-founded university in the Philippines and in Asia.