De La Salle Lipa - History

History

In school year 1985-86, the College Department was formally opened, with Ms. Elsie Rabago as officer-in-charge. Ms. Norma Blanco was appointed the school's first lay high school principal in 1989. Because of the burgeoning school population, a resident President was appointed, Br. Narciso Erquiza FSC.

On May 15, 1995, Brother Rafael Donato FSC, former President of De La Salle University, assumed the presidency of De La Salle Lipa. Under Br. Donato, the school constructed the the Sen. Jose W. Diokno Building, the Chez Avenir Hotel (now called Chez Rafael), the St. La Salle Building and Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo Clusters of the Jose Rizal Building and the Centennial Sports Plaza.

Donato retired in 2003 and was conferred the title President Emeritus by the school in special ceremonies held at the auditorium of the Sen. Jose Diokno Building.

In 1996, the school opened a graduate school, offering a Master in Management Technology. In 1997, the school became the first educational institution in Batangas to go online, with its web site launched in the same year.

A year later, DLSL became one of the first schools around the world to launch an alumni registry web site. Called Umpokan, the web site has become fully interactive and is an online meeting place for graduates of the school.

In 2002, Mr. Juan Lozano was appointed the school's first Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. In 2003, Br. Rafael Donato retired from active service and was named President Emeritus. Brother Manuel Pajarillo FSC was then appointed President.

The school changed its organizational structure in 2005. With Br. Pajarillo still the school's President, Lozano was elevated to the position of Executive Vice-President. Mr. Rex Torrecampo was, meanwhile, appointed as the first Vice-President for Administration. The following year, Dr. Corazon Abansi became the school's first Vice-President for Academics and Research.

In 2006, the school's corporation papers were amended to officially make it part of an umbrella corporation, De La Salle Philippines, which was formed to see to it that the operation of De La Salle schools are in line with the mission of the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines.

In May 2007, in keeping with the standards set by De La Salle Philippines, the Executive Vice-President became known as the Chancellor, while the two Vice-Presidents became known as Vice-Chancellors. While in schoolyear 2006-2007, Pajarillo was president of three De La Salle schools (Lipa, Dasmariñas and the Health Sciences Institute also in Dasmarinas, Cavite), in 2007 he was President solely of De La Salle Lipa.