Central Luzon Agricultural School (CLAS) Main Gate
Central Luzon State University (CLSU)
The Central Luzon State University (CLSU) started as a farm school, the Central Luzon Agricultural School (CLAS), through Executive Order No. 10 issued on April 12, 1907 by the then Governor of the Province of Nueva Ecija, James F. Smith, who declared a public agricultural domain in Muñoz as the site of the agricultural school.
As a farm school, the major activities of CLAS included skills training and disciplined community life for farm productivity and sound family living. The students learned the rudiments of better farming methods, agricultural mechanics and homemaking arts. These activities soon evolved into a model vocational-agricultural teaching and learning program which became its legacy to the country in so far as the CLAS experience was concerned. As a result, CLAS became a byword for productive farming methods.
CLAS was converted into the Central Luzon Agricultural College (CLAC) by virtue of Executive Order No. 393 issued by then President Elpidio Quirino on December 31, 1950. The existence of CLAC coincided in large part to the early beginning of higher education in agriculture in the Philippines. It was the first state institution in the country to offer a four-year curriculum for training teachers of vocational agriculture. One of the unique features of this program was the requirement of practicum, a special instruction requiring certain hours per week of actual work. The underlying concerns in practicum were “learning-by- doing”, acquisition of practical skills and expertise; including the value and dignity of work; and forestalling the “white-collar” mentality. Hence, CLAC was known as “the mother of vocational agricultural schools” in the country.
CLAC became the Central Luzon State University on June 18, 1964 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4067. As embodied in its enabling act, the “University shall primarily give professional and technical training in agriculture and mechanic arts besides providing advanced instruction and promoting research in literature, philosophy, the sciences, technology and art”.
Now, for more than 100 years, CLSU stands proud as one of the more renowned and prestigious higher education institutions in the country. It straddles on a 658 hectare-campus in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, 150 kilometers north of Manila. Then and now, the university is a shining example of an institution that has dedicated itself to the task of producing well-trained people and providing services with an indelible mark of excellence.
1904 - The beginning of the Central Luzon Agricultural School (CLAS) started when Mr. T.W Thompson proposed the idea of forming a farmer-students school to Gov. Isauro Gabaldon.
1907 - Governor General James F. Smith issued an Executive Order No. 10 on April 12, 1907 declaring a portion of public domain in Muñoz as the site of an agricultural.
1909 - Classes officially started at CLAS.
1946 - The CLAS accepted women to be enrolled in the school.
1950 - The School became the first institution to offer a four-year curriculum for training teachers. With continuous innovation, it later on became the College of Education in 1964.
1952 - In January 6, 1952, the modest farm school that shows an impressive achievement was inaugurated as a college via Executive Order No. 393 wherein the Central Luzon Agricultural School (CLAS) was formally converted in to Central Luzon Agricultural College (CLAC).
1953 - Prof. Celestino Habito wrote the lyrics of the “CLAC hymn”. The same lyrics is still being used in the “CLSU Hymn” today.
1954 - The Institute of Graduate Studies (IGS) was established, and is now known as the University Graduate Program Office (UGPO). Likewise, the Department of Home Economics was also institutionalized, and later on became the College of Home Economics in 1964.
1955 - This year marks the establishment of the Department of Agricultural Engineering which focuses on farm mechanics, and later bloomed as the College of Engineering in 1964.
1964 - The past, the present, the future – The CLSU. From being a humble farm school to becoming a widely known college, and now elevated as university. On June 18, 1964, by virtue of the Republic Act No. 4067, the first farm school in Nueva Ecija became known as the Central Luzon State University. It is during this year where the first CLSU President was appointed in the person of Former President Hilario J. Santos. The College of Agriculture was also established on the same year.
1965 - The CLSU produced its first topnotcher in the Agricultural Engineering Licensure Examination on namely Mr. Rogelio Lazaro
1967 - The College of Arts and Sciences was established.
1968 - On February 9, 1968, th CLSU Seal design for the CLSU Seal was approved by the Philippines Heraldry Committee.
1973 - The CLSU Main Gate was constructed.
1976 - The College Inland Fisheries was institutionalized, and was later on renamed as the College of Fisheries in 1987. On the same year, the University Science High School was also established.
1978 - The College of Veterinary Science and Medicine was established, and since then it has recorded a total of 81 topnotchers in the Veterinarian Licensure Examination.
1983 - The College of Business Administration and Accountancy was established.
1984 - CLSU became the First SUC Members of the network for the Barangay Integrated Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI).
1992 - This year marks the start of Presidency of Dr. Fortunato A. Battad. He is credited for the massive greening of CLSU campus with more than 45,000 different kinds of trees planted within the premises of the University.
1996 - The Agricultural Science and Technology School (ASTS) was established.
1997 - The CLSU Open University was formally created, and was later on developed and known as the CLSU-Distance, Open and Transnational University (DOT-Uni) on February 15, 2018.
2001 - CLSU was launched as the Model Agri-Tourism Site for Luzon under the Philippine Agri-Tourism Program, a joint project of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Tourism on October 19, 2001.
2007 - On April 12, 2007, CLSU marked its 100th Founding Anniversary.
2014 - On March 14, 2014, CLSU was hailed as Tuklas Lunas Development Center by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD). The center focuses on mushroom as a commodity with pharmaceutical potential in an effort to hasten drug discovery research in the country.
2015 - CLSU was chosen by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to serve as participating university in the ASEAN International Mobility for Students Program.
2016 - CLSU successfully received its ISO 9001: 2008 Certification. The same year, CLSU-CVSM marks the fourth year of being the 1st Placer in the Veterinary Licensure Examination.
2018 - CLSU became the Top 14 Best SUC in Philippines based on its Center of Excellence.
2020 - CLSU joined the QS World Ranking, and became an affiliate member of the Southeast Asian University Consortium.
