De La Salle Catholic University, Manado

Unika De La Salle - Manado

De La Salle University - Manado
Motto	Religio Mores Cultura
Type	Private
Established	2000
Affiliation	Roman Catholic, Lasallian
President	Pr. Hanny Mentang
Rector	Pr. Revi Rafael Tanod, SS., SE., MA
Administrative staff	100
Students	Undergraduate Students: 1,500
Address	Kampus Unika De La Salle, Kairagi I-Kombos, 95001 Manado, Manado,  Indonesia
Campus	Urban, 150 hectares
Hymn	Alma Mater Hymn, Hail to De La Salle
Colors	Green and Yellow
Affiliations	APTIK (Association of Indonesian Catholic University)[1] ASEACU APTISI (Association of Private Higher Education of North Sulawesi province) LASSSAI (Lasallian Schools Supervision Services Association, Inc.)
Website	http://www.unikadelasalle.ac.id

Unika De La Salle Manado is a Catholic university located in Manado, Indonesia in the district of North Sulawesi. Run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and therefore part of the worldwide network of La Sallian educational institutions, it was established in 2000 as a response to the monetary crisis which hit Indonesia in 1997. The Bishop of Manado, Mgr Joseph Suwatan, realized that the crisis hitting Indonesia could be overcome through a highly qualified educational institutions. He accordingly founded De La Salle University-Manado in cooperation with the lasallian Brothers of the renowned De La Salle University of Manila, Philippines.

Information

Early History

The Diocese of Manado, Indonesia runs a series of well known and trusted Catholic educational institutions enrolling children from kindergarten up to high school.^[2] This tradition of educational institutions has proved its ability to produce leaders of nations and communities^[3] as well as professionals who have contributed to community development in Indonesia. The contribution of Catholic educational institutions in the general level of Indonesian colleges and high schools, as well as its role in achieving national goals of intellectual development despite poor and diminished government support^[4] has been proved by the latest studies.^[5] As a first attempt to introduce Catholic-run universities in Manado, the Diocese founded in the 1960s IKIP Catholic Budi Dharma which managed to produce graduates (S1) but was later closed. Steps to re-establish Catholic universities began to be explored by the Diocese in 1997, starting with intensive contacts with the De La Salle Brothers in Manila, well known for the management of higher education in the Philippines.

Catholic university

On August 7, 1999, Mgr. J. Suwatan, MSC established the Foundation of Unika De La Salle Manado, with an official letter from Notary R. H. Hardaseputra, SH No.2 dated August 7, 1999, followed by the Decision Letter of Minister of Education Nr. 123/D/O/2000 (August 7). Father Agus Mangundap, MA was appointed Chairman of the Foundation. He along with other trustee agencies managed the documents and files to be submitted to the Office of Ministry of Education and Culture in Jakarta. In addition, they also coordinated with the provincial of De La Salle Brothers to establish the university, until a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the provincial of De La Salle Brothers Philippines. Based on the MOU, the Foundation of De La Salle Manado was established by its founders: Bishop of Manado Mgr. Josef Suwatan, MSC and Provincial of La Salle Brothers Philippines Brother Armin Luistro, FSC.^[6]

After a permit from the Indonesian Government and a lot of improvements, the number of prospective college students of Unika De La Salle Manado drastically increased, a trend that has been continuing until now. In 2009, Father Revi R. H. M. Tanod, SS, SE, MA was appointed Rector for the term of 2009-2013 after passing the selection mechanism.^[7]

De La Salle Brothers

The university is named after Saint John Baptist De La Salle, who was the founder of the religious congregation of the Lasallian Brothers, namely the Brothers of the Christian School (Fratres Scholarum Christianarum, abbreviated FSC). This religious congregation, founded in Rheims, France in 1680 is exclusively dedicated to education.

Recent History

Comprehensive and sustainable reformation inside the university have resulted in an increased confidence from stakeholders, as well as an increasing number of prospective students and the good reputation of its first alumni on the job market. Following the rapid growth of the university, the whole facilities were moved during the school year 2002-2003 from the original Kanaka campus to a new and much larger campus located in Kombos, about 3 km from the center of Manado. Kombos's Campus stands on an area of 15 hectares around a first four-level building (91 x 18 meters) composed of classrooms and administration facilities. The increasing number and diversity of origin of the university's students reflect the rapid development of Unika De La Salle-Manado. In the year 2007, from 1077 active students of Unika De La Salle Manado approximately 20% came from outside the region such as Pontianak, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Jogjakarta, Jakarta, Papua,^[8] Ambon and Ternate. In 2009, that is to say after only a decade from its foundation, the number of students in DLSU reached 1183 among the five faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Law). This year saw the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MIPA) merging with the Faculty of Engineering. Likewise, human resources along with infrastructure and facilities constantly improved both qualitatively and quantitatively. Each year, about 150-200 students graduate from the university.^[9]

Academics

Faculties

The structure of Unika De La Salle is organized in five faculties as follows:

• Engineering Faculty (Electrical, Informatics and Industrial)
• Economics (Management and Accounting)
• Nursing
• Law
• Agribusiness

Supporting Units

The University includes as well six supporting units:

• English Department
• IT Center
• Research and Community Service
• Cooperation and Development
• Natural Science Laboratory
• Library
• Language Lab

Motto

The motto of Unika De La Salle Manado is 'Religio, Mores, Cultura' (Religion, Moral, Culture), reflecting the university's vocation to educate young people to believe in and rely on God, endorse and promote moral values, while respecting, exploring and promoting the world's present and past culture.

International Cooperation

While continuously improving the training^[10] and recruitment of its Indonesian lecturers, Unika De La Salle Manado also develops a close cooperation with various national and international institutions, both academic and non-academic. Cooperation with the Lasallian Schools Supervision Services Association, Inc. (LASSSAI) has been updated with the signature of a memorandum of agreement with the diocese in 2009. Intense and long-term cooperation has also been developed between Unika De La Salle-Manado with the Asia Pacific Regional Conference (PARC) of the Lasallian Brothers, based in Singapore. The later, through an agreement with the international cooperation NGO Fidesco (Paris, France) regularly sends dedicated lecturers.^[11] At the national level, Unika De La Salle Manado is an active member of the Association of Indonesian Catholic University (APTIK) and the Association of Private Higher Education (APTISI) of North Sulawesi province. Unika De La Salle Manado also established cooperation with the Institut Teknologi Bandung, Manado State University, University of Sam Ratulangi, and the University of Merdeka Malang (Unmer). In addition, cooperation for the benefit of professional education has been established with several renowned private hospitals in both national and local level.

Campus

At its beginning, Unika De La Salle-Manado occupied a small campus located in the center of Manado, Kanaka. It lasted until September 2002. In October 2002, Unika De La Salle-Manado moved to the new campus occupying an area of 15,000 m2 on the highland of Kombos. It is about 3 kilometers, North East from the old campus. More precisely, the new campus is located behind Wenang Permai II Residents Complex, Kairagi I. It was officially opened by the Bishop of Manado, Mgr. Josef Suwatan, and the Governor of North Sulawesi, Drs. A. J. Sondakh, on November 30, 2002.

References