Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan (XU-AdC or simply XU) is a private, Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. Founded in 1933 as the Ateneo de Cagayan for Boys, it became a university in 1958, and was given its present name in honor of the Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier. 

University History 

Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan was founded in 1933 by Fr James TG Hayes SJ, Superior of the Philippine Jesuit mission and first Bishop and Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. In the next 11 years, the two-storey wooden building along Burgos Street that schooled 17 high school male students mushroomed into several buildings along Corrales Street with 614 students. This studentry came from the existing high school; from the college department that was added in 1938 with course offerings in Liberal Arts, Education, and Commerce; and from the Grade School, established in 1940. All these were brought to the ground during the outbreak of World War II which forced the school to close on December 9, 1941. 

The chemistry laboratory then was used to extract quinine for the government forces. Later on, the campus was used as the Northern Mindanao headquarters of the Japanese troops after they entered Cagayan de Oro on May 2, 1942. Soon after Cagayan de Oro was freed from the Japanese forces, the school was reduced to rubble when on September 9, 1944, American planes began bombing Cagayan de Oro. “Those liberators wrecked the town of Cagayan and its wharves. 

When the day was over the old transit showed our college in ruins, the century old cathedral gone, and the lovely house of the Bishop a heap of concrete,” wrote Fr Edward Haggerty SJ, then-Rector of the Ateneo de Cagayan. His successor, Fr Andrew F Cervini SJ, sought the reconstruction of the school. Through their efforts and with the assistance of local and foreign benefactors, the school reopened in 1946 with the usual classes held in partially-restored buildings. The University has been closely involved with the life and growth, concerns and problems of Cagayan de Oro City and Mindanao. Under the leadership of Jesuits, the University undertook various development initiatives in countless areas. Improvements in the school’s intellectual life were made; more scholarships were granted, and more emphasis was given to research activities and social involvement. The Research Institute for Mindanao Culture (RIMCU) was established in 1957 to conduct studies on Mindanao, its cultures, issues, and concerns. In 1963, the University Journal “Kinaadman” started publishing research and articles on Mindanao, and has since been well-received locally and globally. 

As a University, Xavier has played an active role in the development of Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao, responding to the needs of its people whenever possible. Since 1963, the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) has been forming and producing rural social development leaders in Asia. Committed to the appreciation, preservation, and enrichment of Filipino culture and heritage, Xavier established the Philippine Folklife Museum and Archives in 1968, presently called “Museo de Oro.” The Institute for the Development of Educational Administrators (IDEA) has been training school administrators since 1972. In May 2014, the University opened the XU Marine Station in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental under the management and supervision of the McKeough Marine Center to support research and capacity-building on environmental conservation and marine life.