Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University

On January 15, 1981, through P.D. 1778, the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) was created to cater to the people's aspirations. The University has three (3) major campuses located in different towns of the province of La Union: the North La Union Campus in Bacnotan and the seat of the Central Administration the Mid La Union Campus and the DMMMSU Open University System in the City of San Fernando, and the South La Union Campus in Agoo with the Institute of Agriculture in Rosario and Institute of Fisheries in Sto. Tomas.
The North La Union Campus (NLUC) of the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) evolved through a metamorphosis series from June 18, 1969, to the present. The Campus had its beginning as the La Union Agricultural School (LUAS) established through R.A. No. 2692 and signed on June 18, 1960. Then Congressman Francisco Ortega was among the prime movers in drafting the law that had established the LUAS.
LUAS became operational in 1963 with the appointment of then Mr. Victor V. Luis as a school principal with a total enrollment of 139 students. The first curricular offerings were limited to secondary vocational agriculture for boys and secondary agricultural home-making for girls. On June 15, 1968, LUAS attained its college status through R.A. No. 5310. LUAS became Don Mariano Marcos Memorial College of Agriculture (DMCA), in honor of the illustrious father of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the late Don Mariano Marcos. He died in Salincob, a barangay adjacent to the school site.
The school's conversion into a College was attained through concerted efforts of Congressman Francisco Ortega, Senator Magnolia Antonio, La Union Governor Juvenal Guerrero, and Bacnotan Mayor Francisco Fontanilla. Six years later, DMMMCA became a chartered state college. It became the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State College (DMMMSC) through P.D. No. 615 was signed on December 19, 1974. Dr. Crispin E. Cabanilla became the first DMMMSC President until his death on November 9, 1977. Dr. Bienvenido P. Agpaoa became the second President on February 7, 1978. He took over from then NEDA Region I Director Joseph Alabanza, who acted as Officer-In-Charge since Dr. Cabanilla's death.
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) was created to cater to people's aspirations. The University has three (3) major campuses located in different towns of La Union. Namely: the North La Union Campus in Bacnotan as the Main Campus and the seat of the Central Administration the Open University System and the Mid La Union Campus in San Fernando and South La Union Campus in Agoo with the Institute of Agriculture in Rosario and Institute of Fisheries in Sto. Tomas.
n January 15, 1981, through P.D. 1778, the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) was created to cater to the people's aspirations. The University has three (3) major campuses located in different towns of La Union. Namely: the North La Union Campus in Bacnotan as the Main Campus and the seat of the Central Administration the Open University System and the Mid La Union Campus in San Fernando and South La Union Campus in Agoo with the Institute of Agriculture in Rosario and Institute of Fisheries in Sto. Tomas. The University has 78 academic programs broken down into seven (7) Post Graduate courses in Philosophy and Doctor of Education 24 Graduate Courses in Masters Degrees, 36 Undergraduate Courses, nine(9) post-secondary non-degree programs, two(2) laboratory programs, and the Open University System offers two(2) Masters degrees and four(4) Certificate courses.
Don Mariano Mariano Marcos Memorial State University has three academic programs that have been re-accredited to Level III status by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines. These are Graduate College, Teacher Education, and Agriculture. For the past several years, DMMMSU had produced topnotchers in national board examinations in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, Midwifery, Master Electrician, and Education. The University was ranked among the top ten higher education institutions in the Philippines, as surveyed by the Commission on Higher Education in 2001. It was ranked number seven among the more than a thousand private and public colleges and universities. Areas evaluated were faculty, student admission, library, and research.
The DMMMSU Open University System or DOUS was established in 1996. It first began as a particular project under the supervision of then-University President, Dr. Manuel Corpus. The project was conceived by Dr. Corpus to give people in remote areas access to higher education. A task force was formed to prepare a comprehensive proposal on the offering of DOUS. This proposal was submitted to Speaker Jose De Venecia for approval and funding with the assistance of then-Congressman Victor Ortega. After its approval, faculty members in the program prepared modules and instructional materials and later became the first DOUS tutors.
On October 21, 1996, the DOUS program was approved by the DMMMSU Board of Regents under BOR Resolution Number 96-064A. Then, on November 28, 1996, DOUS was formally launched by Speaker De Venecia, where a memorandum of agreement was signed between government agencies and DMMMSU to support DOUS. To begin its operations, Speaker De Venecia released P4.8M in 1996 and P2.8M in 1997 from his Countrywide Development Fund through the then Department of Education, Culture, and Sports.