He was the first superintendent of the Philippine Normal School (PNS) when it formally opened in Intramuros on September 1, 1901.
SCOTT MC CORMICK (1922-1924)
He made various contributions to the educational system and promoted communion between school and community. He is best remembered for opposing the practice of punishing students caught speaking in a native language within the school premises, however well-intentioned and remarkably forward-looking the prohibition was, going by its slogan “Speak English and Talk to the World.”
ROY GILMORE (1924-1939)
He served as the longest among all superintendents and saw PNS through its journey from a secondary-level school to a junior college. He was instrumental in raising the standard of teacher education in the Philippines.
MANUEL ESCARILLA (1939- )
MACARIO NAVAL (1950-1958)
A proponent of the community school, he believed that armed with his competencies and leadership, the teacher graduate should be a positive force in his community. “The school is not to be set apart from the community but is an inseparable part of it and is vitally concerned with the welfare of the community.”
EMILIANO RAMIREZ (1958-1970)
He believed in the power of the critical mind: “As teachers of teachers it is our bounden duty to teach the youth scientific thinking characterized by accuracy in all operations, open-mindedness, suspended judgment, application of the universal law of cause and effect, and finally, the habit of criticism, including self-criticism.”
GREGORIO BORLAZA (1971-1972)
He spoke of two curricula, the seen and the unseen, in developing the teacher at the Normal. “The regular must be restructured, expanding its general education portion and enriching it with courses in science and humanities; the unseen curriculum must be such as to provide an atmosphere conducive to the development of a wholesome character in students.”
BONIFACIO SIBAYAN (1972-1981)
He gave weight to a strong liberal arts component in teacher training “…to educate the teacher to think with clarity and feel with compassion.” He also extolled research and innovation (to train) “…teachers in particular…to do their own thinking and to rely in their own scholarship. A research tradition must be cultivated and made to bear fruit.”
EDILBERTO P. DAGOT (1981-1990)
He challenged teacher training to broaden its vision to give even more care to students with learning problems and disabilities. “(We need)…more research…including insights into…why children don’t learn; how children learn despite disadvantages, what children in fact do bring that we have not fully identified or harnessed; that enables him to survive in his often adverse environment, how to evaluate his growth, how to make him learn on his own especially when the teacher is no longer there.”
GLORIA G. SALANDANAN (1991-1998)
She proposed stricter quality control on the teachers to be trained: “Our recruitment and selection policy should attract students who come not only from the top half of the graduating students but at least, from the top quartile, if not the top 20 percent. She was quick to clarify, however: “The character of the graduate should not be all cognitive. He should also be clothed with a stable system which will distinguish him as an upright, and yet a caring Filipino.”
LILIA S. GARCIA (1998-2002)
Former PNU vice president for administration, Atty. Garcia was the Normal’s first lawyer to become university president. Banking on skills honed in negotiations, she expertly wrangled landmark agreements with various educational and funding institutions abroad and piloted many projects to completion in a remarkably short time. She visualized a culture of teachers who are instruments in the transformation of Philippine society – teachers “creative and visionary”, who will see in the requisite dedication and the long work hours “not the death of self, but the birth of opportunity.”
NILO L. ROSAS (2002-2006)
He regarded PNU as an institution that has produced great educators since its establishment and has upheld a legacy of teacher competence, dedication and commitment to develop a humane and thinking citizenry. During his term, the challenge of preserving PNU as a Center of Excellence in teacher education is further enhanced as the University enters a millennium marked by uncertainty and exponential social and environmental changes.