Independence Day -July 4, 1949.  Three years to the day of the establishment of the Philippine Nation saw the rise of Foundation College in Dumaguete City.

The College was founded by Dr. Vicente Guzman Sinco to attract "men and women from all conditions of life, whose only passport is intellectual competence; whose pursuit is excellence in mind, body and character, and whose quest is for truth and freedom."

As Dr. Sinco had envisioned, "The College’s primary duty was to contribute to the overall national program of development – because its constituents, the Filipinos, were then in the process of preparing themselves for work and participation in the activities of their country and the world community."

The College had a three-fold function, — instruction, research, and community action. The success of this mission was recognized in 1963, when Foundation College received international recognition and was invited to become a member of the International Association of Universities.

The College was the first institution in the Visayas and Mindanao to receive this honor, and the first institution in the world that was not a full university to become a member of this organization.

On January 28, 1969, recognizing the College’s sincerity of purpose, its achievement and performance, its superior instructional facilities and the quality of its graduates, the Philippine Department of Education granted the College a university charter.