History of the Ateneo de Manila
The Ateneo de Manila University (Filipino: "Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila") is a private research university in Quezon City, Philippines. Founded in 1859 by the Society of Jesus, the Ateneo is the third-oldest university in the Philippines.
The founding of the Ateneo de Manila University has its roots in the history of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as a teaching order. The first Spanish Jesuits in the Philippines, Alonzo Sánchez and Antonio Sedeño, arrived in 1581 as missionaries. They were custodians of the "ratio studiorum", the Jesuit system of education developed around 1559. Within a decade of their arrival, Sedeño and the Jesuits had founded the Colegio de Manila ("Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio") in the historic core of Manila, Intramuros, in 1590. The Colegio formally opened in 1595, the first school in the Philippines.
Joaquin Bernas
Bernas began to teach at Ateneo de Manila Law School in 1966. He served as Dean twice from 1972 to 1976 and from 2000 to 2004 and President of Ateneo de Manila University from 1984 to 1993. Upon his retirement as Law Dean in 2004, Bernas was conferred the position of Dean Emeritus at Ateneo School of Law. He continues to teach "Constitutional Law" and "Public International Law" to law freshmen and sophomores.