Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) formally marked its 117th year of service as an academic institution during the Opening Program of this year’s Founding Anniversary Celebration, held February 19 at the Miguel Romualdez Memorial Auditorium.

Said opening celebration, anchored on the theme ‘One EVSU towards a SMART University,’ commenced with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by a motorcade, and a Thanksgiving Mass attended by the university key officials, faculty, students, and non-teaching staff.

In his welcome message, University President Dr. Dennis C. De Paz highlighted the significance of the Founding Anniversary Celebration and its alignment with this year’s theme, as the university prepares to embark on the Groundbreaking Ceremonies for the SMART Campus Project.

“This Founding Anniversary Celebration is particularly special because this is a momentous realization of the goals we have set forth two years ago. The SMART Campus Project embodies our collective aspiration to harness the power of technology and forward-thinking strategies to propel EVSU into a future where we redefine knowledge and education,” Dr. De Paz said.

The Groundbreaking Ceremony for the SMART Campus Project, aimed at harnessing the power of technology and innovative strategies to shape the future of EVSU, is scheduled to take place on February 23.

Further, President De Paz also celebrated a significant achievement for the university, expressing optimism about enhancing the quality of tertiary higher education in the region and emphasizing that all achievements and transformations aim to benefit the entire EVSU community.

Meanwhile, performers from the Culture and the Arts pumped up the opening ceremony with a song-and-dance flash mob performance of ‘Bring The Beat,’ symbolizing this year’s Founding Anniversary Celebration theme.

Bobby R. Profetana, a graduating student of Bachelor of Culture and Arts Education (BCAEd), anticipates that this year’s celebration will offer students the opportunity to showcase their talents and abilities, aligning with the celebration’s theme.

“I’m expecting that this year’s celebration of the Founding Anniversary is that this will offer opportunity to the students to showcase what they really got, and at the same time promote the university on what it has to offer for the next decades, in line with the theme, One EVSU towards a SMART University,” he expressed.

Profetana also took pride in the improvement of the Opening Program and described it as ‘one of the grandest openings’ of the Founding Anniversary Celebration during his three-year stay at the university.

The five-day Founding Anniversary Celebration will continue until February 23, featuring various activities and festivities.