Republic Act No. 4498

The present Mindanao Agricultural College in the Municipality of Maramag, Province of Bukidnon, is hereby converted into a university which shall be known as Central Mindanao University, hereinafter organized as a corporation under that name.

The university shall provide programs of instruction at all levels in the arts, sciences, technical, professional, educational, and philosophical fields, and shall concern itself with "pure" and "applied" research in all branches of knowledge for the intellectual and professional growth of faculty members, for the advance instruction of students, particularly graduate students, and for increasing knowledge and understanding.

Central Mindanao University shall have the general powers set forth in Section thirteen of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and fifty-nine, as amended, and the administration of the university and the exercise of its corporate powers are hereby vested exclusively in the Board of Regents, and the President of the University insofar as he is authorized by the Board.

The government of the university is vested in a board to be known as the Board of Regents of Central Mindanao University. The Board of Regents shall be composed of the Secretary of Education who shall be ex-officio chairman of the board; the Chairman of the Committee on Education of the Senate; the Chairman of the Committee on Education of the House of Representatives; the President of the University; the President of the Alumni Association; and four other members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.

The President of the Universitys Alumni Association cannot serve for more than three consecutive years as a member of the Board of Regents. The four additional members shall be selected from the residents of the Island of Mindanao and two of them shall be from the Province of Bukidnon. Of the four additional members first appointed as members of the Board of Regents, the President of the Philippines shall designate two to serve for two years and two to serve for four years. Thereafter, their successors shall hold office for a term of four years. Vacancy in the board shall be filled by appointment by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments and such appointees shall hold office for the unexpired terms only. No person in the employ of the university or in any other educational institution in any capacity whatsoever, whether as dean, professor, instructor, lecturer or otherwise, shall be eligible as a member of the board.

A vice-chairman shall be elected from among the members of the board who shall act as chairman in the absence of the Secretary of Education. The Board of Regents shall hold a regular meeting at least once a month and may hold as many special meetings as may be necessary. The members shall serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred either in attendance at meetings of the board or other official business authorized by resolution of the board.

The Board of Regents shall have the following powers and duties in addition to its general powers of administration, and the exercise of the powers of corporation:

The powers and duties of the President of the University, in addition to those specifically provided for in this Act, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of the president of the university.

No student shall be denied admission to the university by reason of age, sex, nationality, religious belief, or political affiliation.

A quorum of the Board of Regents shall consist of a majority of all the members holding office at the time the meeting of the Board is called. All processes against the Board of Regents shall be served on the President of the University or the Secretary thereof.

On or before the fifteenth day of August of each year the Board of Regents shall file with the President of the Philippines a detailed report, setting forth the progress, condition, and needs of the university.

There shall be a University Council, consisting of the President of the University and all instructors in the university holding the rank of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor. The council alone shall have the power to recommend students or others to be recipients of degrees. Through its president or committees it shall have disciplinary power over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline approved by the Board of Regents.

The body of instructors of each college or school shall constitute its faculty, and as presiding officer of each faculty, there shall be a dean elected from the members of such faculty by the Board of Regents on nomination by the President of the University. In the appointment of professors or instructors for the university, no religious opinions or affiliations shall be made a matter of inquiry or examination: Provided, However, That no instructor in the university shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of his teachings, nor attempt either directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by the Board of Regents, to influence students or attendants at the university for or against any particular church or religious sect.

Professors and instructors seeking appointment in the university shall be exempt from Civil Service Examinations or regulations, and from WAPCO rules and regulations as requisites to appointment.

There shall be a secretary of the university appointed by the Board of Regents. He shall be the secretary of the board as well as of the university and shall keep such records of the university as may be designated by the board.

The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be the ex-officio Treasurer of the University; and all accounts and expenses thereof shall be subject to audit by the Auditor General; and all disbursements shall be made in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Auditor General.

The President of the Philippines, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall constitute the Board of Visitors of the University, whose duty shall be to attend the Commencement Exercises of the university, and to make visits at any time they deem proper so as to examine the course offerings, state of finances; and to make a report to the Congress of the Philippines upon the same, with such recommendation as they desire.

Mindanao Agricultural College is hereby abolished and all its personnel, unexpended appropriations, and all its assets fixed and movable are transferred to Central Mindanao University. Salaries of the personnel shall be adjusted at the discretion of the Board of Regents within the amount available for appropriation. The provisions of Section five-A of Republic Act Numbered Twenty-two hundred seventy-three are incorporated in this Act.

The university reservation shall henceforth be known as University Town, Province of Bukidnon, with a ruling body composed of school officials and employees whose manner of selection and functions thereof shall be in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the President of the University.

The sum of one million pesos is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, as initial aid to the university; to be expended at the discretion of the Board of Regents of colleges authorized by this Act, in addition to existing appropriations of Mindanao Agricultural College: Provided, That one hundred thousand pesos of the annual appropriations authorized hereof shall be utilized for fellowships and scholars as herein before provided. Hereafter, the appropriation for Central Mindanao University shall be included in the annual General Appropriations of the National Government.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.