The Ateneo de Zamboanga University College of Law (ADZU-COL) is a Jesuit professional school dedicated to providing excellent and meaningful education. Founded in 2011 in consortium with Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan de Oro University), the ADZU-COL is dedicated to developing competent, disciplined and educated lawyers that looks at the legal profession as a service to the community and sees themselves as instrument of social justice.
Located in Zamboanga, in the heart of Western Mindanao, ADZU-COL focuses its projects in community development and support to the local government. Annually, the ADZU-COL conducts legal aid clinics wherein the members of the faculty, alumni and students provide free legal services to indigent residents of Zamboanga City. Recently, the legal aid services has been expanded with ADZU-COL in partnership with the barangay systems of the Government of Zamboanga City and the Public Attorney’s Office visit areas, which are too distant from the city, to provide legal assistance, education and service.
As a young college, ADZU-COL has a faculty of thirty (30) lawyers. Most of the student population comes from a diverse cultural background being residents of the near-by islands of Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi. These places are what are considered as the “areas of conflict” in the Philippines. With this in mind, ADZU-COL intertwines its legal education with an installation of Jesuit values to encourage students to be more in the service of their provinces, and to inculcate the rule of law in their communities.
ADZU-COL is part of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University education program. The Ateneo de Zamboanga University is a Jesuit University that has provided education, inspiration and companionship to the people of Western Mindanao for more than a hundred years. The University is one of the major Jesuit schools in the Philippines which include the likes of Ateneo de Manila University and Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City, also located in Mindanao. The University is considered to be one of the major institutions of progressive change in the city and has constantly been admired for its dedication to community development and service.
In line with the University’s vision of nurturance of faith, the ADZU-COL has patterned its courses in order to instill the values of generosity, faith and social consciousness to its students. This is particularly expressed in the adoption of the Jesuit Legal Education program to the College’s syllabus. The program ensures that the graduates of the school adopt the mantra of Jesuit education of magis, cura personalis and social involvement.
As one of only two law schools in the city of Zamboanga, ADZU-COL prides itself with a more social-focused approach of education rather than a by-the-book understanding of the law. Students are exposed to various societal problems and are challenged into providing assistance in changing the status quo.