West Visayas State University (WVSU, referred to colloquially by locals as West; ) is a public normal research university located in La Paz, Iloilo City, Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It was established in 1924 as Iloilo Normal School under the tutelage of the Thomasites, but dates back its founding in 1902 as a part of Philippine normal school system with Iloilo National High School established by the American colonial government. It later became West Visayas State College in 1965 and acquired its university status becoming West Visayas State University in 1986. The university is one of the accredited Philippine Universities of the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific and one of the most prominent institutions in the Philippines in the field of Teacher Education, Nursing and Medicine. The West Visayas State University (WVSU) system is composed of the main campus, six external campuses (which are distinct from the main campus) and the WVSU Medical Center. The La Paz (main campus) is organized with an integrated laboratory school and twelve degree granting tertiary schools and colleges. In the collegiate level studies, the academic programs the university offers include Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Biology, Business Management, Cooperatives Management, Forestry, Hospitality Management, Information and Communications Technology, Mass Communication, Medicine, Nursing, Operations Management, Political Science, Public Administration, Physical Education, Teacher Education and Tourism. The Law program of the university under the newly established College of Law was opened in August 2020. It was later followed by the establishment of the College of Dentistry. The 2,000 hectare Mari-it Wildlife and Conservation Park which is managed as part of the 3,000 hectare WVSU College of Agriculture and Forestry campus in Lambunao, Iloilo, is the largest hornbill breeding facility in the world. The Philippine Commission on Higher Education has also designated the university through its main campus as National Center of Excellence in Teacher Education and National Center of Development in Nursing while the Lambunao Campus as National Centers of Development in the programs of Agriculture and Forestry. History West Visayas State University (WVSU) was founded on June 16, 1902 as an adjunct unit with the Iloilo National High School of the Philippine Normal School system established under the American regime. It was one of the five tributary schools created to address the need to train Filipino teachers under the tutelage of the Thomasites. In 1916, it was a secondary school, an adjunct with