Hall, was completed in 1903. Recalling how the university started half a century later, Dr. Hibbard described: Expansion and World War II Enrollment in the school grew attracting students from other Asian countries. In 1910, Silliman was awarded government recognition and the right to grant a degree. In the same year, it was incorporated under the laws of the Philippines. Women started to be admitted in 1912, and in 1921, the Silliman Bible School (later to become the Divinity School) was established in cooperation with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, largely representing the Congregational Churches of the United States. As enrollment in the institution grew further, a corresponding increase in faculty followed. These developments were accompanied with the use of a more developed curriculum and the construction and acquisition of more permanent buildings and equipment. By 1925, Silliman was already recognized as "the most influential Protestant institution of higher learning" in the Philippines, based on a report submitted by the Board of Educational Survey, which was created by the Philippine Legislature to conduct a study on all educational institutions in the country. The institute was re-incorporated in 1935, and in 1938 became the first school outside of Manila to be granted university status. After its recognition as a university, Silliman continued to receive from the Presbyterian Board and the American Board (now the United Church Board for World Ministries) grants for land, buildings and equipment. In addition, these boards provided the university with American faculty and staff personnel. Two other American boards have contributed personnel and funds: the Board of Missions of the United Methodist Church and the United Christian Missionary Society of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ). Life in the university was interrupted when World War II came. On May 26, 1942, some three weeks after the fall of Corregidor, two Japanese transports anchored in Dumaguete. Silliman was occupied by the Japanese forces and was converted into a garrison. One of its buildings, Channon Hall, became the headquarters of the dreaded Japanese kempeitai or military police where many Filipinos were tortured and killed. During the occupation, many members of the faculty and the student body were forced to evacuate to four localities within the province. Under the leadership of Dr. Arthur Carson, then president of Silliman, the remaining members of the faculty continued the operations of the university in the mountains of Negros Oriental. This