- The Manila Central University had its beginning in 1903 when Dr. Alejandro Albert organized a private review class in Liceo de Manila at the request of UST students and other pharmacy board aspirants. It was barely years after the coming of the Thomasites.
Inspired by the success of his review class and encouraged by the petition of several pharmacy students, Dr. Albert, Dr. Leon Ma. Guerrero and three other pharmacists merged the Liceo de Manila in 1904. A building was constructed for this purpose on Rizal Avenue . This action was precedent making for the institution was the first private institution operated by Filipinos. When Dr. Albert resigned as its first director in 1908 Dr. Leon Ma. Guerrero succeeded him.
To cope with the staffing requirements of rapidly increasing enrollment the institution absorbed its graduates into its teaching staff. One of the 1910 graduates whom Dr. Albert designated to take over his subject when he left for the United States in 1913 was Atty. Filemon Tanchoco who commenced his studies at the Farmacia de Liceo de Manila in 1908.
The expanding enrollment gave rise to the acquisition of the new site at the corner of Oroquieta and Fugoso streets, the planned construction of a building and the birth of Manila College of Pharmacy in 1915. This institution was incorporated with Dr. Alejandro Albert, Atty. Filemon D. Tanchoco, Mr. Mamerto Manalo, Dr. Feliciano Paterno, Dr. Alfredo L. Guerrero and Mr. Antonio Llamas as incorporators. In 1917 the College was given the authority to confer the degrees of graduate of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy. With the appointment of the director, Dr. Albert as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Education and the appointment of his successor, Mr. Manalo as president of the reorganized Board of Pharmaceutical Examiners and Inspectors, Dr. Alfredo L. Guerrero became the director of the institution until 1936 when he was appointed president of the Board of Trustees. The expanding enrollment again necessitated the acquisition of a lot at the corner of Mayhaligue and Felix Huertas in 1926. In the same year a building was erected therein.
In the mid-twenties, Prof. Antonio Manalo Llamas did an extensive studies and observation in the United States . Upon his return and inspiration, the Board of Directors decided to open the College of Dentistry in 1929. The institution was then renamed Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry.
Another important milestone in the history of MCU was the opening in 1940 of the Albert High School . Students were housed in the Mayhaligue three-storey building.
The unfortunate outbreak of the Pacific War forced the school to closed in 1941. After the war, the death of the two original founders of the Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry, the incapacitation of one member, and the decision of another to go into full time practice of his profession left Atty. & Mrs. Filemon Tanchoco with the sole responsibility of reviving the institution. With the couple's personal savings the school was reconstructed. It opened with the College of Liberal Arts in July 1945. The secondary school was also reopened and in 1946 the elementary came into being. In the same year, two new colleges, the Education and Normal , were opened. These new units together with Liberal Arts became known as the Allied Colleges of Manila Central Colleges in June 1946.
In June 1947 the institution was granted the permit to open the first four year course of the College of Nursing by the Bureau of Private Schools. On July 16, 1947 the MCC opened a five year course in Medicine and Surgery. The following year saw the opening of the College of Business Administration Unit offering the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Public Administration degrees. This graduate department and the other science departments qualified the school to become a bonafide university. The Manila Central Colleges inevitably became the Manila Central University in 1948.
In 1949 the Tanchocos acquired the Novitiate of San Jose of Caloocan. Additional buildings were constructed to house the Hospital. The Nurses Home and the Maternity Home as well as the MCU Canteen were likewise constructed.
In 1955 the University opened the School of Midwifery and in 1959 College of Optometry opened its doors followed by the opening of College of Medical Technology .
In 1966 the Graduate Education Division offered the degree of Master of Arts in Education with concentration of different levels of education. The division later expanded its teaching of the Paramedical Courses. In 1978 the College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology offered the two- year Pharmacy Aide Certificate course. In 1993 the College of Physical Therapy was opened.
Today all colleges are located in Caloocan campus. All the other colleges in the Manila area, the College of Dentistry and Optometry, were transferred to Caloocan in 1996.
Thus metamorphosed the humble review class into a University. Now on its 93 rd year of existence, it is true mirror of the "Filipino capacity, not only in the practice of professions related to health and science but also in the effective administration of an institution of higher learning."
