The investiture of the first rector and president of the new university, Father Salinas, was held on February 3, 1969, amidst pageantry and color, attended by local, national, and foreign dignitaries.

The Aquinas University Bureau of Small Scale Industries opened in 1973 the short-term, non-degree ladder-type course on Abacacraft Technology and Management.

The course is offered to train selected out-of-school youth the necessary skills for the handicraft industry in the Bicol Region.

The AQ Labor Management Council has been a national finalist in the 2005 Search for Outstanding LMC for Industrial Peace, reflecting the harmonious labor-management relations in the University.

Established in 2002, the Aquinas University Foundation, Inc. (AQFI) has incubated various sustainable enterprises growing and producing indigenous and environment-friendly products, in the process helping reach out and bring employment to people in the rural areas.

The AQFI now has about 300 hectares (740 acres) devoted to reestablishing abaca as a top grosser for Albay and Bikol.

The AQFI has also invested in coconut coir production and a system of deriving income from initiated and supported cooperative projects.

"Bahay ni Kuya" in Albay District is now a Life Coaching and Wellness Center which is a timely response to the periodic calamities that visit the region.

The Kyama Building near the downtown district now houses the AQ Pharmacy, a ‘botika ng bayan’ that dispenses low cost medicine.

An application for a change of name was made with the Securities and Exchange Commission which took effect in academic year 2017–18.