William Valentine

William Orison Valentine (May 9, 1862– February 2, 1928) was an educator and missionary in service of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society who established and served as first president of Jaro Industrial School, now Central Philippine University.

Valentine and Miss Van Allen were married in 1903 and the couple left for his new appointment in Iloilo in the Philippines, few years after when the country was opened to Protestant American missions in 1898.

In 1913 the school opened its doors to girls; it was fully incorporated by the Philippine government and enrolled 740 students.

With the completion of his studies in 1916, Valentine received a new appointment as Provincial Missionary for Negros Occidental, an island neighboring Iloilo in the Philippines.

He built a new mission house to replace the small chapel and encouraged Filipino lay ministers to preach at Sunday services.

There were also dormitories for both boys and girls who attended public schools and received a Christian education at the mission.

On February 2, 1928, Valentine died in Bacolod of malaria complicated by heart disease and was buried at the Philippine American Cemetery in Jaro, Iloilo City.

William Valentine sketched portrait.
The Central Philippine University was founded by William Valentine along with his other co-founders through the grant that was given by the American philanthropist, oil magnate and industrialist, John D. Rockefeller .
The Valentine Hall on the campus of Central Philippine University is a monument built and dedicated in memory of William Valentine.