MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur: The Mindanao State University (MSU) has come a long way since its inception on Sept. 1, 1961 to respond to the so-called Mindanao problem.

MSU, created through Republic Act 1387, as amended, was the brainchild of the late senator Domocao Alonto. The 1954 Congressional Committee conceptualized it as a social laboratory for national integration. Its original mission was anchored on instruction, research and extension.