The Southern Leyte State University-Tomas Oppus or popularly known as SLSU-TO, was given birth on March 7, 2004 by virtue of Republic Act 9261 which integrated the two state colleges in Southern Leyte. One of which was the Tomas Oppus Normal College in the municipality of Tomas Oppus and the other one was the Southern Leyte State College of Science and Technology in the municipality of Sogod. Just like any other successful academic institutions, SLSU-TO attains its present status after it went through a painful metamorphic process.

       SLSU-TO started as the Tomas Oppus Community College or TOCC. This was the product of two great men Mr. Glicerio Dulla and Mr. Agustin Dulla, Sr. of Barangay San Isidro, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte. They were imbued with noble vision of helping the poor but deserving rural youth attain a college education without having to go to a big university or college in the city.
To help materialize the vision of the Dullas, the barangay council of San Isidro passed Resolution Number 52 on December 20, 1970 which mandated for the establishment of the community college in their own barangay. On July 1971, the community college was immediately inaugurated with only one course offering, the Bachelor in Elementary Education. Because of the lack of physical facilities, the first batch of college students were accommodated in San Isidro Elementary School with classes scheduled mostly in the evening and during Saturdays. To teach to more or less 30 college students, the Dullas hired part-time instructors who were mostly administrators of neighboring elementary schools. They were: Ramon Mira, Noime Mepico, Raymundo Tibon, Jaime Dayao, Nena Buclatan, Purito Vecina, and Ester Jusay.

        As one of the founders of the Community College, Mr. Glicerio Dulla became the first college administrator from 1972 until 1975. In 1976, Mr. Nicolas Robin who was then the elementary school supervisor in Malitbog District, assumed the position and became the second college administrator until he retired in 1980. In 1981, Mr. Nemesio Maulas succeeded in the position and started the initial efforts to convert the Tomas Oppus Community College into a state college.

       Due to the insistent appeal of Mr. Maulas and of the people of Barangay San Isidro through the then House Speaker Nicanor Yñiguez, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Presidential Decree 2024 converting Tomas Oppus Community College into Tomas Oppus Normal College or TONC on February 1, 1986, or few days before Marcos was driven away from power through the first EDSA People Power Revolution. The great political upheaval at that time had caused for the deferment of PD 2024 and TONC failed to obtain its separate national budget. The meager income of the college coming from the tuition fees of the more or less 30 enrollees and the unquestionable dedication of pioneering teachers, had spurred the college to survive under the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports from 1986 to 1992. It was in 1992 that the College through the efforts of Prof. Juan Vallinas and Mr. Nemesio Maulas received a budgetary allocation of Five Million Pesos under DECS supervision. During this year, Mr. Maulas retired and Dr. Virgilio Espinas was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the College for one year. With an enacted budget in 1993 still under DECS supervision, the college flourished with an increased enrolment. During this year former President Fidel V. Ramos appointed Dr. Federico R. Flores as the first College President. With Dr. Flores’ new leadership, the college, by virtue of Republic Act 7663, received in 1994 an increased budgetary allocation of six million four hundred twenty thousand pesos with the help of Honorable Congressman Roger Mercado. Since then, the college operated autonomously from DECS. In 2001, Dr. Flores retired and Dr. Jude A. Duarte was appointed as Officer-in-Charge until 2004.

        In March 2004, with the authorship of Honorable Congressman Ricardo Saludo, that house bill number 4822 was passed into law integrating the Tomas Oppus Normal College and Southern Leyte State College of Science and Technology. By virtue of PD 9261, the Southern Leyte State University was created with Dr. Leonardo L. Manalo as its first University President. The university operates in five campuses located in the municipalities of Tomas Oppus, Bontoc, Sogod, San Juan, and Hinunangan.
The first appointed Campus Administrator for SLSU-Tomas Oppus was Dr. Jude A. Duarte.

       On September 2006, Dr. Gloria M. Reyes was installed as the second University President of SLSU. Dr. Duarte is designated as the Vice-President for Administration and Finance. To replace Dr. Duarte as Campus Administrator of SLSU-Tomas Oppus, President Reyes designated Prof. Prose Ivy G. Yepes. Under the new administration of Prof. Yepes, the campus envisions to become an outstanding academic institution in teacher education and in related fields in Southern Leyte and has been operating on a mission to provide professional and advance instruction for the total development of the human person.

       As mandated by PD 9261, SLSU-TO performs fourfold functions. These are instruction, research, extension, and production. Instruction … is the first major function of SLSU-TO. Today, the college offers graduate, college, and high school education. It also offers a diploma course in education and a certificate short-term course in computer.

       For its graduate education, SLSU-TO offers Saturday classes for the Master in Public Administration degree and the Master of Arts in Education degree with majors in Educational Management, Guidance and Counseling, Language Teaching, Mathematics, Social Science, Filipino, and Science Education. SLSU-TO’s collegiate offerings include: Bachelor in Elementary Education with areas of specialization in Special Education, General Education, and Pre-Elementary; Bachelor in Secondary Education with majors in English, Filipino, Social Science, Mathematics, General Science, Physical Education, Health and Music or PEHM, and Science with specialization in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The college also offers Bachelor of Arts with majors in English and Social Sciences; and The new offering of the campus are Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with majors in Business Management and Human Resource Development Management.

       The high school department of the university serves as laboratory for graduating education students during their in-campus practice teaching period.
For the needs of those graduates from non-teaching degrees but who wish to teach in the academe, SLSU-TO also offers the Diploma in Basic Education Teaching with a number of major fields to choose from. These are: English, Filipino, Social Science, Mathematics, General Science, and Science with specialization in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

       To meet the demands of time, the college also offers the 2-year Associate in Computer Education; a course intended for other high school graduates who wish to have a specialized and intensive training in computer.
With the continues high passing percentage in the Licensure Examination for Teachers, the strong teaching force, and other accomplishments of the college, SLSU-TO’s teacher-education programs have been conferred Level II status by the Accrediting Agency for Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines or AACCUP from April 2001 to April 2004. Research … is the second major function of SLSU-TO.

       Being a teacher-training institution, much of the researches of the university are education-oriented. These researches are anchored on the following eight-point research agenda as outlined in the ten-year development plan of the institution. These agenda include: Teacher education, curricular assessment, manpower supply and demand studies, information technology, Health, Health-related studies, governance and manpower of higher education studies, and accreditation studies. Extension … is another important function of the university. The extension function of the university has been strengthened through its successful SOLEFARDI or Southern Leyte Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Development, Inc. -- a foundation that extends loans to civic organizations with minimal interest.
       Much of the extension activities of the university are focused on continuing education like the conduct of review classes, computer literacy sessions, literacy classes via non-formal education, and workshops on different topics. Activities for livelihood enhancement are also emphasized in the extension function of the university like animal dispersal, conduct of trainings on culinary, stuffed toys making, creative crafts, and dressmaking. Activities geared towards environmental protection and preservation like barangay clean-up and “Sagop Fish Sanctuary” are also the top priority considerations of the extension office. Conducting anti-drug campaign, bloodletting, feeding, distribution of relief goods, medical and dental missions, publication of newsletters, and running a radio program on Gender and Development are among the extension efforts of the university that intend to promote civic and social consciousness among barangay residents. Production … completes the quadruple functions of the university.
To augment its meager income, SLSU-TO engages in income-generating activities. Aside        from the tuition fees of students, the university generates income from its internet café, farm, canteen, dormitories, reproduction machines, space rentals, sound system rentals, vehicle rentals, dental/medical services, instructional materials, toga rentals, bindery, ID card reproduction, and lamination. SLSU-TO exists with significant goals to pursue, and to better achieve these goals, the college has acquired several facilities.
       The library… This three-million-peso-worth library is built to back-up the instruction function of the university. To give students enough books to read, the library has acquired 6,637 books. Three hundred eight of which are textbooks for the graduate school, six thousand forty two are textbooks for the college, ninety for the high school, and the remaining 197 are pocket books. The total number of books in the library brings to a book-student ratio of six is to one or six books for every student.

        Computers… SLSU-TO has acquired a number of computer units for safekeeping and easy retrieval of pertinent documents ranging from student records, personnel records, to other important papers on academic- and administration-related activities.
The Internet Café…To provide students, faculty and staff an access to the World Wide Web, the college has put up an Internet café. Surfing the Internet, students can access information and other materials needed in their academic works.

       Laboratory facilities… To give students opportunities for systematic observation and experimentation in science with a very comfortable working place, the college provides a chemistry laboratory and a biology laboratory that can accommodate more than 30 students. The college likewise provides a speech laboratory to serve as a venue for students to develop their communication skills in the English language.

       The transportation facilities… for convenience in coming in and out of the lower and upper campuses, services of pedicabs and multicabs can be availed of at reasonable fare.

      Water facilities… TONC has its own water system for the lower and upper campuses through electric-powered pressurized pumps.

       Lighting facilities… The college avails of the services of the Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative or SOLECO for its lighting and other power needs. For sufficient power supply, SOLECO provides the college with a 25 KVA transformer for the upper campus and a 37.5 KVA transformer for the lower campus. In case of power failure, the college has acquired a standby generator for continuous power supply in the two campuses.

      Communication facilities… for the communication needs of the college, SLSU-TO has adopted an intercom, VHF radio communication, and a wireless telephone system which can be availed of not only by the college personnel but also by other residents in the neighboring barangays.

       Dormitories… To provide comfort and homey ambiance to first year female students coming from distant towns, the university provides two dormitories -- the Athena and Venus ladies halls.

Other important facilities of the college include:

      The cafeteria… where the practical arts students can conduct their practicum in cooking, food garnishing, and proper table arrangement; And,

       the covered court… This serves as the venue for Physical Education classes and other major functions like graduation rites, student programs, university-wide parties, and sports. The basement of which houses the PE faculty room and the Office of Student Publication.
TONC still has many dreams to fulfill and laurels to reap. With the concerted efforts of the students, the faculty, the support staff, and the community, SLSU-TO will prosper and eventually become the real center of excellence in education for Southern Leyte.