Fil-Am UP grad is new Seton Hall University president
Filipino-American Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban was installed as president of Seton Hall University (SHU) in the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. Esteban was appointed as the first Fil-Am and first Asian-American president of the 155-year-old Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey in January this year but was installed only last October 14. In a news release, the DFA said Esteban is also the university's first lay president in a generation. Esteban was born in the Philippines and graduated from the University of the Philippines, where he earned two degrees: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Master in Business Administration. Esteban also received a doctorate in administration from the Graduate School of Management of the University of California at Irvine and a master of science in Japanese business studies from Chaminade University in Honolulu. He also received specialized training in leading transformation and change at Harvard Universityâs Graduate School of Education In his investiture address, Esteban narrated the personal and professional journeys that brought him to SHU. He also challenged the university to continue to "promote understanding of its rich Catholic intellectual tradition and to encourage deepening of faith among the members of the university community." During the investiture ceremony, the Philippine flag was paraded along with the US flag and the banners of Seton Hall University and its various schools and colleges. Filipino-American students belonging to the Filipino League at Seton Hall also sang the Philippine national anthem. During the giving of gifts to Esteban, Newark Archbishop John Myers, Seton Hall's board of trustees chairman and president of the board of regents, presented him with a Bible printed in Tagalog. The Philippine Consulate General to New York said in a news release, "As president of the university, he has set the goal of raising 'Seton Hall's academic profile to rank among the top 10 Catholic universities and top 100 national universities among college-bound high school students' in the U.S. by the next decade." As president, Esteban oversees more than 900 faculty, and 1,800 employees and nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. and Philippine Consul General to New York Mario de Leon Jr. attended the installation rites for Esteban. "This is a historic day for Seton Hall University. Dr. Esteban has brought a big honor for the whole Filipino-American community, especially given the fact that his investiture coincides with the celebration this October of the Filipino-American History Month in the U.S." Cuisia said. De Leon, whose consular jurisdiction includes New Jersey, described Esteban as a "great inspiration to Filipino Americans." "His accomplishment as the first Filipino-American to become a president of a major U.S. university - and of the very prestigious Seton Hall University at that - should bode well for our community," he said. A good strategist According to his biography posted on the SHU website, Esteban spearheaded the Universityâs strategic planning and campus master plan initiatives. Before assuming leadership positions at Seton Hall, among the positions that Esteban held were: