By Charissa Luci-Atienza
The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution commending Filipino-American Dr. Amado Gabriel Esteban for bringing honor and prestige to the Philippines through exemplary achievements in the field of higher education in the United States as president of two major academic institutions.
House Resolution 2504, principally authored by 1-Ang Edukasyon partylist Rep. Salvador Belaro Jr. hurdled the Lower Chamber before Congress adjourned session on February 8 to pave way for the election campaign.
Dr. Amado Gabriel Esteban (PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL UNIVERSITY / MANILA BULLETIN)
"Dr. Esteban has brought honor and prestige to the Philippines, and remains an inspiration to Filipino scholars in the USA and the younger generation of Filipino-Americans," the resolution said.
It noted that Esteban holds the distinction of being the first Asian and Filipino-American who has served as president of the 155-year old Seton Hall University in New Jersey from 2011 to the present after having held the position as the school's Provost and Chief Academic Officer from 2007 to 2011.
In 2017, Esteban became the first non-ordained, Asian and Filipino-American president of the 119-year old DePaul University in Chicago, the largest Catholic University in the United States, which has a student population of almost 24,000.
"Dr. Esteban established a distinguished career in higher education not just in the Philippines, but also in the USA, having served in various capacities at the University of Arkansas, the Higher Learning Commission, and the Commission on Inclusion for American Council on Education, and as a professor of Marketing in Arkansas and Texas in the USA, and in the Philippines," according to House Resolution 2504.
Esteban was a "Great Immigrant" awardee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and a recipient of the Certificate of Achievement Award given by the Philippine Embassy in Washington.
"Dr. Esteban has sought to give back to his motherland through various initiatives such as initiating exchanges with higher education institutions in the Philippines, supporting Filipino scholars taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in the US and sustaining scholarships given by the Seton Hall University for Filipino students who make it to the top 10 percent of successful examinees," the resolution cited.
Esteban was born in 1962 and was raised in Manila. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines. Through a scholarship endowment, he earned another Master's Degree at the Japanese Business Studies at the Chaminade University in Hawaii and subsequently, a Doctorate degree in Business Administration at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).