SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — In celebration of Independence Day, Seton Hall University President A. Gabriel Esteban has been recognized as a “Great Immigrant” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Esteban, the first Filipino president of a major American university, will be among the 38 “Great Immigrants” nationally honored this year.
The 2015 “Great Immigrants: The Pride of America” initiative includes individuals who have helped advance and enlighten our society, culture and economy, according to a press release from the university.
“The promise inherent in the American Dream, which has attracted immigrants to the United States for centuries, has been fulfilled in my life many times over. For that, I will be forever grateful to my adopted homeland,” Esteban said in the release. “At Seton Hall, I work to ensure that today’s young Americans — many of whom come from immigrant families — receive an education that will allow them to realize their own hopes and aspirations.”
Esteban joins the ranks of other prominent individuals being honored this year, including Nobel laureates Arieh Warshel and Thomas C. Sudhof; Pulitzer Prize-winners Geraldine Brooks and Ann Telnaes; U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara; Army Major Gen. Antonio M. Taguba; Metropolitan Museum of Art Director Thomas Campbell; Atlanta Braves Coach Eddie Perez; Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin; actress Sofia Vergara; and television game show host Alex Trebek.
“Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, came to this country as the son of impoverished immigrants and grew up to become one of the greatest contributors to American industry and philanthropy,” Vartan Gregorian, president of the corporation, said in the release. “His devotion to U.S. democracy stemmed from his conviction that the new infusion of talent that immigrants bring to our country keeps American society vibrant.”
“On behalf of all immigrants, it is an honor to receive this distinction, which has been bestowed on luminaries from many fields of endeavor. I thank the Carnegie Corporation for its thoughtfulness in counting me among such an esteemed group,” Esteban said.
Under Esteban’s leadership, Seton Hall announced plans earlier this year to form the only private medical school in New Jersey in partnership with Hackensack University Health Network. In addition, the university established a new College of Communication and the Arts.
Most recently, Esteban was named one of the 100 most powerful business leaders in New Jersey and one of the 50 most influential individuals in health care in New Jersey by NJBIZ. He was also knighted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.