Fil-Am 1st lay president of US biggest Catholic university

MANILA, Philippines - DePaul University’s board of trustees in Chicago has just  appointed A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., as the university’s 12th president.

Esteban will assume the presidency of the nation’s largest Catholic university on July 1, becoming the first lay leader in its 119-year history.

He has roots in Paniqui, Tarlac and Manila and is the son of the late  Dean Jose Esteban of De la Salle Medical School in Dasmarinas, Cavite and isabelita Munson of Manila.

He finished his secondary education in Paco Catholic School and went on to the  University of the Philippines in Diliman where he majored in Mathematic and his MA. He had a scholarship to study  in Chaminade University in Hawaii and later migrated to America.

“Dr. Esteban brings both extensive experience in higher education and strategic planning to DePaul University,” said William Bennett, chairman of the board of trustees. “I am confident he will preserve and continue to enhance DePaul’s reputation for academic excellence, as well as the university’s Catholic and Vincentian mission.”

Breaking ground as a lay leader at a Catholic university will not be a new experience for DePaul’s 12th president.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Esteban is currently the president and first lay leader in more than 25 years at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

After serving as provost and interim president, Esteban became president of Seton Hall, a Catholic university, home to nearly 10,000 students, in 2011.

During his tenure, he implemented strategic initiatives to increase enrollment and transformed the academic profile of the university’s student population.

In addition to strengthening retention and graduation rates, Esteban’s leadership helped increase the diversity of Seton Hall’s students and maintained the percentage of freshmen who are the first in their families to attend college.

As president, Esteban collaborated with Seton Hall leadership to create a new School of Medicine in partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health, one of the largest hospital systems in New Jersey.

The school, which is currently seeking national accreditation, will welcome its first class in 2018.

Esteban oversaw the development of a new health and medical sciences campus that will house the School of Medicine, the College of Nursing and the School of Health and Medical Sciences. He led the creation of a new College of Communication and the Arts in 2015 and established the first department of Catholic Studies in the northeast.

He also partnered with university presidents to reestablish the BIG EAST athletics conference in 2013.

Esteban also established partnerships with various Catholic schools and universities in the Philippines and expanded Seton’s exchange student programs under his watch.

Esteban will succeed the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, who has served as DePaul’s president since 2004. Holtschneider announced his decision to step down in June 2016.

The search for DePaul’s 12th president started in September 2016, and the board of trustees unanimously approved Esteban’s appointment on Feb. 6.

Before joining Seton Hall, Esteban held multiple positions at University of Central Arkansas, including provost and dean of the College of Business.

He also served as associate vice president for Academic Affairs at Arkansas Tech University.

As a professor of marketing, Esteban has taught in many classrooms across the country, as well as in the Philippines. His dedication to students and learning has been a driving force throughout his career.

“DePaul University has an excellent academic reputation, and I am honored to have the opportunity to shape its future in partnership with the university community,” Esteban said. “In my conversations with DePaul’s students, faculty and staff, the distinct commitment to the university’s mission and values strongly resonated with my own personal beliefs. My family and I look forward to joining the DePaul community.”

A celebrated leader and advocate for minorities, Esteban has received multiple honors. The Carnegie Corp. of New York recognized him as a “Great Immigrant” in 2015, and New Jersey’s leading business journal, NJBIZ, included him in its list of the 100 most powerful state leaders in 2016 for the second year in a row.

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem knighted him in 2014.