@FANHS_national celebrates 40 years at a most successful #FANHS2022 national conference! (Search #FANHS2022 on all social media for more photos and videos.)

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TOP photo: Instagram collage of FANHS history 2) panorama of #FANHS2022 opening reception #DAWNMABALONisintheHeart Adobo Cook-Off on 10 August 2022 3) and 4) #FANHS Founding Executive Director Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova with Dr. David Woodward, representing Seattle University in the opening plenary. (A coincidence: Woodward Hall at the Silliman University Divinity School in Dumaguete City, NegOr Philippines is named after his grandfather.) Welcoming Remarks on Behalf of Seattle University For the Biennial FANHS Conference Held at SU 2022 Aug 11 -13 By David Woodward, Senior Advisor for Global Engagement, Seattle University I would like to thank Board President Emily Lawsin, the Board of Trustees of the Filipino American National Historical Society, Founder and Executive Director Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, Conference Chair and Greater Seattle Chapter Chair Barbara Bergano, and Chair of the Conference Welcome Committee Mary Ann Goto for bringing this important event to the Seattle University campus and for the invitation to provide welcoming remarks. And to everyone, good morning and welcome to the Seattle University campus! For those not from Seattle, I just want to mention that yes, the weather here is always this gorgeous! 😊 It is an honor and a privilege to meet you all here. As I was reminded last night at the lovely welcome reception at Immaculate Conception Church, this is where the first Filipino American National Historical Society conference was held (in 1987 I believe) and Seattle University alumni Dorothy and Fred Cordova established FANHS in Seattle 40 years ago. It was inspiring for me to see the FANHS archives last evening for the first time, and to begin to appreciate the importance and extent of the historical and cultural work in which the members of your organization are involved. Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver is unable to be with you this morning and asked me to welcome you to campus on his behalf. In an article about President Peñalver’s new presidency published this month in Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, President Peñalver, the first lay person and first Latino president in Seattle University’s history, is quoted as saying “If you look at our vision statement it calls on us to be innovative and progressive, both in terms of the subject matter we offer and the way we go about teaching.” He goes on to say “We’re in a place where innovation meets humanity; it’s the secret sauce of Jesuit education…students who study finance, business and technology are engaged in discussions about their values and integrity, an increasingly necessary exercise in a complex universe.” President Peñalver has two primary goals for Seattle University going forward. One is to grow Seattle University’s national reputation beyond our local area as currently most of our students are drawn from the Western U.S. President Peñalver comments in the same article “We need to introduce ourselves to the country, through excellent hiring and a deliberate effort to get our people out in front of a national audience, through media engagement and innovative research.” President Peñalver’s second primary goal is to keep building a richly diverse and inclusive campus environment. Seattle University has made strong steps in diversity recently at the senior leadership level; the Seattle University leadership plan to build on recent efforts with our faculty by recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and senior leadership team. Hosting the FANHS conference on our campus aligns in many ways with President Peñalver’s vision for SU – recognizing the accomplishments of the past and forging ahead with plans for continuing to grow in strategic ways in the coming years. The Filipino American community in Greater Seattle, the Pacific Northwest and across the U.S. has made tremendous contributions to our society as you know best, and Seattle University looks forward to continuing and enhancing our engagement with members of FANHS in the coming years. FANHS clearly has deep ties here on which to build going forward. On behalf of President Peñalver and the Seattle University community, I would like to express how pleased and honored we are that you are here, and we wish you a most inspiring and productive conference in the days ahead!