Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Andrew Benjamin Gonzalez, F.S.C. (29 February 1940 – 29 January 2006) was a Filipino

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, writer,

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and a

De La Salle Brother french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

. He served as president of

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

from 1979 to 1991 and from 1994 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001 he served as Secretary of the

Department of Education, Culture and Sports The Department of Education (abbreviated as DepEd; fil, Kagawaran ng Edukasyon) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and improving the quality of basic education. It ...

under the presidency of

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

. After his term ended, he returned to

as vice president for Academics and Research from 2001 to 2003 and as Presidential Adviser for Academics and Research from 2003 to 2005. He earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Early life

Gonzalez was born as Macario Diosdado Arnedo Gonzalez "in Manila to Augusto Gonzalez, a prominent businessman, wealthy landowner, and the son of Dr. Joaquin Gonzalez; and Rosario Arnedo, daughter of Pampanga Governor Macario Arnedo.Biographies of famous Kapampangan
, Alejandro Camiling. Retrieved on 2006-07-14. Gonzalez attended and completed grade school at De La Salle College in Manila. He was a consistent honor student and graduated as

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

. He also finished his high school at De La Salle College in 1955 as Valedictorian. His love for teaching made him decide to become a De La Salle Christian Brother. He finished his novitiate at the De La Salle Retreat House in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

on November 20, 1955, and made his initial vows the year after. He joined the Scholasticate of the De La Salle Christian Brothers in

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...

, U.S.A. on December 10, 1956. He studied at

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with an undergraduate residential college in Winona, Minnesota; graduate and professional programs in Winona, the Twin Cities, and Rochester; and various course deli ...

, a Christian Brother-run college in Winona and earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree at the top of his class at the age of 19. He obtained his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the year after. He returned to the Philippines in 1960 and began teaching English Language and Literature at the high school department of

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Bapti ...

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

, Negros Occidental. He served in several administrative positions at De La Salle College in Manila from 1964 to 1967 and made his final vows as a De La Salle Brother on May 30, 1965. He took up graduate courses in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

in the

Philippine Normal College The Philippine Normal University (PNU; fil, Pamantasang Normal ng Pilipinas) is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission '' ...

. He was admitted to the doctoral program in linguistics at the

as a Regent's Fellow in Linguistics and as a Stanley Tasheira Scholar in 1967 and completed the PhD degree in 1970.

Return to the Philippines

Gonzalez returned to the Philippines in 1971 where he was chosen to become the chairman of the Humanities Department of De La Salle College and was promoted to Academic Vice President from 1971 to 1978. Upon the sudden death of then De La Salle University President- Brother H. Gabriel Connon FSC, Gonzalez became the Acting President. In recognition of his exceptional management ability, he was elected as the president of De La Salle University by the board of trustees in 1979 and served until 1991. After his term as university president, he was designated as president of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, and in 1994 he was elected to his second term as president of De La Salle University-Manila where he served until 1998. He was appointed as the Secretary of the

during the term of President

Joseph Ejercito Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

in July 1998 and served until January 2001. During his term as DECS Secretary he got involved with the Ford Expedition Scandal. He rejoined De La Salle University-Manila as vice president for Academics and Research from 2001 to 2003 and as Presidential Adviser for Academics and Research from 2003 to 2005. Manila Bulletin gave him the title of President Emeritus on January 26, 2006.Farewell to our beloved President Emeritus Dr. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC
,

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

, February 1, 2006

As President of De La Salle University Manila

As president of De La Salle University Manila, he conceptualized the De La Salle University System and helped expand the range of Lasallian education in the Philippines. Brother Andrew established the College of Career Development of De La Salle University-Manila which became the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and took over a college and a medical school in

Dasmariñas Dasmariñas (colloquially shortened to Dasma), officially the City of Dasmariñas ( fil, Lungsod ng Dasmariñas), is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. With a land area of and a population of 703,141 people acc ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

which respectively became De La Salle University-Dasmariñas and the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute. He prioritized graduate education by creating new masteral and doctoral degree programs. He also wrote many books in linguistics and education. Under his term, De La Salle University-Manila underwent significant developments as an institution of higher learning, particularly in the areas of research and faculty and program development. He also promoted Alumni activities, and boosted scholarly activities on campus. For example, he made his private collection of books available to members of the public, especially ones interested in learning about applied linguistics.

As Education Secretary

He initiated the revision of the Basic Education Curriculum and placed a corruption-free procurement system which significantly reduced the costs of textbooks and supplies purchased by the

. He initiated the changing of language of instruction to the ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' for the first three grades.

Recognition

In recognition of Gonzalez's achievements, he received awards from the City of Manila, National Press Club,

Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The univers ...

and from

San Beda College es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

. He received honorary doctorate degrees from

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

and Soka University in Japan, St. Paul University in Canada and from

St. Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

. De La Salle University Manila granted him the title of President Emeritus on September 28, 2005, and DLSU-Manila's new state-of-the-art 20-storey General Education Building was named the Brother Andrew Gonzalez Hall. Apalit Technical Vocational High School in San Juan,

Apalit Apalit, officially the Municipality of Apalit ( pam, Balen ning Apalit; tl, Bayan ng Apalit), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 117,160 people. The town is ...

, Pampanga was renamed Bro. Andrew Gonzales Technical High School in his honor.

Death

Gonzalez died due to complications of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

on January 29, 2006, at the De La Salle University Medical Center of De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute in Dasmariñas, Cavite. His remains were brought to the De La Salle Brothers' Mausoleum at

Lipa City Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa ( fil, Lungsod ng Lipa), is a 1st class component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people. It is the first city charter in the pro ...

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...