College of Mount Saint Vincent Honors Albert del Rosario '57

Joined by his wife, five children, three sisters, his longtime friend Rev. Timothy Tighe, C.S.P. '57, and former Vice President for Advancement Joe Gorski, the Hon. Albert del Rosario ’57—Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines—was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the College of Mount Saint Vincent on September 24.

Secretary del Rosario, who previously served as Philippine Ambassador to the United States, was the first sitting official of the Republic of the Philippines to receive an honorary degree from the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The late former President Corazon Aquino, an alumna of the College, and her son, President Benigno S. Aquino III, have both been awarded the Elizabeth Seton Medal, the College’s highest honor.

“As an official of the Philippine government, I am truly humbled to be honored after President Corazon Aquino, a Mount alumna,” Secretary del Rosario said. “Thus the honorary Doctor of Laws that the Mount has conferred upon me will always be my treasure as well as my inspiration. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs that I lead closely shares Mount Saint Vincent’s commitment to institutional integrity and excellence. I, therefore, consider the honor bestowed on me as recognition also for the hardworking men and women of the Philippine Foreign Service.”

Dr. Charles L. Flynn, President of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, praised Secretary del Rosario’s work around the globe.

“The honorary degree is conferred upon Secretary del Rosario in recognition of his principled commitment to democracy, integrity, and the rule of law both at home and around the globe. Albert del Rosario, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, you are celebrated for fulfilling President Aquino’s vision, both within the Department of Foreign Affairs and in relations with other nations,” Dr. Flynn said. “You have reformed the organization and the culture of the Department, shifting it from seniority and patronage to merit, efficiency, and accomplishment. With your leadership, the Department tirelessly advocates for the protection of Filipino workers abroad, including the many victims of human trafficking. With your leadership, the Department effectively promotes economic cooperation and development. And with your leadership, the Department now seeks the peaceful, legal resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea—one of the world’s most perilous and potentially consequential international conflicts.”

With this honor, Secretary del Rosario became the fourth member of his family to earn a degree from the College of Mount Saint Vincent. “My sisters Amparo and Alicia, who both joined me during the conferment ceremony, were Mount graduates,” he said. “So was our late sister Virginia—the brightest of us all—who gave me the pleasure of escorting her in 1957 to the senior prom, amazingly held at Smith Hall [at the College of Mount Saint Vincent], the venue for the conferment ceremony.”

To read more about Secretary del Rosario, click here.