Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) 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 family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

Hyacinth Gabriel Connon (July 11, 1911 – August 24, 1978), was a Lasallian Brother and president of

De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

from 1950 to 1959 and 1966 to 1978. He is the second president to have served two terms in the history of the university, the first being Brother Acisclus Michael. The greatest achievement ever made during Connon's administration was the granting of the charter as a university to the college on February 19, 1975.

Early life and education

Connon was born on July 11, 1911 in Chicago. He was ordained a brother through the St. Louis district of the Brothers of Christian Schools- Connon received the habit of a Brother on August 30, 1928 at the Brothers' novitiate in

Glencoe, Missouri Glencoe is an unincorporated community in western St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is located on the west side of the Meramec River, north of Eureka in the southern part of Wildwood and is just off Route 109. History Glencoe was ...

President of De La Salle University

First term (1950–1959)

Connon's first term was marked by the expansion of the college and its professionalization, began under Brother Chrysostom Peter Clifford, who assumed the post of dean of the college, succeeding Brother Lambert Edward Chisholm, its post-war re-founder. It was also during this first period of the presidency that Connon assumed the directorship of the community, the presidency of the college, and the auxiliary visitorship of the Philippines in 1953, the Philippines having been raised to be a sub-district of the San Francisco Province of the Brothers. As auxiliary visitor, Connon, using De La Salle College as a base and as the mother institution, opened the novitiate in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

in 1951, the scholasticate on Taft Avenue in 1960, and the junior novitiate (also on Taft Avenue) in 1959. In addition, Connon opened La Salle College Bacolod,

La Salle Greenhills La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...

, La Salle Iligan, and La Salle Lipa. Within De La Salle College, the growing autonomy of the college as a separate unit was symbolized by the construction of Saint Joseph Hall.

Second term (1966–1978)

It was during Connon's second term that the position of director (superior) of the Brothers' Community was separated from the presidency of the college. Connon as president oversaw the expansion of the college from an enrollment of 1,500 to more than 5,000 and the expansion of its units. Benilde Hall (now St. Miguel Hall) was constructed and the plans for the Student Services Building (named Br. Connon Hall in his memory) was finalized. It was also during his second term that De La Salle College was granted university status. By that time, he had an investiture celebration as De La Salle University's first Filipino president, having been granted Filipino citizenship by an act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

on August 10, 1970.

Other achievements

In the 1950s, Connon was involved in the establishment of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, and became its president in 1952. He resigned the post in 1957 for health reasons. Bro. Connon started the project as CEAP president to create a set of standards for schools, which later became the

PAASCU The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) is a private, voluntary, non-profit and non-stock corporation which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines. It is a serv ...

system in 1957. In the 1960s, Connon, in tandem with the rector of the Ateneo de Manila University at that time, worked for the founding of the

Asian Institute of Management The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is a highly acclaimed management school and research institution located in Makati in The Philippines. Established in partnership with Harvard Business School,, AIM Historical Highlights. in 1968, it is ...

, a

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

of business for

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Honorary degrees

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(1950)— St. Mary’s College: Moraga,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(1961)— Ateneo de Manila University:

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(1961)—

San Beda College San Beda University () is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Saint Benedict in San Miguel, Manila, Philippines. It was founded by the Benedictines in 1901. The main campus is situated ...

, the

References

DLSU System: Past Presidents: Hyacinth Gabriel FSCsystem.dlsu.edu.ph
Accessed, March 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Connon, Hyacinth Gabriel 1911 births 1978 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni People from Chicago Roman Catholic religious brothers American Roman Catholic missionaries American emigrants to the Philippines Filipino Roman Catholics Presidents of De La Salle University De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines Naturalized citizens of the Philippines Asian Institute of Management people Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Catholics from Illinois