A check amounting to P700,000 to start off a P1 million endowment fund was turned over to Silliman University by Adlai J. Amor, son of Atty. Alexander G. Amor, in whose honor and memory the Alexander G. Amor Electronic Newsroom at the College of Mass Communication was blessed and dedicated in a simple, meaningful ceremony on Feb. 24.
It served as a highlight of the celebration of the 48th Mass Communication Week, which kicked off last Sunday with Adlai Amor as guest preacher. Theme of this year’s celebration is CMC @ 48: Committed to Giving Voice to the Voiceless.
On hand to accept the check on behalf of Silliman were Prof. Cleonico Fontelo, vice-president for finance & administration; Dr. Betsy Joy Tan, vice-president for academic affairs; and Prof. Jane Annette Belarmino, vice-president for development.
Prof. Carlos Magtolis Jr., member of the University Naming Committee, gave the rationale of the culture of gratitude that Silliman has perpetuated over the last few years to honor faculty, staff, and administrators who have served the University well until their retirement. Through the committee, a rigid process is undertaken to discuss the merits of a particular alumni or fraternal worker making them worthy for the naming of a building, classroom, or structure in their honor.
Adlai, in his message on behalf of their family, remembered his father — the first Filipino full-time director of the then School of Journalism & Communications three months after it was established in June 1966 by its founder, Dr. D. Wayne Rowland — as “wily, but humorous and who loved teaching and his students dearly.” Until Atty. Amor’s passing in 2011 at the age of 83, he was still practicing his legal profession and retired from teaching a few years earlier upon the prodding of his children who asked him to take things easy.
Atty. Amor worked very closely with Dr. Rowland in setting up the school. Because he was busy with his legal practice, he taught part-time with the rank of associate professor (perhaps, the only part-time instructor at Silliman University to have been granted such rank). He taught Advertising and News Writing with many among his former students, including the present crop of teachers in the College today, remembering him as a strict, but understanding teacher.
In the editorial published in a special issue of the Vanguard, the newspaper that the Amor family publishes, it touched on the fact that “tribute connotes a mark of respect.” The editorial, coming out on the same day of the blessing and dedication ceremony, said: “We look back now and we acknowledge and highlight the person that he was and we do so by recognizing his achievements and successes. He was our Alexander the Great — the man with unparalleled sense of organization, always with a cheery disposition and fantastic upbeat view of life; thoughtful, family-oriented, a spoiler of grandchildren, beauty aficionado, hardworking, generous, and best of all, amusing and humorous. He may have been mabaw ug lubot (roughly translated, sensitive) at times, but this made him even more endearing to us. He went by the adage: ‘Live one day at a time.’ He never worried about what tomorrow will bring. He knew that God will provide — always. His faith was unwavering.”
Aside from Adlai, the fourth of seven children of Atty. Amor and Delia Jamandre of Iloilo, also present during the ceremony were Alex Jr. (a businessman based in Dumaguete), Averill (a lawyer based in Manila), and Arnel (a government employee in Dumaguete). Cutting the ribbon were two of Atty. Amor’s grandchildren, who comprised his “legal defense team” — physician Avelex Amor, son of Alex Jr. and Boots; and Ara Mina Amor, a Mass Communication student, only daughter of Arnel and Estela.
The rest of the siblings, all Sillimanians, are Audrey, a nurse in Canada; Alexdel, a mechanical engineer in Alberta, Canada; and Armida, a restaurateur in Boston, Massachusetts.
The endowment fund, according to Adlai, will serve to maintain the upkeep of the Electronic Newsroom, as well as ensure its perpetuity. (Cecile Genove/SU Masscom)
