Honorary Degree Recipient 1994

Corazon Aquino was the 11th president and first female president of the Philippines. Elected in 1986 and heralded as the heroine of the revolutionary People Power Movement, Aquino restored democracy in the Philippines after the long dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. The peaceful manner through which Aquino came into office drew international acclaim and admiration and also marked a paradigm shift for the Philippines into an era of democracy. Aquino was awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities in 1995 from UO when she visited to give the commencement speech. To commemorate her visit, three trees were planted in her name, the last one standing of which can be viewed at the West entrance to campus. Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer and passed on August 1, 2009. She was known for her sense of humor, constitutional reforms, and her attention towards human rights.