SUAANYNJ Alumni Chapter celebrates Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman’s 200th birth anniversary
Alumni Update December 8-14, 2025
The Silliman University Alumni Association of New York–New Jersey (SUAANYNJ) braved a winter storm on December 2, 2025 to honor the 200th birth anniversary of Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman in his hometown of Cohoes, New York.
Led by Chapter President Juliesette Divinagracia Hatulan, the daylong celebration began with a visit and floral offering at Dr. Silliman’s gravesite. Heavy snowfall forced the group to return to the Albany Rural Cemetery office, where staff volunteered to lay the wreaths once the storm passed. A fellowship lunch followed at Smith Public House, with Cohoes City Mayor William T. Keeler as honored guest.
In the afternoon, the chapter turned over a commemorative marker celebrating Dr. Silliman’s bicentennial birthday and role as founding benefactor of Silliman University. A short program at Cohoes City Hall featured Mayor Keeler as guest speaker and the reading of SU President Dr. Betty Cernol McCann’s message by SAAI President Adlai J. Amor. A solemn worship service capped the event, with tributes delivered by Amor and SUACONA President Jose Mari “Jojo” T. Antonio.
The SUAANYNJ chapter’s resolve to mount this historic celebration, despite severe weather, embodied the Silliman Spirit. Under President Hatulan’s leadership, the chapter honored Dr. Silliman’s enduring legacy of faith, character, and service that continues to shape generations through Silliman education.
SUAANYNJ, the first overseas alumni chapter of Silliman University, marked its 50th founding anniversary on December 14, 2024 at Terrace on the Park in Queens, New York.
Here’s a copy of the speech delivered by Adlai Amor, Silliman University Alumni Association, Inc. president, on December 2, 2025:
Gratitude
Your honor, Mayor William T. Keeler, officials of the city of Cohoes, fellow Sillimanians, good afternoon.
On behalf of the board of trustees of the Silliman Alumni Association, Inc., I bring you warm Filipino greetings despite the cold and snow today.
In Filipino culture, we have a value called utang kabobot-on or debt of gratitude.
That is why we came today despite the winter storm, in gratitude for the 200th birthday of Cohoes’ distinguished son, Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman. We mark his 200th birthday today, and earlier, we gathered at the Albany Rural Cemetery to offer flowers at his tombstone. Now, we are gathered here at the City Hall chambers of Cohoes to mark the installation of a memorial commemorating Dr. Silliman’s birthday.
Although we grew up in the far tropical archipelago we call home, we have come to express our gratitude. We come to remember a man whose donation of $10,000 dollars – worth $381,000 today – has grown into a $40 million-dollar educational institution in the Philippines.
We come in gratitude on behalf of the thousands of alumni, Sillimanians we all ourselves, who have benefited from Dr. Silliman’s gift. We are doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, pastors, businesspeople, writers, politicians, artists, lawyers, retirees, journalists, judges – even a president of the Philippines.
Although Dr. Silliman has no living descendants, we, the alumni, carry his name. For deep in our hearts lie the Silliman Spirit, a spirit kindled by a gift from a man who could not imagine then the impact of his gift. Truly, his gift, given more than a century ago continues to give today.
And so it is with gratitude that we celebrate the City of Cohoes for nurturing Dr. Horace B. Silliman and enabling his success as a businessperson and a philanthropist.
Thank you. Thanks be to God. Daghang salamat.
Meanwhile, SUAANYNJ Chapter President Juliesette D. Hatulan also writes:
As alumni, we carry with us not only the education we received but also the values nurtured within us: service, humility, excellence, and gratitude. It was this spirit that moved me that, as the SUAANYNJ president, I pursued/initiated the idea of creating a commemorative plaque in Dr. Silliman’s hometown of Cohoes, New York, and in the Silliman Park he had donated to the community. Establishing a lasting marker in these meaningful locations felt like a sincere and fitting gesture of appreciation for the man whose generosity led to the birth of our beloved Alma Mater.
This project was initiated by me during my tenure as SUAANYNJ President (2024–2026), and it is our hope that the plaque stands not only as a historical reminder but as a testament to the enduring gratitude of Sillimanians around the world.
We are honored to contribute to preserving the legacy of Dr. Silliman in a place so intimately connected to his life story. May this small gesture inspire continued unity and shared purpose among all alumni chapters as we uphold the ideals of Via, Veritas, Vita.
