SU establishes Ambassador MacArthur Corsino Fund for annual political science lecture
Silliman University (SU), through the History and Political Science Department, has established the Ambassador MacArthur Corsino Fund to support an annual distinguished lecture in political science and international relations, in recognition of the contributions of the Silliman alumnus, diplomat, educator, and Outstanding Sillimanian Awardee.
The University formally established the fund through a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on September 21, 2026, at the Robert B. and Metta J. Silliman Library. The fund will support the Ambassador MacArthur Corsino Distinguished Lecture in Political Science and International Relations.
In presenting the rationale for the initiative, Assoc. Prof. Jan Antoni Credo of the History and Political Science Department said the fund honors Corsino’s contributions to national service, diplomacy, education, and the mentorship of future leaders.
Credo said the initiative seeks to bridge academic theory and international practice while carrying forward Corsino’s commitment to public service and intellectual inquiry. The fund will permanently support an annual lecture award to be held during the University’s Founders Day celebration.
The lecture series is envisioned to enrich the Political Science curriculum, stimulate academic discourse, and expose students and faculty to research in political science and international relations. It will recognize both established and emerging Philippine-based scholars, with particular consideration for researchers conducting field studies and those still building their formal publication credentials.
A selection committee chaired by the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), with representatives from the Department of History and Political Science and the Corsino family, will select awardees based on the quality and methodology of their research and its public policy impact. Selected scholars will deliver their research lectures to the University community during Founders Week.
Responding on behalf of the University, CAS, and Department of History and Political Science, CAS Dean Dr. Alana Leilani C. Narciso said the fund represents a commitment to intellectual life and to the values embodied by Corsino throughout his career.
“Through this fund, a meaningful academic tradition will be sustained for generations to come,” Narciso said, noting that the annual lecture will bring scholars to campus to share research, exchange ideas, and encourage inquiry among students and faculty.
Narciso also affirmed the College’s commitment to oversee the selection process “with integrity and rigor,” with lecturers to be chosen based on scholarly merit, intellectual contribution, and the relevance of their work to pressing issues.
During the ceremony, Corsino reflected on his own relationship with the University and his career in the foreign service.
“I have intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly tried to contribute to the upliftment and enhancement of the university’s reputation as an institution of academic excellence,” he said.
Corsino earned his BSE History-English degree, cum laude, from Silliman in 1966 and his Master of Arts in Education major in Educational Administration in 1972. He later earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University in 1977 and was a fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs from 1985 to 1986.
After topping the Foreign Service Examinations in 1981, Corsino joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and served in various posts in the Philippines and abroad. He later became Philippine Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Cuba, with concurrent jurisdiction over Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. He retired from the foreign service in 2010.
At Silliman, Corsino served as director of the Southeast Asian Studies Program and mentored students in history and political science, as well as those in the Foreign Affairs Program of the School of Public Affairs and Governance.
The fund will be managed by Silliman University, with continuing fundraising efforts involving the Corsino family, the Department of History and Political Science, and Corsino’s former colleagues and students. Its yield will provide a PHP 20,000 honorarium to each distinguished lecturer.
Through the annual lecture, the University seeks to sustain Corsino’s legacy by creating a continuing venue for scholarship, intellectual exchange, and the connection of academic knowledge with public service.
