SWAU Recognizes Alums with Honorary Doctorates
KEENE, TEX. – In addition to the 111 graduates who completed their studies and received diplomas in May, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters was conferred on two very deserving Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) alumni.
Bilung Gloria Gibbon Salii (pictured left), the beloved Queen of Palau, attended SWAU in the early 1970s but had to leave before she could finish her degree in secondary education. She ascended to the top of the traditional matriarchy of Koror and Palau in 1975 after the passing of her grandmother.
As an advocate of progress, Bilung founded the Mechesil Belau, an organization led by women who meet annually to present resolutions to the national government that enact change in the community; 44 of the proposed resolutions have become laws in the government of Palau. Bilung is passionate about promoting good health. She partners with organizations for the good of Palau, including health providers, educators and church ministries.
“Returning to Keene after 51 years brings me so much joy,” said Bilung. “It’s a place where I made great friends and was embraced by my professors and their families. SWAU also provided me with foundational tools to better serve my country for many years to come. I feel so blessed and happy to be recognized by my school.”
In addition to her traditional duties, Bilung is a successful businesswoman, serving as the president of U-Corp, Toirois, Malakal, a family-owned business. She is also the founder and operator of the Ngarachamayong Cultural Center, a hub for preserving and celebrating Palauan culture.
From chairing delegations to speaking at conferences, Bilung has been a powerful advocate for women’s rights and social change in the Pacific region and beyond; she has received many prestigious awards for her advocacy.
Barbara Damron (pictured right), Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., is an alum who attended SWAU from 1971-1973. She is currently a member of Southwestern’s Board of Trustees. Damron has had an impactful career spanning 49 years of experience as an education executive, an advanced practice nurse, a healthcare executive, a college professor, an international consultant and a cancer scientist. She is currently a tenured professor of nursing and of medicine at the University of New Mexico, where she holds the endowed Ridenour/Mason New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium Fellowship.
“With praise and thankfulness to God, I am touched beyond words to be receiving this degree from my beloved Southwestern,” shares Damron. “For nearly 50 years I have longed for a degree from SWAU! My years at SWAU were extremely influential in my life. God was present on this campus, as He is now, and I made lifelong friends. My walk with Christ was strengthened during those wonderful years at SWAU and my academic training there prepared me for the additional graduate work I completed through my M.S.N. and then Ph.D.”
Damron was formerly the Chief Government Relations Officer at the University of New Mexico and formerly the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department. She had oversight of the state’s 28 public institutions of higher education, four tribal colleges and over 190 private and proprietary post-secondary schools. Damron has received over 30 international, national and state awards. Damron was not only the first in her family to go to college, but she was also the first in her family to go to high school, lending even more impact to her legacy.
Southwestern Adventist University is proud to bestow honorary doctorates on these deserving alumni.
By Darcy Force
Interim Development Director
