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For about sixteen years now, the Center for Filipino Studies has been a vital part of teaching, research, and community outreach on the Hayward Hills campus of Cal State East Bay. Because of the foresight of its founders,* Filipino and Filipino American courses were offered soon after the center’s inauguration. Early programs, concentrating on sociology, language, and theatre, laid the foundation for the development of the first minor program in Filipino and Filipino American Studies in the United States. The Filipino Presence has become an integral part of the American experience. Its history in the United States is bound to the Spanish and American imperial occupations of the Philippines. As early as 1587, many Filipinos who worked with the Spanish galleons that plied the Manila-Acapulco trade route, jumped ship when the ships reached Acapulco or California rather than return to the Philippines. In 1763, the Spanish-speaking Filipinos who deserted ship or “Manilamen” as they were commonly called then were already living along the bayous and marshes of Louisiana. However, the first Filipino mass migration to the United States was initiated by the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Spain ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States for the payment of $20 million.  The irony is that, although longing for home, Filipinos now belong to the whole world. ~Epifanio San Juan, Jr. In his book “From Exile to Diaspora” 1998 The acquisition of the Philippines as a territory by the United States allowed Filipinos to immigrate as nationals without any quota system. The first influx of migrants (from 1900 until 1930) consisted along with government-sponsored “pensionados” (children of the Filipino elite) and self-supporting students, mainly of young, unskilled bachelors who had been recruited as farm workers for the agricultural fields of Hawaii and California, as stewards for the U. S. Navy, and as laborers for the salmon canneries of Alaska. Their numbers totaled approximately 100,000 by the middle of the 1930’s. The second period of Filipino migration (from 1931 until 1965) intersected with the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The anti-Filipino sentiments led to the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Law which guaranteed independence to the Philippines in ten years. The law declared all Filipino nationals as aliens and restricted their immigration quota to fifty a year.  Most Filipinos gaining entry to the U.S. were persons who were able to bypass discriminatory regulations. Many served gallantly in the American military during World War II. Others, claimed relatives as citizens. Despite stiff restrictions, the Filipino population grew steadily and had reached 250,000 by 1964. The third period of Filipino migration to the United States greatly increased with the passage of the liberalized Immigration Act of 1965. This act neutralized the highly selective system of national quota and increased the number of temporary visitor and preference-immigrant visas based on family relationships and desired professional skills.  Today, the number of immigrant visas granted annually to Filipinos exceeds 35,000. Presently, the total population of Filipino Americans numbers about 2 million (more than 1 million live in California), making us the second largest Asian ethnic group in this country, Chinese American, being the first. Why Center for Filipino Studies? From our earliest presence to current migration, we have been involved with the social and economic life of the United States. Recently, the growth of our communities in the Bay Area, involvement in higher education, and participation in high-tech and service labor market create a new dimension to the American experience -- the discovery of Filipino familial, labor, and economic contribution as a rich part of a diverse American heritage. At Cal State East Bay, the Center for Filipino Studies was developed to academically address our presence---that is, to provide a resource within the University for teaching, research, community involvement and dissemination of information related to our experience, as well as support the mission of the University to “provide an academically-rich, multicultural learning experience that prepares all of its students to realize their goals, pursue meaningful lifework, and to be socially responsible contributors to their communities, locally and globally.” (CSUEB Mission Statement, 2004)  In particular the CFS seeks to respond to the increasing number of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the University’s service area (to date, Filipinos compose 8.6% of the student population at CSU East Bay), the need to internationalize the University’s curriculum, and to increase the University’s involvement in Pacific Rim countries. Specifically, the CFS seeks to: Promote the understanding of Filipino national and transnational culture and Filipino languages. Develop and maintain curriculum, including the minor in Filipino and Filipino-American Studies, designed to enhance our competitiveness in labor and industry. Establish and maintain exchange programs for faculty and students between CSUEB and selected universities in the Philippines. Develop, fund, and maintain the NVM Gonzalez scholarship program and other scholarships. Offer seminars, training programs and workshops on a contractual basis. Attract grants for the purpose of working on projects designed to improve Philippine-American relations in both the public and private sectors. Enrich the educational process for faculty and students through research, consultancy fieldwork, and applied projects. Provide a vehicle to promote closer and mutually beneficial ties between the University and the Filipino community it serves. Develop, store, and disseminate information, data, and artifacts relevant to accomplishing the above objectives. The CFS has functioned well during the past decade and a half. It has provided positive links between the University and the Filipino American community through its Advisory Board.** It has initiated a number of student and faculty exchanges. It has provided student scholarships. It has sponsored many successful cultural and academic programs. It has developed and maintained a minor in Filipino and Filipino American Studies and has provided valuable support for the University’s mission to provide an academically-rich, multicultural learning experience.   The CFS’s Founding Members Prof. Edgardo de la Cruz * Professor of Theatre & Dance, CSUEB Prof. NVM Gonzalez * Professor of English & Literature, CSUEB Prof. Efren N. Padilla Professor of Sociology & Social Services, CSUEB Prof. Alan Smith Former Dean, College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences, CSUEB Prof. Ric Singson Professor of Marketing & Entrepreneurship, CSUEB * = deceased. The CFS’s First Community Representatives Cris Raimundo Varian Inc. Julius Salud Sun Microsystems Pat Gacoscos New Haven Unified School District Manny Fernandez Union City Council     The Current CFS Advisory Board From the Community Mark Crusante Development Consultant, New York City Center for Charter School Excellence Manny Fernandez Member, City Council, Union City Rhodora Finch Pharmaceutical Researcher Dr. Penelope Flores Professor of Teachers Education, San Francisco State University Pat Gacoscos Chairman, Board of Directors, Union Sanitary District Michael Gonzalez Staff, Stanford University Library Carlen Gregorio Community Leader and Local Businessman Gertrude Gregorio Board Member, New Haven Unified School District Lito Jaojoco Executive Vice President, Exteriur Resources Worldwide Inc. Greg Macabenta Publisher, Filipinas Magazine Dr. Federico Magdalena Faculty Specialist, UHM Center for Philippine Studies and Affiliate Faculty/Lecturer, University of Hawaii at Manoa Venessa Manzano National Director of Programs, Ascend, Inc., New York City, a Non-Profit Group for Asian Professionals in Accounting, Finance, and Related Fields Gemma Nemenzo Managing Editor, Filipinas Magazine Dr. Mary-Ann Ortiz-Luis President, Clarmil Manufacturing Jon Palacio Director, Jazz Studies, Chabot College Remy Pasibe Co-Director, Lakbay Aral Program Sophie Pasibe Director, Lakbay Aral Program Oscar Peñaranda Teacher, Logan High School Ben Pimentel Journalist, San Francisco Chronicle Dr. Vincent K. Pollard Lecturer, University of Hawaii, Manoa Chris Raimundo Corporate Vice President and Controller, Varian Medical Systems Dr. Greg Rohlf Associate Professor of History, The University of the Pacific Julius Salud Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Strategy, SPD Control Systems Meg Singson Community Representative Dr. Alan Smith Former Dean of College of Letters, Arts, & Social Sciences, CSUEB Dr. Manuel B. Valle Lecturer, CSU East Bay Department of Public Affairs and Administration; University of Phoenix, Graduate Business and Management Jun-Jun Villegas Instructor, Computer Information Systems, College of Alameda Julius Willis IT & Internet Consultant and Hayward City Commission Member     From the University Jose Badua Pilipino American Student Association Chris Baytan Pilipino American Student Association Mercie de la Cruz Businesswoman and Student of Philippine culture Dr. Soledad Llorente Lecturer, Public Administration Prof. Efren N. Padilla Professor, Sociology & Social Services Prof. Ricardo Singson Emeritus Professor, Marketing & Entrepreneurship April Tablante Vice President, Pilipino American Student Association   END