✝ Santiago Emilio Gangotena González

Santiago Gangotena, Ph.D. - Canciller

Born in Quito, Ecuador. He is the founder of USFQ, the first totally private university in Ecuador, and co-founder of the Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito.

He traveled to the United States where he obtained a B.S. in physics and a Master's in nuclear physics. He earned his PhD in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has written many articles on science and education. He graduated from the American School of Quito as the best graduate in the physics-mathematics specialization and made his first painting exhibition at the age of 18, a skill that he later dedicated to graphic design. Furthermore, due to his interests in Eastern philosophies he started a yoga and meditation center. He was a professor at several universities abroad and in Ecuador for over 30 years.

A prolific writer, columnist for the newspaper El Comercio and Hoy, book writer: The Fourth State of Mind, Meditation; Logbook of Vegetarian Cuisine and co-author of the third translation of Tao te Ching directly from Chinese to Spanish.

In 1996 he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from Kalamazoo College, Michigan, the world's first university for international programs.

In 2009, he was awarded the highest honor that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (the oldest public university in the United States) presents to his former students for “outstanding contributions to humanity”, the “Distinguished Alumnus Award”.

In 2012, he received the “Federico González Suárez” Award, granted by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Ecuador, for educational merit in recognition of the contribution to the education of youth.

He received the "Excellent Individual from the Confucius Institute in 2015" award from the Government of China.

In 2016 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill honored him by naming 25 scholarships the name Santiago E. Gangotena Grants.

In November 2018, the Ecuadorian Institute of Political Economy awarded him the recognition of "Hero of Freedom" for his contribution to education in Ecuador under the elementary principle of Freedom.

He has been a very successful private entrepreneur, creating companies in the publishing, graphic design, and advertising branches. He promoted the construction of a highway that connects Guayaquil and Quito, La Vía del Sol.